It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 8:37 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 8 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: Help! Lost my tone.
Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 9:49 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2007 9:14 am
Posts: 55
I recently had my new American Series set up and pickups replaced with SCNs. It sounded great when I got it home, but I felt the action could be just a tad lower. I have never done any of my own adjusting and felt it was time that should. So I read in the resources how to adjust the saddles. After that I adjusted the pickups, but now I get this thin tin/clangey like sound. No matter what I do I can't seem to get it back to the standard strat tone. I even raised the action back up a little. BTW, it's not a fret buzzing sound - it's a bad ....thin clangey sound.

Any obvious solutions before I take it back in. I really want to be able make adjustments on my own...with your help of course.


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 6:18 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2007 11:31 am
Posts: 940
First , cheack to see if it's the pickup height. Here's the best way to adjust Strat pickups by ear.

The problem for most of us is that we try to adjust all the pickups at once, switching endlessly between settings and getting more frustrated as we do. Don't do that... do this!

Crank your pickups down as low as they will go. Select the neck pickup only. Play through your amp, selecting a clean, flat sound, and raise the pickup a little bit at a time, stopping to play with each adjustment.

Before long, you'll reach a spot where the pickup suddenly sounds awesome. If you raise the pickup past this spot and lose the awesomeness, then you've found the sweet spot.

Now, switching from neck to middle and neck to bridge, playing as you go, raise the middle and bridge pickups until they match the output of the neck.

You're done. Unless you want a bit more quack from the 2 & 4 settings: if that's the case, experiment with lowering or raising the middle pickup while listening to those settings.

Now you're really done, your guitar sounds great, and you saved $40. :D


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 9:38 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2007 9:14 am
Posts: 55
Thanks for the tips Gravity Jim. I assume the sound is from not properly adjusting the pickups. I'm going to take your advie and really try to dial in that sweet spot.

When you adjust each pickup do you raise the bass side first, play, and dial it in, then go to the treble side? Or do you adjust both at once, raising the treble side more and adjusting from there?

Also, I just discovered that when raising/lowering your saddles you should adjust each string one at a time. After the adjustment you should tune that string then move to the next. I have been adjusting them all to the height then tuning the whole guitar. Has this thrown things a out of whack? The video I watched stressed how important it is to follow this proceedure. Otherwise your neck could move one way or another.

Thanks again for the great explanation. javascript:emoticon(':)')


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 9:45 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2007 11:31 am
Posts: 940
Blackie Fan wrote:
When you adjust each pickup do you raise the bass side first, play, and dial it in, then go to the treble side? Or do you adjust both at once, raising the treble side more and adjusting from there?

Also, I just discovered that when raising/lowering your saddles you should adjust each string one at a time.....

Thanks again for the great explanation. javascript:emoticon(':)')


I adjust the entire pickup (both sides) up a bit, keeping it level as I go. If you get to a sweet spot and find you need just a bit more output from the treble side, raise that side a tad higher.

I don't see how raising and lowering the saddles all at once could affect the tone of the guitar. Who's video were you watching?

Here's hoping this info is helpful.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 9:45 am
Offline
Amateur
Amateur
User avatar

Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2007 11:31 am
Posts: 149
Location: Annapolis MD
Jim you are the man....

You beat me to the punch...

And I love the injection of common sence in your post.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 9:58 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 7:02 am
Posts: 8609
Location: Vacaville, CA USA
A friend of mine who also happens to build pickups ( www.billlawrence.com ) told me once to find a starting point for pickup adjustments. He said he recommends the "Nickel Method".

Select the bridge pickup. Fret your low E (bass side) at the last fret. Place 2 nickels stacked on top of the bridge pickup pole piece for the low E string. Now adjust that side of the pickup up or down until the nickel just barely touches the bottom of the string.
Now fret your high e (treble side) at the last fret. Place one nickel on top of the pole piece for that string. Adjust the treble side of the pickup up or down until the nickel just barely touches the bottom of the string.
Repeat for each pickup.

Using a clean channel on your amp at a low to medium volume, guitar volume at 10. Select each pickup and hit the E and e strings with the same amount of attack. If both have the same volume level you are done with that pickup. Adjust either side up or down slightly to get the same volume level for the E and e strings.
Repeat for each pickup.

You now have a starting point. Make sure if you move the pickup you move both sides equally (if you move the bass side 1/2 turn up, move the treble side 1/2 turn up)

Remember that moving the pickup closer to the strings will give you more distortion, more volume, but less sustain.
Moving the pickup farther away from the strings will give you a cleaner, more mellow tone with less distortion, less volume, and more sustain.

_________________
Chet Feathers

Authorized TonePros Dealer
Authorized WD Music Products Dealer
F/A Official Southpaw Compliance Certification Tester http://faamps.com/

http://www.facebook.com/cafeathers


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


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 10:23 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2007 9:14 am
Posts: 55
Thanks guys for the advice. What a coincidence CAFeathers - Bill Lawrence built my pickups (SCN.) :) Volume setting when adjusting was another question I had. Thanks!

Here is the video I refered to. It's Steve Soest explaining how to adjust the saddles. He mentions that it's important to adjust a saddle then tune that string - then move to the next string. Good trick with the dime though. I used a nickle. Dime action is too low for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd5DbChT ... re=related


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 10:49 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2007 1:59 pm
Posts: 6
What I do is set the neck pickup to where the bass and trebble sounds the same in volume then I measure the distance from the top of the pickup to the string and put all pickups at the same measurement for the top and the bottom of the pickups, I know thats not how fender does it but my guitar sounds better then a stock strat.


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 8 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: