How To Set Pickup Height The Right Way | Fralin Pickups (2024)

FAQs

How To Set Pickup Height The Right Way | Fralin Pickups? ›

The correct pickup height orientation is lower on the bass side and closer on the treble side. Your Bass strings have more mass and will disturb the magnetic field more than treble strings. Reversing your pickup height orientation will provide you with “warbling” bass strings and thin treble strings – not good.

If your pickups are too high, they may not be picking up the sound to the best of their ability. Having your pickups set too high can cause intonation/tuning issues. Because pickups are essentially magnets, when they are set too high it can cause the string to be pulled downwards.

While there isn't a magic number for guitar pickup height—every pickup and guitar manufacturer has their own pickup height specifications—we've found 3/32 of an inch (2.381mm) is a good place to start.

Not necessarily. The string oscillation at the neck pickup is much larger amplitude than at the bridge, meaning the pickups should be further away (lower). Also why neck pickups tend to be weaker - far greater "natural volume" to the signal at that point than at the bridge.

There is no right or wrong installation direction. The Bluesbucker® is brighter-sounding with the adjustable screw coil toward the bridge. The D Sonic™ and Crunch Lab™ models (6 and 7 string) and the MegaDrive™ are brighter-sounding with the solid bar coil toward the bridge.

As well as the strings acting on the pickup's magnetic field, that magnetic field can also act on the string. Adjusted too close, the magnetic field can interfere with the strings' vibration.

The idea is that the output of both pickups should be the same, so when you switch between the neck and Bridge pickup, the volume of the sound generated by the Guitar (or bass) shouldn't change (or not by much). To achieve this, the Bridge Pickup should be nearer the strings than the Neck Pickup.

I find that raising and lowering a pickup does several things. When I move my pickup closer to the strings I get more output and more attack. When lowering a pickup you get less output and a smoother sound. As the pickup is moved further away from the bridge the louder and fuller it sounds.

On most guitars that have pickups, their height is adjustable. Being closer should make the pickups sound louder, until the sound distorts a bit and the magnetism is felt by the string, and sounds deadened by it.

Learning how to set your pickup's height correctly is probably the most overlooked step in purchasing a set of pickups. It would be like buying a new car and not inflating the tires. Pickup height is a critical element of your guitar's tone. Set too low, and your pickup is inefficient and weak.

How does pickup position affect tone? ›

The position of the pickups relative to the strings affects the way the pickups capture the vibrations of the strings, which in turn affects the tone and timbre of the guitar's sound.

For standard, full-size humbuckers, a reasonable starting point for the bridge pickup is at least 1/16" (1.5mm) from the high E and 5/64" (2 mm) from the low E. There are no recommended distances for the other 4 strings.

When pickups are set too close to the strings, the magnets can interfere with the strings ability to vibrate. Adjusted too low, the pickup loses sensitivity. With standard single coil Strat pickups, the sweet spot is around 2 mm on the bass side, and 1.6 mm on the treble side.

Here is a series of general rules: - the further apart the pickups are, the greater the variety of sound we will get on the instrument. - the closer the pickup to the bridge, the more brilliant the sound will be.