Like Eric my tele has a 22 fret neck. They seem to be at their limit, specially at the upper E. Have you seen that happen? The neck pickup is usually attached to the pickguard by 2 height adjustment screws and the bridge pickup is attached to the bridge plate with 3. Copyright © 2020 Seymour Duncan. Hello everyone. Players with a light touch can get away with lower action; others need higher action to avoid rattles. This could be the culprit. Standard Telecasters are not as simple as the previous two. The soapbar models share many similarities to Jazzmaster pickups, but have their mounting screws located down the middle of the pickup cover. I recently bought a little electric guitar for my daughter. Maybe you lowered a high-output humbucker to get a jazzier clean tone. So, for instance, with a Les Paul, set the bridge pickup height and then set the neck. For those who have experienced it, you know what we’re talking about. Dog-ear P90’s are one of the few electric guitar pickup designs that don’t offer a way to raise and lower the whole pickup. The metal baseplate made it easy to hang the pickup off a conventional Tele bridge using exposed screw heads for easy height adjustment. It’s the foam or springs installed under the pickup that offers what adjustment is available. Lindy shows it's not about measuring, it's about listening. Poke a screw through the pickguard holes and pop on a length of rubber tubing (or a spring if … If your adjustment doesn’t improve your guitar’s tone, you may want to return to this original pickup height. Okie dokie gang, this is kinda part three in this series which started with How To Adjust (Set) Pickup Height on a Stratocaster for ULTIMATE STRAT TONE! It would be like buying a new car and not inflating the tires. With a few easy twists of a screwdriver, you’ll effortlessly attain the best combination of output, warmth, clarity, and balance that your pickups can deliver. Like the Jazzmaster pickups, these screws hold the pickup in place. If your mounting screws have countersink heads, you can drill a corresponding countersink around the front. Adjust bridge saddles to the height according to the chart, then re-tune. First, check tuning. £25.30. Play for a few minutes, paying careful attention to the balance between lows, highs, and how hard our pickup is hitting your amp. The two closest to the bridge balance the pickup from right to left, while the other screw is vital for keeping the surface of the pickup even with the strings. And then came How To Adjust (Set) Pickup Height on a Telecaster for ULTIMATE TELE TONE! One tips for lowering single pickups is that, sometimes, the screw comes off the pickup cover and pickup base. Third: Raise or lower each side of the pickup individually (if possible) until you hear the perfect blend of your higher and lower strings. When taking out the neck pickup, be careful not to lose the springs and screws inside that hold the neck pickup in place. Brand new guitars’ pickups, though often set to factory spec, aren’t dialed in to the way you play. Do you know how low that pickup can get? Whether you purchased a used guitar with an unknown past or are replacing pickups in one you already own, you’ll need to make a decision on pickup height at some point. P90s come in two common forms, soapbars and dog-ears, each requiring different techniques to adjust. You may find inspiring new life from an old guitar.No matter what kind of electric guitar you play or what style you play in, read on. Fender American Standard Telecaster Pickups Tele Pickup Set ... 12 product ratings - NEW Wilkinson WVOB Alnico V Bridge Pickup for Tele ® Telecaster ® Broadcaster ®* £24.90. It may take a few tries to get it where you want. We’ll dig into the benefits of proper adjustment, how to adjust a wide range of the most popular pickup types, and even help you avoid some tone-wrecking pitfalls of incorrect adjustment. No wonder as this pickup can be too bright and often needs a bit of adjustment. But if yours is direct-mounted, you’ll have to remove the guitar’s pickguard to access its adjustment screws. Many thanks again, Eric. Not comfortable with working on your guitar? Seymour Duncan ST59-1 Little '59 Lead (Bridge) for Telecaster. I'd been wanting to try out a Brian May ... Hello all, Well, I didn't want to just stop after posting about the guitar. I like the lowest neck pickup and the highest for the bridge pickup. But if you do like working on your own guitars, you’ll love SeymourDuncan.com’s deep selection of wiring diagrams, tech tips, and tonal know how. It’s all up to you now! Fourth: Repeat the process on each of the guitar’s pickups. Seymour Duncan. https://diystrat.blogspot.com/2011/09/adjusting-neck-pickup-on-fender.html Jazzmaster pickup screws are mainly for mounting, not adjusting. However, it is still possible and can be done with the tools you already have. Here is a helpful how to covering a large list of today’s most popular different types. All rights reserved. You’d be better off to replace that punchy humbucker with a model better-suited for your style and tone. I undid the neck screws, did the job and put everything back and the tele sounds great now. Do this by adjusting the height of the saddle on the bridge (on this guitar, a 1.5 mm Allen key is required, though your guitar may require something else). While you can’t easily adjust the whole pickup’s height, you can adjust the individual pole pieces under each string. For a Strat, set the bridge, then the middle, then the neck. But it isn’t an exact science. To raise the pickup, turn the screws clockwise. Luckily, P90s – as well as humbucking pickups – have a trick up their sleeves. To lower it, go counterclockwise. Recorded at last Summer's Northwoods Seminar in Michigan. And different magnet varieties, such as alnico and ceramic, react to that process differently, giving them their unique characteristics and tone. Carefully drill two holes in the positions you marked. The black leadout wire was also soldered to the base plate, which grounded the bridge and obviated the need for a separate bridge ground wire. It had a few issues (more on that in a future post), but all in all it’s a dec... Today I’m going to show you how to set up a Fender Telecaster-style guitar. I need to get one of those. Second: With the string depressed, use a machinist’s rule and measure the distance from the bottom of the string to the top of the corresponding pickup pole piece. So, what about setting the height on humbucker equipped guitars like Les Paul TIP: Be careful with Strats especially, the pickups set too close can pull the strings and create a multitude of problems (3 pickups = 3 magnets on one string!) If this is your first time adjusting your own pickup height, don’t worry. How To Adjust (Set) Pickup Height on a Humbucker for ULTIMATE TONE! It’s time to go a step further and dial it in to your personal preferences. Wilkinson WVOB Alnico V Bridge Pickup for Telecaster Broadcaster Guitar. If you want to get adventurous, there are spacers available that sit between the pickup and the body of the guitar, allowing them to sit a bit higher. Fig. The best way to find the best spot for pickups is to: Set the desired distance at the bridge and balance the neck and/or middle pickups to volume; Fret the low E at the first fret; Measure the distance between the bottom of the string to the top of the bridge pickup's pole piece (within 1/64th of an inch). The hardest – and most vital – part is learning to trust your own ears and playing style. Does this seem the correct way to go. https://wgsusa.com/how-adjust-set-pickup-height-telecaster-ultimate-tele-tone Third: Raise or lower the pickup until it is at the manufacturer’s factory spec. On my 1978 Telecaster, I cannot find any visible screws to adjust the neck pickup height but the bridge pickup offers no less than three screws (see image below). I understand that there are no hard and fast rules for the height but most pickup manufacturers recommend a starting point of 1/16 of an inch from the bottom of the string to the pole piece while holding down the string on the 22nd fret. If the pickup is suspended from a pickguard, you’re in luck! But what if we told you that there is an extremely fast, super simple, and absolutely free way to improve your guitar sound? A Tele bridge pickup is suspended by three adjustment screws from a metal bridge plate. Topped-out neck pickups have also been known to exert so much pull on the strings that it causes your guitar to fret out and buzz terribly. There are a lot of reasons pickups end up too far down in the body of a guitar. We always recommend having an authorized luthier take care of the work. It’s also important to remember that you have to play by the rules of the pickup you have. Quick View Compare Choose Options Add to Wish List. Ending 8 Feb at 2:47PM GMT 1d 10h. If the fretboard is really pushing down on your pickguard then I guess there is no option other than to loosen the neck screws, although really this shouldn't be happening (in my humble opinion of course). Then this is done by screwing the outermost screw in or out. Experiment with the height until the desired sound and feel is achieved.Note: For locking tremolo systems, the individual string height is preset. >

Any questions, please feel free to message me. The two closest to the bridge balance the pickup from right to left, while the other screw is vital for keeping the surface of the pickup even with the strings. In guitars with pickup rings, the humbucker is suspended from this ring via these screws. That’s great. Reply. Today we’re going to do a setup on a Les-Paul-style guitar. So, what about setting the height on humbucker equipped guitars like Les Pauls? Finally, remember that tone is a combination of a universe of different mechanical, and intangible elements, making each guitar unique. Adjusting pickup height is one of the easiest ways to effortlessly improve your tone. Tonerider Alnico II Blues Telecaster Pickup set. The pickup was screwed to the body with a couple of rubber supports. Lindy Fralin Split Steel Poled Tele Bridge. Repeat the same process for the high E string True, if you do this wrong,... Today we’re going to have a very quick look at pickup setup for a Fender Stratocaster-style guitar. And as always, visit the Knowledge Base to find info on anything you need. If this is not desired, you will need to compensate for this difference in output by either lowering the hotter bridge pickup or raising the middle and neck pickups closer to the strings to match the output of the bridge. And, unlike soldering or a host of other mods, this one is easy to fix. But if the issues of lowering a pickup are frustrating, the ones that accompany raising one too high are downright unacceptable. First: Depress the low E string at the last fret, closest to your pickups. Tonerider. This overloaded magnet/string interaction can cause take your sound over with added harmonic content and overtones – and not in a good way. Quick View Compare Add to Cart Add to Wish List. It's a clever solution, but of course it means that you can't lift the pickguard out so easily. Simply adjust it the way you would a Strat single-coil. They cost between $5 and $20. Okie dokie gang, this is kinda part three in this series which started with How To Adjust (Set) Pickup Height on a Stratocaster for ULTIMATE STRAT TONE! Click & Collect. Turning the mounting screws on either side of the pickup will raise and lower them to taste. Strangely, there are still a lot of players who have never given pickup height adjustment a second thought. And getting your pickups to this ballpark setting is actually quite easy. By adjusting the amount of foam in the cavity, you’re able to determine the height of the pickup. We’d love to help you turn your guitar into the versatile tone machine it deserves to be. But that lower output also translates to a thinner, weaker sound. These are used to change the height of the pickup in … Dispatched with Royal Mail 1st Class. The only way I can get to the pickup screws will be by loosening the neck screws. Hey Eric, that's great. During this step, always refer back to the output level of the first pickup you adjusted. Santa Barbara, California. For humbuckers that are mounted directly into the body, the process is similar, but clockwise lowers the pickup and counterclockwise raises it. What is the exact tool to do it? They rely on support – often a foam strip – placed underneath in the pickup cavity to push the pickups to the correct height. A low pickup can also create an unacceptable tonal mismatch as you select between different pickup positions. Though there are thousands of pickups that buck the trends, the general rule is that ceramic magnets are used in higher output designs and feature a modern, tighter tonality. Set too low, and your pickup is inefficient and weak. You will of course have to lift the pickguard up slightly at the bridge itself no order to let you move it in that direction. And, while no two magnet types are exactly alike, they each have a range where they deliver their best tone and performance. Players with a light touch can get away with lower action; others need higher action to avoid rattles. Free postage. Nice post. Pickup height adjustment is usually a pretty simple task on a telecaster. Humbucker/P-90 adjustable polepiece pickups-- Neck pickup: 5/64'' treble side and 3/32'' bass side - Bridge pickup: 2/32'' treble and bass side Once I have the spacing correctly set, I file a small … So the bridge pickups height is close to its sweet spot? Ever adjust your pickups and wonder where your sustain and definition went? Pickup magnets are magnetized via a process called gaussing – or degaussing for lowering their ferromagnetic strength. This simple mod is a great way to get easier, more precise adjustment from this style of pickup. A Tele bridge pickup is suspended by three adjustment screws from a metal bridge plate. However, as is the case on most Telecaster-style guitars, there are no height adju... DIY Strat (and other guitar & audio projects), How to set up a Gibson Les Paul style guitar, Setting up or adjusting a Fender Stratocaster tremolo, Fender Stratocaster pickup height adjustment and specifications, Making a simple DIY mini guitar amplifier, How to set up a Fender Telecaster-style guitar, How to wire up a Stomp Box / Effects Pedal, Building a quick Brian-May-style treble booster on Veroboard, Adjusting the neck pickup height on a Fender Telecaster style guitar. It is necessary to loosed the neck screws to easily remove the pickguard. • Get hot or cool: Raise the pickups for a hotter signal. We are only going to do a basic setup, which is enough most of t... Today we're going to talk about how to wire up a stompbox. First off, let’s talk about the ‘why’ of adjusting pickup height. For the most part, all you need is a screwdriver, pocket ruler, and a good playing environment. First: Select the pickup setting where you will be spending most of your time. Paul John Best from Radioshop Pickups UK gives you our guide to how to set your humbucker pickup height. A good screwdriver is often all it takes to nail the pickup’s sweet spot while also fine-tuning your string-to-string balance to perfection. If you position this at the same height as the original pickup, chances are your guitar will be significantly louder at the bridge position than at other pickup settings. The neck pickup with the rounded cover? - Bridge pickup: 4/32" treble and bass side. The assertive sibling to Fralin’s Split Blade model, this … Tele neck pickups come in two varieties. When the magnets get that close to the strings, their magnetic field inhibits the natural motion of the strings’ vibration. I bought the set to replace the neck pickup in a tele deluxe, so this bridge pickup is unused. Just remember that there’s bass pickups also. If this doesn't work (maybe because the strings are getting in the way) then you may have to remove the strings completely. Since originally they came with 21 frets, and pickguards were cut accordingly, 22-fret necks generally come with the 22nd fret "overhanging", which is to say it hovers over the pickguard rather than the pickguard being cut around it. But every pickup and guitar manufacturer has their own specifications. You will still need to do some fine tweaking of height after this but it will get everything pretty much set. And then came How To Adjust (Set) Pickup Height on a Telecaster for ULTIMATE TELE TONE! 1 shows how to mount the latex tubing on the Tele’s three bridge pickup screws (on the right) and neck pickup screws (left). Adjusting Pickup Height on a Telecaster. Fender Vintage Noiseless Telecaster Bridge pickup BNIB. On the vast majority of humbuckers, you’ll find a screw located at either side of the pickup. But it’s still a matter of turning a few screws. Lindy Fralin, of Lindy Fralin Pickups, shows how he sets pickup heights. Because it’s the strength and type of the magnets that determine where the pickups should be set. Setting up an electric guitar is not rocket science, but it is something that a lot of guitarists shy away from. Unscrew the pickguard and remove it. In the ’50s and ’60s, Fender used latex tubing around the pickup-height adjustment screws, so this is a “back-to-basics” upgrade. Learning how to set your pickup’s height correctly is probably the most overlooked step in purchasing a set of pickups. £64.00. When that’s ok, move on to the others. Condition is "New". We’ve found 3/32 of an inch (2.381mm) is a good place to start. Adjusting these popular pickups isn’t as straightforward. Different forms of alnico magnets are most readily found in vintage-style pickups and are noted for their sweeter, warmer, and more detailed tone. We’re talking about adjusting your pickup height. How to raise and lower your pickups depends on the design of the pickup. While there may seem to be a lot to remember, the actual adjustment process is a piece of cake. Experiment with the height until the desired sound and feel is achieved. For this post, I’ll be setting up a “Burny Super Grade” guita... Today's blog post deals with setting up a Stratocaster tremolo unit only. Have any ideas of what i am doing wrong? I can't get it under 2 mm on the low side and 1,5 mm on the other (strings fretted). Well, you can take the pickguard off and adjust it while in your hands or buy longer screws for the pickups. Nashville Telecaster Pickups: What You Need to Know, The Best Guitar Pickups for Metal: Classic Metal, 3 Popular Treble Bleed Mods: What You Need to Know. However, many players have taken advantage of their unique mounting system and placed standard ink pen springs around the pickups’ mounting screws. Using a 6\" (150 mm) ruler, measure the distance between bottom of strings and top of the 17th fret. And be sure not to put the pickguard back on before you know you’re happy, or you’ll be pulling it right back off again. 185 sold. Thanks for a great and straightforward writeup. Includes bridge pickup, fittings, box and wiring diagram. Strat pickups are adjusted a lot like humbuckers. But if you do, dropping the pickup away from the string is all it takes to remedy the situation. If you want to be super-precise, there’s a special measuring device available called a string action gauge. Congratulations and thanks for letting us know how you got on. But you will be surprised with how many tones are inside your pickups and how much better your guitar will perform. The screws won't go any further. Pickup height is a critical element of your guitar’s tone. For most guitars and basses, I recommend you set your bridge pickup height first. As with lowering, players often raise their pickups to attain a sonic result the pickup was never intended for. So we figured we should dissect the subject a bit. Try adjusting the neck and middle pickups to the same height as the bridge pickup, then fine tune the neck and middle, if you like how the bridge is sounding. Filing the string grooves with a nut-slotting file. Using a 6\" (150 mm) ruler, measure the distance between bottom of strings and top of the 17th fret. My preferrence is to have the bridge pickup quite close to the strings and the neck lower down, with the treble string pole pieces up … Once those are set up where I want them (checking for string buzz up and down the neck) I hold the radius gauge on the strings just in front of the saddles and adjust them till each string sits flush with it. I wish i could at least get to the fender manual settings (2,4/2,0). Same bridge-first order applies to most other guitars and to basses. Really pokey 12.98k pickup, and hasn’t left the box! The height of the overall pickup influences the sound best - and then adjust the pole pieces in the pickup for your preferred balance. A Fender Jaguar’s pickups are adjusted very similarly to a Jazzmaster. I replaced the supports to give a bit more height for the pickup. First, check tuning. Now that your pickups are adjusted to factory spec, we’ll bet it’s already playing and sounding better! Adjust bridge saddles to the height according to the chart, then re-tune. Check and adjust the saddle height Firstly check and, if necessary, adjust the low (thick) E string height. This will help avoid drastic output changes when toggling between switch positions. Hi Stu, I have raised the neck pickup about 2 mm and it sound great and the same volume as the bridge pickup. I found it because i am having trouble on lowering my neck pickup. So give each of your instruments’ pickup adjustment the time it deserves, and you’ll be well rewarded. Try lowering the bass side of the neck and middle. Thanks for the advice and really the confidence to do the work. The neck pickup on this Telecaster needs to be raised. It was a friend's 44th birthday a while back, so I decided to make a quick pedal for him. What guitar/pickup is that? My Eclipse's EMG pickup height came way low from the factory and it sounded okay. So don’t be afraid to dig right in. Hi Eric, it sounds like you have a 22-fret neck there. Second: Using the directions above, raise or lower both sides of your pickup together to achieve the signal strength you desire. Sorry about all those questions and about my english, but i'd be really glad if i could get some help on that. Why do we bring this up? I've tried to adjust the neck pickup on my tele but the pick guard goes under the neck almost rebated under there. Unfortunately, by attempting to solve those issues, moving the pickup’s magnets further from the strings causes new ones. The neck pickup on a telecaster is held in place by the pickguard much like the bridge plate held down the bridge pickup. The first and most obvious is weaker output. For those who haven’t, keep those pickups in check and let’s hope you never do. Think of it as a customizable version of the staggered pole pieces you’ll find on many vintage and vintage-style Fender single-coils. Also, like ring-mounted humbuckers, be sure and not lower them too much or you risk dropping them into the pickup cavity. Some include, natural movement over time, dropping them out of the way of your picking hand, and looking to reduce the output of a particularly aggressive model. But the most frustrating outcome of this mistake are dreaded Wolf Tones. Otherwise you'd need a differently shaped pickguard and, more importantly, a differently cut neck pocket on the guitar body. We’ve all spent a fortune and countless hours chasing the ever-elusive tone in our heads. You’ll never make an active Blackout humbucker sound like an Antiquity Strat set. And believe it or not, vibration and generally handling can cause pickups to move over time An improperly adjusted pickup will have a massive, negative impact on your guitar’s tone, performance, and tuning stability. The neck shouldn't really be causing any pressure on the pickguard itself, since this could cause the 22nd fret to be pushed up, so in theory you should be able to slide the pickguard out back the ways (towards the bridge).