As I said in another thread I noticed in a Jimi Hendrix video that his pickups were adjusted almost even with his pickguard.
Last night I got out my 1986 MIJ '68RI Strat and dropped the pickup height to that level.
I was pleasantly surprised. The tone was clearer and there was some added sustain. Then there was the Strat Quack, It was fabulous!!! When I added in some distortion there was no question that I had stumbled onto a new way to adjust my pickups.

So, I grabbed my 10lb 2001 Gibson LP Standard, dropped the pickup level down to even with the pickup rings. SWEEEET!!!!!! My LP sustained like crazy before, you should hear the sustain now!!! The little bit of mud that I got when adding distortion is gone.

I highly recommend everyone try dropping their pickup height. Report back here with your thoughts.

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Chet Feathers

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

Chet, I've gotta say, I think your "sustain versus output" thing that you've mentioned before is one of the most important tips that's ever given out on this Forum.

I see so many players setting their pickups as close as they can to the strings, under the impression that it makes their sound more aggressive. It's so important for people to understand that the exact opposite may be much better.

Set 'em low: possibly the single simplest step to finer tone.

More power to your elbow, sir!

Cheers - c

thanx Chet...I'm gonna give that a try tonight, see what i can milk out of those old pickups.....let ya know what i think....
Bill

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Thanks Ceri!

I have never been one for a lot of distortion, sounds like mud to me. Give me some clear as a bell sustain any day.
I guess one day I will get my point across that if you set your pickups up for more sustain, less volume/distortion you can drive the amp harder, after all that is what amps were designed for.

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Chet Feathers

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

Very Cool Bill! I was amazed at how the 23 year old pickups in my Strat woke up!!! I'll be resetting the pickup height in my other Strats too!!!

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Chet Feathers

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

thanx for this tipp, chet. I will check it out.

cheers

I would say , the pickup close to the string, to enhance the attack, is really only suited for cetain styles. like if oyu are shredding, and playing nothing but 64th notes, and faster, you really don't care how the pickup responds during the decay part of the sounded note.

but if you are playing stuff more like the average musician, you really don't want or need to emphasize the attack, you probably want your guitar to be set to focus on the cool tones from the note as it decays. I definitely have different pickup heights on my 'metal' guitars, than I do on my 'normal' ones.

Again, I don't really think I have ever run into a 'lack of sustain' problem with a plugged in guitar. But I do notice a huge change in responsiveness, (call it a more alive sound,) when I have my strat pickups set low into the body.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

This is the reason I recommended the article in the May issue of Guitar Player Mag. on page 131 in the American issue. It goes into great detail about all things pickup. It is also written well enough that a novice like me can understand everything!

Interesting article. Although I think some very important info was left out.

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Chet Feathers

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

To be fair, if you want to hit everything important, you might have to take a course. it is a pretty good starting point.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

What I'm referring to is pickup height. They could have put a brief yet informative paragraph about magnetic pull on the strings.

As I learned from Bill Lawrence. The closer the pickup is to the strings the sooner the magnets in the pickup stops the string from vibrating, which means less natural sustain. It will give you more volume, and more distortion though.

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Chet Feathers

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

Ok, I agree, that is pretty vital info. i found out about that the hard way, screwing around with guitars when I was young.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Ok, I agree, that is pretty vital info. i found out about that the hard way, screwing around with guitars when I was young.
I also got some ugly sounding harmonics, or overtones, too close can make even the best gear sound bad.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Which is of course why I started this thread to be informative about pickup height and share what I know.

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Chet Feathers

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

Good point. Many of the 80's metal guys would always jam them so high they'd almost touch the strings. Keep them at mid height, or lower, often gives them a better truer tone. Not as much output, but a better tone in general.