What would the proper height adjustment be for pick-ups on my 2006 Highway one HSS Stratocaster be? I did not receive a manual and I have not been able to find it on this site yet. Should the humbucker be set the same as the single coils? I figured out from my previous post that instead of wasting time looking I would get the best, quickest answers here, lol.

Thanks in advance,

Kimmo

Take from the how to-guides on the support section of the site ^^

Set too high, pickups can cause myriad inexplicable phenomena. Depress all the strings at the last fret. Using a 6" (150 mm) ruler, measure the distance from the bottom of the first and sixth strings to the top of the pole piece. A good rule of thumb is that the distance should be greatest at the sixth-string neck pickup position, and closest at the first-string bridge pickup position. Follow the measurement guidelines in the chart below as starting points. The distance will vary according to the amount of magnetic pull from the pickup.

Bass Side Treble Side
Texas Specials 8/64" (3.6 mm) 6/64" (2.4 mm)
Vintage style 6/64" (2.4 mm) 5/64" (2 mm)
Noiseless™ Series 8/64" (3.6 mm) 6/64" (2.4 mm)
Standard Single-Coil 5/64" (2 mm) 4/64" (1.6 mm)
Humbuckers 4/64" (1.6 mm) 4/64" (1.6 mm)
Lace Sensors As close as desired (allowing for string vibration)

I'll add another popular method is the 2 nickel method where the starting point between the poles and the strings is the thickness of 2 nickels (Using two nickels sandwiched together as a gauge). These are all just starting points as pickup height should vary due to action, string gauge, magnet strength, etc...Just play until you find a sweet spot ^^

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I traded my car in for a microphone.

Oh HSS guitars I adjust the middle pickup to give a good clear sound, neither favouring treble or bass. I then adjust the neck pickup to match volume to the middle pickup. Finaly the bridge pickup set to match volume to the mid and neck seperately.

just adjust the pickup height til it sounds good to you...little adjustments can make a big difference as much as quarter turn...i start at the manufacturers specs then do 1/4 turn adjustments til i dial in the right output and that it doesn't sound to muddy...hope this helps

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Fender Highway 1 Strat, Fender Lonestar Stratocaster 25th Anniversary, Orange Rockerverb 50 w/ PPC212, Crate Vintage Club 30 Tube Amp, Digitech GNX3, Line6 pedals, Ibanez Tube Screamer (my fav), Crybaby Wah

I love this forum. That clears that up. Thanks for all the great replies. I will fiddle with it until I find the sweet spot.

Cheers,

Kimmo

Yeah the important thing is to be methodical when setting pickups.
Usually the bridge pickup has the lowest perceived output. Simply because the strings vibration arc is not as wide there as it is at the middle of the strings talk length. Well if you have a humbucker, that is most likely not the case. They are much more powerfull pickups. So I set the middle pickup as that then becomes the pickup with the least output. Though the difference between middle and neck volumes is slight, there is one. Then I base my other pickups off that. The neck can be too bassy, the bridge too trebley. So once I've got the volume out of all 3 about right, then I'll angle em to get em how I want.
Theres no real rules for that, just guidelines. Of which Fender spec's are pretty damn close to my idea of perfection, but not quite.

Bill Lawrence ( Bill Lawrence: Musician, Designer, Craftsman ) taught me what I call the "Nickel Method" for adjusting pickups. This is a starting point and adjustment to fine tune to what you like are recommended. I use this method for Single Coil, P-90, and Humbucker pups!

Fret your E string at the last fret at the body end of the neck. Use 2 Nickels (5/64) from the top of the pole piece to the under side of the E string. Then use 1 Nickel (3/64) on the e string side of the pickup using the same technique. Then repeat for each pickup.
Next select each pickup by itself. Using a medium volume on both guitar and amp on a clean channel pluck the E and e strings making small adjustments until the volume level is equal on both strings.
This is the starting point. Raising the pickup will give you more volume, more distortion, less sustain, and a bolder tone. Lowering the pickup will give you less volume, less distortion, more sustain, and warmer tone. Make sure when making this adjustment that you turn the screws on each side of the pickup the exact same amount of turns.

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Chet Feathers

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

I used the two nickel/one nickel set-up and it sounded so good thats where I am going to leave it. Thanks everyone.

Happy Holidays.

Kimmo

I guess that maybe the phrase "I'm so poor, that I don't have two nickles to rub together" came from musicians wanting to use this method to check their action.

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.