I’ve set up 1000s of guitars (literally) in a shop for the past 20 years. This is the textbook way of setting traditional Strat pickup height and sounds good 99% of the time. If you have personal tweaks this is the base from where you start from. Also worth noting that practically every Stratocaster pickup maker uses this somewhat standard height in the design stage of their pickups… Meaning if you want to know what Seymour intended a set of Antiquity Strat Pickups to sound like, he more than likely was using these pickup heights as the reference point. Thanks for making this video. There is so much noise and opinion on the internet , sometimes the tried and true basics get lost in the static.
Very good and straight tutorial. I actually like the point of having a BASIC setting, depending on actual measurements, and from THAT go ahead and make adjustments by ear. Also I find the tip of reducing height rather than increasing very helpful to keep a minimum distance between the string and magnetic field. Makes a lot of sense! Thank you.
Have got a “Partscaster” Strat I put together with an Alder Squier body, Mighty Mite neck, GFS “Shorty” Steel block, Fender bent steel saddles Fender Tex Mex pickups with a wiring kit from Rhoadhouse that has 250k CTS pots and Sprauge Black Beauty cap and “blender” pot, and I also added a “Base plate” to the bridge pickup! Have been struggling with pickup heights as a height that improved one area was detrimental to another! Have used the settings provided here and it all seems to have come together! The clean funky tones sound sweet, particularly positions 2&4 with the tone backed off slightly and the driven tones have real bite that fatten up nicely with the tone rolled off a bit! Thanks for the advice!
Thank you very much for this information. I am glad that you said to turn on the lights because I was sitting in complete darkness trying to measure them. 👀
Thanks Paul, you are so right about making millions of adjustments and forget to enjoy playing the guitar, as I’ve experienced too. I’ve been playing with your Chris Buck pickups after installing them today and was interested in your recommendations of pickup height and here I am. I’ll use your recommended ones here and just leave It I think. Your pickups have great dynamics, it took me by surprise - well I’m gonna be playing my Strat with your new pickups for a while now to get into them, it’s like getting a new guitar. Cheers and thanks for posting this video.
I have playd stratocaster for 35 years. And most people raice pickups there pickup too high. I set my pickups in general pretty low. Why? It don't interfere whit strings so much then and the guitar ring out the tone more open. I set en gently around 1/4inch or 6,5-7mm. That's the tips from me.
Same with me.. i don't know why many people set the pickup 2mm.. as we know hard to find the right tune at 12 fret.. even i set for 3mm trble side & 3.5 bass side, the third G string and low E still attracted to the magnet
Many thanks for your advice and measurements. I've set all my various pickups as you suggested and great tones indeed. Also I will now forget this and cease my continual fettling. 👍👍
Any measurement is just a general starting point, All guitars are slightly different, as well as player preferences. People think there are set rules, this is not the case. Set them where they sound best for you.
This video is exactly what I needed. Wish I'd found it 10 years ago! I've been doing the height based on my ear and it's never great. Pumped to try their measurementd
You can use a capiler rule to help measure the distance (set it up to 2.0mm or 2.2mm and use the depth measurement rod to judge the distance between the string and the pickup magnet).
That's what I did. I measured the thickness of the string and added that to the measurement since my caliper was measuring from the top of the string to the pole piece.
By fretting the last fret, isn't that not taking into consideration the action height? What if the action on two different guitars are 2mm off? Then when you hit the string open or say at the 3rd fret way up the guitar the distance from the pick-up will be different. If you understand what I mean. Wouldn't it be better to just set the pick-up height based on the strings in the open position. Thanks for the video, :)
What about Stratitus? Warbling high notes from magnetic pull? That needs to be dealt with by lowering the pickups away. Usually this is eccentuated by higher gain sounds and when you have a humbucker in the bridge the middle and neck singles can make the sound warble and it sounds very annoying.
This is basically Fender specs for vintage pickups which certainly not a bad start but it really depends on how hard you play your guitar. For me personally the Fender specs are a bit too high for me but that's because I like to play my guitar a bit harder to hear the dynamics of the single coil pickups.
I got confused... at first you say that the bridge pickup should be higher than the neck pick and the middle pickup to be somewhere in the midle of the two, and then you say that I should set the same height for all pickups. Which one is right?
…but what about the staggered pole pieces in many Strat pickups? You may get the high e and low E all dialled in but the other 4 strings may be a different measurement depending on the poke stagger. Am I missing something?
Good advice but in my opinion most Strat pickups are to low or to high...i measure from the 12th fret, 2.25mm on E string down to 2.00mm on G string...for Fenders pickups...if done this way the pickups are lower at the neck position & higher on middle & bridge single coils...we all like a slightly different tone.....then fine set by ear keeping within 2mm - 2.3mm above pickups...works for me on bass's & guitars...
This is great and improved my guitar Sound! Thank you! There is a way to do this a bit easier and faster. I just sent you a facebook message about that.
if they end up too close to the strings, the magnents can pull on the strings and make it sound like the intonation is off. They dont need to be that close to the strings.
IMHO, there's just no substitute for using your ear to set output via height as the tonal differences are huge. I'd suggest starting with pickups flat/level/no bass or treble tilt, adjusted as far away from the strings/deep into the body as they go, listen and adjust one pickup at a time. Raise the pickup until you hear the most pleasing tone (for me, I prefer the tone when pickups are set low, nearly level with the pickguard). From there, balance the bass and treble output of the pickup to your taste by raising or lowering the bass or treble side based on the needed increase or reduction in bass or treble. I tend to have the bass side set very low and the treble side a good 2mm higher because that's what my ears like. Finally, check output balance between all pickup selector positions and make any fine-tuning adjustments while maintaining any pickup angle/tilt established from listening to the pickups individually. This gets me the clucky stringy quacky clean strat tone that I love, much more even string response, and much smoother overdrive tones. Dan makes a solid case for low-set pickups: ruclips.net/video/oAe1vatPpzA/видео.html
Chris bucks pickup height is much lower, like 1/4 inch, like me. Technicians work on science, what's optimum output without ghosting or magnetic pull, whereas players base it on feel and expression. I have a dynamic right hand and dig in with a thick pick, so low set pickups work best, less hand and pick noise
Brilliant clear and really interesting. Really impressed by the tone Chris Buck is getting and I'm tempted to swap my cs texas specials for a set of idcb's. Is it right there is a different set for maple or rosewood boards? Great job, one more subscription 👍
Excellent video with some good information. Unfortunately, the sound quality of the video is very poor. Sounds like you are speaking inside a steel drum. Aside from that, good job.
Hi Gene, with difficulty is the answer to that question, ha! Fortunately my ruler has increments in half mms so I work on a basis of just under the halfway point between 2 and 2.5mm which takes a bit of doing but is possible. Lots of light in the too. But as you suggest it's a guideline indeed. Paul @ Radioshop
Gene Hullinger if you go to most d I y stores they do packers or shims some people call em , wot they are is plastic pieces for packing out door and window frames when installing them an they come in all different sizes from one mm up to ten mm thick , I would have thought this might be easer than looking at a ruler
I am correct about this one thing...Do Not!. adjust a quarter turn at a time. Just a 32nd or a 64th or whatever, but very gradual. You could pass, your perfect sound. Little twicks!!!
How u come to 2mm and 2,2mm? Different SC got different outputs. Some players play with high energy and the strings more vibrating, some play like pussies. On my MIM Strat the polepieces are set up different as US strats (what is a big plus of the MIMs). How u will calculate this? When u want set up your PUs use a screwdriver and your ears first! Sure treble side is bit higher, thats a useful rule. But saying so and so much millimeters is rubbish. And had u in mind that the middle pickup need some special setup for the position 2 and 4 sound quacky (if wanted)?
This is a cool tutorial but why is it so hard to use a Fender American Standard Stratocaster with Stock Pickups? ...all tutorials are made with modified guitars with absurd pickups or guitars by different brands...
Filippo Mazzini It shouldn’t be any different at all. G&L is pretty much a Fender 2 There’s absolutely no difference between what you would do with an “absurd”(?) pickup and a stock one. It is still a single coil
Mike J747 I’m sorry but No I’m not I’m from south uk and that’s what it’s called there. I know in places like the u.s they call it a Phillips head but there you go 😀
@@unclebigkid1020 Ok, my bad. Here(USA) we call it a Phillips tip and there is also the Reed and Prince tip, which has a deeper point on it and makes it basically worthless on most screws because it strips them quick, even if it's not tight. Thanks for the correction.
@@unclebigkid1020 I know, and I didn't take it that way. I'm familiar with a lot of English sayings and differences. Plan to make my way their one day.
The actual measurements are given at 6:12. They are 2.2 mm on bass side & 2.0 mm on treble side. Thank me later
Thanks!
Legend
God almighty thanks. He just wouldn't get on with.
you are the man!
From the US and I wish we would just go metric already. Awesome tips thanks!
I’ve set up 1000s of guitars (literally) in a shop for the past 20 years. This is the textbook way of setting traditional Strat pickup height and sounds good 99% of the time. If you have personal tweaks this is the base from where you start from.
Also worth noting that practically every Stratocaster pickup maker uses this somewhat standard height in the design stage of their pickups… Meaning if you want to know what Seymour intended a set of Antiquity Strat Pickups to sound like, he more than likely was using these pickup heights as the reference point.
Thanks for making this video. There is so much noise and opinion on the internet , sometimes the tried and true basics get lost in the static.
A guy from the UK using metric, I'm really impressed! Thanks for your video man!
Frank Meffert No worries, Frank! We actually like to use both, ha :)
wot? I'm an engineer and been using SI units since 1974!
@@totaltwit you will probably never join the modern world ;)
Frankybøy
Now, if we could just get them to drive on the correct side of the road.........
does anyone still not use metric?
Very good and straight tutorial. I actually like the point of having a BASIC setting, depending on actual measurements, and from THAT go ahead and make adjustments by ear. Also I find the tip of reducing height rather than increasing very helpful to keep a minimum distance between the string and magnetic field. Makes a lot of sense! Thank you.
Natalie Pauls No problem at all Natalie, thank you for your feedback! :)
Have got a “Partscaster” Strat I put together with an Alder Squier body, Mighty Mite neck, GFS “Shorty” Steel block, Fender bent steel saddles Fender Tex Mex pickups with a wiring kit from Rhoadhouse that has 250k CTS pots and Sprauge Black Beauty cap and “blender” pot, and I also added a “Base plate” to the bridge pickup!
Have been struggling with pickup heights as a height that improved one area was detrimental to another!
Have used the settings provided here and it all seems to have come together!
The clean funky tones sound sweet, particularly positions 2&4 with the tone backed off slightly and the driven tones have real bite that fatten up nicely with the tone rolled off a bit!
Thanks for the advice!
Hi Paul thank you for your video regarding setting the pick ups on a Strat. Very easy to follow and very useful.
Thank you very much for this information. I am glad that you said to turn on the lights because I was sitting in complete darkness trying to measure them. 👀
Well that won't help at all 🤣
These are the absolute perfect settings for my American original series 60’s strat! It has 64 reissue pickups in it. Thanks for this
Detailed and affective while keeping it simple. Big thanks to you!
Effective
Love this! Best and easiest example of how to set up your pickups on youtube. Thank you.
Takes a long time to get there, but the measurements are a great starting point. Just did both my strats and it does sound better.
Thanks Paul, you are so right about making millions of adjustments and forget to enjoy playing the guitar, as I’ve experienced too. I’ve been playing with your Chris Buck pickups after installing them today and was interested in your recommendations of pickup height and here I am. I’ll use your recommended ones here and just leave It I think. Your pickups have great dynamics, it took me by surprise - well I’m gonna be playing my Strat with your new pickups for a while now to get into them, it’s like getting a new guitar. Cheers and thanks for posting this video.
Thank you so much for your comment Denis! Glad to hear you're enjoying :) Paul
I have playd stratocaster for 35 years. And most people raice pickups there pickup too high. I set my pickups in general pretty low. Why? It don't interfere whit strings so much then and the guitar ring out the tone more open. I set en gently around 1/4inch or 6,5-7mm. That's the tips from me.
Same with me.. i don't know why many people set the pickup 2mm.. as we know hard to find the right tune at 12 fret.. even i set for 3mm trble side & 3.5 bass side, the third G string and low E still attracted to the magnet
Many thanks for your advice and measurements. I've set all my various pickups as you suggested and great tones indeed. Also I will now forget this and cease my continual fettling. 👍👍
this video really helped we were doing this for hours
Any measurement is just a general starting point, All guitars are slightly different, as well as player preferences. People think there are set rules, this is not the case. Set them where they sound best for you.
This video is exactly what I needed. Wish I'd found it 10 years ago! I've been doing the height based on my ear and it's never great. Pumped to try their measurementd
We still call it a Philip's head screwdriver, and mm does make more sense in these measurements.
You can use a capiler rule to help measure the distance (set it up to 2.0mm or 2.2mm and use the depth measurement rod to judge the distance between the string and the pickup magnet).
That's what I did. I measured the thickness of the string and added that to the measurement since my caliper was measuring from the top of the string to the pole piece.
By fretting the last fret, isn't that not taking into consideration the action height? What if the action on two different guitars are 2mm off? Then when you hit the string open or say at the 3rd fret way up the guitar the distance from the pick-up will be different. If you understand what I mean. Wouldn't it be better to just set the pick-up height based on the strings in the open position. Thanks for the video, :)
Ja, that's what I thought as well. Or maybe fretting the 7th or 12th fret instead to get a more even sound along the fretboard.
You should set pickup height AFTER you’ve done a proper setup on the guitar
@@onixtheone People still opt for different "proper setups" so the comment still stands.
This is a great video. Anything else is up to you
Thanks Radioshop ⚓️ For the Yanks … a reasonable $$ rule from General Tool the No. 311-me. 😎
What about Stratitus? Warbling high notes from magnetic pull? That needs to be dealt with by lowering the pickups away. Usually this is eccentuated by higher gain sounds and when you have a humbucker in the bridge the middle and neck singles can make the sound warble and it sounds very annoying.
This is basically Fender specs for vintage pickups which certainly not a bad start but it really depends on how hard you play your guitar. For me personally the Fender specs are a bit too high for me but that's because I like to play my guitar a bit harder to hear the dynamics of the single coil pickups.
I have a bullet stratocaster which has a humbucker is a HSS configuration. Should the humbucker also be the same height?
I got confused... at first you say that the bridge pickup should be higher than the neck pick and the middle pickup to be somewhere in the midle of the two, and then you say that I should set the same height for all pickups. Which one is right?
Thank you so much! This was very helpful for me to set up my own pickup height
1:00 no need to apologize. As a U.S. citizen I'll be the first to say metric is a better system of measurement.
Got to say, I like my pickups lower than that.
Can you please tell me the height of kinman hmv pick ups as no one at the moment can help thanks Colin
Can you use the flat side of a squirrel’s gelled tail, paralleled against the moon to optimise pick-up height kind sir?
…but what about the staggered pole pieces in many Strat pickups? You may get the high e and low E all dialled in but the other 4 strings may be a different measurement depending on the poke stagger. Am I missing something?
Staggered for the radius.
This was damn helpful! Finally got my VMOD pickups set to a height I like
Good advice but in my opinion most Strat pickups are to low or to high...i measure from the 12th fret, 2.25mm on E string down to 2.00mm on G string...for Fenders pickups...if done this way the pickups are lower at the neck position & higher on middle & bridge single coils...we all like a slightly different tone.....then fine set by ear keeping within 2mm - 2.3mm above pickups...works for me on bass's & guitars...
This is great and improved my guitar Sound! Thank you! There is a way to do this a bit easier and faster. I just sent you a facebook message about that.
why not share it here?
if they end up too close to the strings, the magnents can pull on the strings and make it sound like the intonation is off. They dont need to be that close to the strings.
cut to the chase at 3:33
You are apologising for using metric? You're apologising to the antiquated 4 percent of the world? Why?
hahaha i know right
We'll switch to metric when you start driving on the right side of the road!
Deal?
@@haywoodjablomy1361 only like 4 countries in the world drive on the left, but 96% use metric
@@venda4123
First off, it was a joke.
Secondly, that was the point of the joke.
@@haywoodjablomy1361 Fuck I was r/wooshed and I didn´t even notice it :dddd
IMHO, there's just no substitute for using your ear to set output via height as the tonal differences are huge. I'd suggest starting with pickups flat/level/no bass or treble tilt, adjusted as far away from the strings/deep into the body as they go, listen and adjust one pickup at a time. Raise the pickup until you hear the most pleasing tone (for me, I prefer the tone when pickups are set low, nearly level with the pickguard). From there, balance the bass and treble output of the pickup to your taste by raising or lowering the bass or treble side based on the needed increase or reduction in bass or treble. I tend to have the bass side set very low and the treble side a good 2mm higher because that's what my ears like. Finally, check output balance between all pickup selector positions and make any fine-tuning adjustments while maintaining any pickup angle/tilt established from listening to the pickups individually. This gets me the clucky stringy quacky clean strat tone that I love, much more even string response, and much smoother overdrive tones. Dan makes a solid case for low-set pickups:
ruclips.net/video/oAe1vatPpzA/видео.html
Haha, inches, we love them! Great video thanks!
How do you set pickup height for single coil pickups with closed covers, eg new Squier Sonic Mustang?
Thank you for this video. It really help.
Chris bucks pickup height is much lower, like 1/4 inch, like me. Technicians work on science, what's optimum output without ghosting or magnetic pull, whereas players base it on feel and expression. I have a dynamic right hand and dig in with a thick pick, so low set pickups work best, less hand and pick noise
Can you list those 2 starting points in millimeters for each pickup please.
Excellent as always
Thanks dude makes more sense than by ear.
David McGhee Thank you David!
I can't find the right tune on fret 12 if i sett bass side 2.2 mm
Very clear, big help in replacing my pickups
Brilliant clear and really interesting. Really impressed by the tone Chris Buck is getting and I'm tempted to swap my cs texas specials for a set of idcb's. Is it right there is a different set for maple or rosewood boards? Great job, one more subscription 👍
Try fitting a base plate to the bridge pickup, Chris’s set has one and I’ve added one to my Fender Tex Mex, has made a big improvement!
Thanks for this helpful video. Much appreciated!
great mate, tell how can i get my strat to sound like a strat and a telecaster, do i have to change any pickups, etc, thanks from perth australia.
Try fitting a “base plate” to the bridge pickup or fit a Seymour Duncan Twangbanger! which already has one fitted!
Hi Paul, I love English people. 🎉
He’s welsh! 🤣
How many millimeters is 1/258th?
Very useful info, thanks for sharing !
What do we do about a humbucker on a HSS strat
I am so ordering a set of Buck pickups for my birthday.
Thank you Gg Gyg! Will be our pleasure to get making for you 🙏
thanks for your service great 👍
Great video. Thank you!!!
Excellent video with some good information. Unfortunately, the sound quality of the video is very poor. Sounds like you are speaking inside a steel drum. Aside from that, good job.
Heard him load and clear. Video quality was great for the visuals so in short I don’t see a need to comment on a the sound quality.
thankyou so much great video
Neck and brigde pickup are same measurement right?
Thank you❤
North America also uses metric. That's the US you're thinking of ^^
Amazing tip! 🤘
ممنون
saeed mohammadi Well said!
My guitar 1string sounds low. How to adjust.
The two small Allen screws on the bridge saddle!
great thanks
How do you measure .2mm ? I realize that this is only a starting point as tone is subjective.
Hi Gene, with difficulty is the answer to that question, ha! Fortunately my ruler has increments in half mms so I work on a basis of just under the halfway point between 2 and 2.5mm which takes a bit of doing but is possible. Lots of light in the too. But as you suggest it's a guideline indeed. Paul @ Radioshop
Gene Hullinger if you go to most d I y stores they do packers or shims some people call em , wot they are is plastic pieces for packing out door and window frames when installing them an they come in all different sizes from one mm up to ten mm thick , I would have thought this might be easer than looking at a ruler
@@peterwright5249 Cheers for that. As we get older the eyesight isn't what it used to be. I'll definitely give it a go.
Gene Hullinger l
@@peterwright5249 totally with you on this - shims or feeler gauges are easier and more accurate than trying to judge 0.2mm on a ruler
Why cant anyone just explain basic concept like pickups close to the string = More volume? Idk! Is It the opposite?
the first 4 minutes could have been left off ,,,,or maybe change the title to "my views on pickup height philosophy"
Video starts at 4:30 bth
Hi Paul can I ask wot height chris buck as his pickups set at??
Mark Wright Yes indeed, it's exactly as this video so 2.2mm bass side and 2.0mm treble side. Hope that helps, Mark - Paul :)
Great stuff cheers Paul, looking at getting a id cb set in the near future they sound awesome!!!
Thank you very much Mark, we'll be more than happy to get making for you when you're ready :)
Hey mate it’s only them Yankees who use imp measurements
We use both here in the UK! Well I do anyway!
I am correct about this one thing...Do Not!. adjust a quarter turn at a time.
Just a 32nd or a 64th or whatever, but very gradual. You could pass, your perfect sound. Little twicks!!!
Lol only in your imagination super Sonic ears.
I have only watched 1:40 min of your video and I already think you are a bright man. Screw the imperial system that makes no sense at all.
Pickup high is increase gain
6:19 into vid finally some instruction ffs
Thank you for your comment Kiit, what does ffs mean?
@@RadioshopPickups lol
Thanks!! OMG....
@@RadioshopPickups LMAO
Children are very impatient, aren’t they?
We are FINE with mm in the US because we have guns. Its just the ones that start with kilo that we don't like. 😂
How u come to 2mm and 2,2mm? Different SC got different outputs. Some players play with high energy and the strings more vibrating, some play like pussies. On my MIM Strat the polepieces are set up different as US strats (what is a big plus of the MIMs). How u will calculate this?
When u want set up your PUs use a screwdriver and your ears first! Sure treble side is bit higher, thats a useful rule. But saying so and so much millimeters is rubbish.
And had u in mind that the middle pickup need some special setup for the position 2 and 4 sound quacky (if wanted)?
excellent video... but don't apologize for not using an obsolete system for the 96% of the world
11 minutes for that?!
Don’t agree with the pickup heights. They need to be lower. Most pro strat players have them as low as they can
This is a cool tutorial but why is it so hard to use a Fender American Standard Stratocaster with Stock Pickups? ...all tutorials are made with modified guitars with absurd pickups or guitars by different brands...
Filippo Mazzini It shouldn’t be any different at all. G&L is pretty much a Fender 2
There’s absolutely no difference between what you would do with an “absurd”(?) pickup and a stock one. It is still a single coil
I call it a star screwdriver.
Then you're wrong.
Mike J747 I’m sorry but No I’m not I’m from south uk and that’s what it’s called there. I know in places like the u.s they call it a Phillips head but there you go 😀
@@unclebigkid1020 Ok, my bad. Here(USA) we call it a Phillips tip and there is also the Reed and Prince tip, which has a deeper point on it and makes it basically worthless on most screws because it strips them quick, even if it's not tight. Thanks for the correction.
Mike J747 I hope you know I wasn’t trying to patronise you 😀 different countries call things different things e.g socker to you is football to me. 👍
@@unclebigkid1020 I know, and I didn't take it that way. I'm familiar with a lot of English sayings and differences. Plan to make my way their one day.
Tweeking , Tweeking, Volume check Volume check, Tweeking Tweeking Volume check . 2.3mm & 2.0 mm.
He talks for five minutes! take a phillips screwdriver, screw in to raise, unscrew to lower. DUH!
Damn paul.. for next time, talk less, do more.. on to the next video :)
you need a better mike
You should practice talking without making smacking sounds. It's really annoying.
Thanks Daniel, I'm working on it :)
Ha ha. Good one.
2.?????...... .2mm🤣🤣🤣
ohh FFS get on with it
Thank you for your feedback Murray 😎
Lol. Frustrating isn’t it? I was thinking is it just me or is this guy holding back information that we want to know?
Nice tip, but you talk too much.
Thank you by the way.
stopped listening because it was to quiet
blah blah until about 4 minutes in...
You talk too much!
Five wasted min og talking
To much talking😥
Damn, the things they don't teach us in school; very great video bdw!!! 👍🤎
What height humbacker fender hss?