You sir are doing the Scientific Method justice. Easily the best guitar comparison channel I've found. You go through the effort of playing the same riffs at the same settings only adjusting one variable at a time.
And leaving irrelevancies out such as distortion pedals. He’s great huh? And as in science he explores only those questions which are worth asking. Great scientists think of new questions and he does that too👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
This is a VERY good example of how one can change their tone by just adjusting the P/U height. I have always been amazed by the difference it can have, but it took a long time for me to realize just how much of an effect it really had. Nowadays with the internet there are so many questions answered we used to just struggle through. You have done I'm sure, many newer and novice electric guitar players a great service with this video. Thanks!
Same! I have a charvel guitar from the 90s I got as my first guitar and it has these factory flat back emg looking pickups on it, I've never been able to get any hi gain tones out of it my hole life, like I would unplug it and compare it to another guitar and it would sound gain where my charvel sounds clean, Well I had this theory about raising the pickups and it fixed that "issue" with back to back testing compared to my lp it now has all the harmonic properties and can do pinch squeals and have sustain like a typical humbucker guitar! This video was recalling inspiring and reassuring
For a more direct dynamic comparison, I plotted timestamps for those curious (mostly for me, but shared for y'all!) Riff 1: Lo @10 - @1:54 Mid @7 - @2:29 Hi @5 - @3:04 Riff 2: Lo @10 - @3:39 Mid @7 - @4:31 Hi @5 - @5:26 Riff 3: Lo @10 - @6:27 Mid @7 - @7:09 Hi @5 - @8:04 Riff 4: Lo @10 - @8:50 Mid @7 - @9:30 Hi @5 - @10:11 Enjoy!
I liked the middle setting on all of these. The furthest setting yielded cleaner tones and the closest the darker and more overdriven tones. The middle seemed a nice blend of both. Good job brother! I appreciate this!
I spent 8 hours a couple days ago setting the pickup height on two identical Strats with Gold Lace Sensor pickups. It was an awesome opportunity to compare different pickup heights. I found that really low pickups experience a tremendous volume drop. And that raising them up a little brought the volume up quickly.....to a point. And then raising them didn't raise the volume much anymore. This was obviously the sweet spot, where we get good volume and good sustain. And the guitars both sounded their best with the pickups there. With the strings fretted at the 22nd fret, I could fit a dime and a nickel stacked between the strings and poles. A little lower than factory specs, but certainly an improvement.
Good point, but if you want a clean sound from a certain pickup it's better to put it not so close from the string. But I don't know how Lace sensor pickups sounds in thet position. My standard fender Reissue 57 sounds better a little down from that point
Excellent subject for a video and very will executed too. This video makes it so easy to hear what pick-up position can do to your tone and volume. - Thanks.
On a non master volume head the volume knob is really the gain knob, from s circuit point of view. So pick up height is really adjusting the level at which you are hitting the front end. In a master volume head, you can adjust pickup height for tonality and adjust the gain for headroom and then adjust master volume for absolute volume levels
Man, I still praise the day I discovered your channel. With so many channels nowadays posting content just for money, your work is truly creative, genuine, art! Have a wonderful day, Johan, and take care ; )
This is an excellent video! Thanks for making it. For me, the lowest pickup height sounded the best with the higher amp gain settings. As the gain on the amp went down, I leaned towards the middle pickup height. The highest pickup setting sounded like crap to me at all times. No dynamic range at all and too trebly, like when a needle used to skip across a vinyl record.
I knew this was going to be really helpful like EVERY vid you make. I was surprised how critical pick up height is to getting overdrive and how a little tone is lost at the highest pick up position. Many thanks
Hahaha, love how is intros remind me of old journalists from the 60s-80s standing awkwardly and holding a mic upright. The swedish accent adds to the charm. Love your channel man! Keep up with the good work!
Johan , hello from Texas !I've watched at least 20 of your videos and I learned something from each of them , all I can say is , you my friend are a BADASS ! Thanks for putting all these experiments on RUclips for us to learn from !
Middle pickup height sounded best to me. More dynamic range and less "woofy" than the high height but more aggressive than the lowest height. That's about where I've got my Les Paul pickups adjusted currently and I've gotta say that my guitar sounds so much better compared to where I had the pickups before (only a couple millimeters away from the strings, way too high).
Fantastic topic. The pickup height seems to effect the eq quite a bit more drastically than I would have expected. The transient response being the most changed. Very informative as always!
Nobody spreads the details like Johan the Brohan. While every else is trying to sell the product they have , my man is answering my questions like he's been in my mind. Even if that's HIS "product", it's exactly what we all want. Thanks my man.
What a great timing! I started to experiment a little with pickup height today on my Epiphone Les Paul Special II, also black edition. I hadn't thought of how much of a change it could do. The pickups were set quite low from factory. Tack så mycket!
this vid is a good resource for this topic..I liked it low for the high gain settings and medium seemed to be the best for all around amp settings. High pups took something away from the dynamics and added some harshness. Fantastic video, thank you for taking the time.
One of the biggest problems of raising your pickups too close to the strings is the magnetic pull actually interfering with the string natural vibration and acting as a "damper"
Interesting experiment. Remember to lower the pickups after setting up the guitar for lower action. I lowered the bridge on my SG and the guitar sounded really bad. I forgot to lower the pickups as well. Try putting your amp gain and master around 6 or 7, and gradually lower the pickups until you get a nice rich tone. Something to remember after lowering the strings.
Very interesting test! Always new, yet interesting videos here! Tackar, Johan! Du är mycket produktiv, och alt är helt positiv! Jag hoppas bästa för din channel!
Whoa. Johan. I've been watching your vids the last few weeks and honestly, you make the most relevant and helpful videos! And they're all entertaining! Thanks so much!
I gotta say, if you're looking for gain the higher the pickup the better off you are. Great demo! Johan you think up some awesome video demo's! So glad I subscribed to your site! As always I'm eagerly waiting your next demo's! I also enjoy your playing very much.
crazy,i adjusted my pickups this morning before i saw this vid. this confirmed what my ears heard after the adjustment and that is; medium height sound the best to my ear... good gain and clear string definition. good job ace! ;)
Fact is you don't want that pickup to high and you don't want it to low. You need some breathing room for dynamics. This is a good illustration of that. The middle placement yields the best control and dynamics. Next it's on to pole height and orientation. So let's go! Johan you da man
Johan Segeborn from what I've researched and tried I like the bridge pickup (LP) 1/16" and the neck further down. Then set the radius so all poles are that measurement from the strings. Finally, adjust by ear to balance the strings during a Chord. Usually G and B go down a bit as they seem to stand out.
Actually the middle placement was which I liked the less in this video. Doesn't have the clearness and definition of the lower position neither the punch and aggression of the highest one.
Gabe King Whatever works for you is great Gabe. Perhaps I should have left the facts out of it. I know what I want to hear and feel when I pick up a les Paul. Of course these are all just personal preference. Thanks to Johan we all get to see and hear the outcome of all these great experiments.
Finally a great comparison on this topic. Personally i set my 498t pickup approximately like you set the medium position, while i set the paf style pickup in my epiphone a bit closer so that my rig sounds good with both!
Lars Sig yeah 498t sounds horrible and shrill too close but really good when backed off a bit! Also I changed the volume pots too 500k. Big mistake made it sound shrill and thin going back to originals!
He gets more dynamics with the pickups up high and can use touch to make it a soft attack and strumming or pick harder for a full hard on attack ! John cranks amp up like no one else testing !
Great just as you thought you had your gear all figured out, this video comes along. Now we have to adjust our guitars' pickup height depending upon how much clean headroom you want for the stage volumes you are working at. Or have one guitar with really high pickups for real quiet gigs, all the way up to pickups way far down from the strings for those gigs with multiple 100 watt stacks going full blast.
I used to crank the pickups right up under the strings. Fizzes up the sound and makes the picking response mushy. These days I have them sticking just up past the top of the pickup rings. Enough to look like a sheet cake sitting there. Perfect.
Having grown up in an era where guitarists were told to slam the pickup as close to the strings as possible, I guess I ended up rebelling against that -- I've always backed my pickups off from the strings, especially since I graduated to heavier strings. I get more tonal range that way. It depends on the guitar, amp and pickup, of course, but that goes without saying. Good demo vid here. Informative and helpful.
Oh, nice video, I found the same thing testing my pickups. I must say, this video is amazing to clarify the differences in heights, it all depends on your style, what you are looking for. In my case, as I said it's the middle setup, not too far nor near. I got the best blend of both. (In my case, SG + BOSS SOD + Marshall 2203 + 1960Bx Celestion Greenback 25W)
The optimum height for humbucker pickups is achieved like this. Press all of the strings down at the last fret and adjust the pickups, measure from the top of the pickup to the bottom of the string until you're at 1/16th of an inch at the bridge and 3/32 at the neck. Then adjust the pole piece screws (if you have them) on the thinnest 3 strings the difference in thickness between the high E and low E, this'll be a couple of turns of the screws depending on your string gauge. If you don't have the pole piece screws, lower the pickup on the bass strings side the same amount of difference between the high E and low E string gauge, again this'll be only a couple of turns. If you don't adjust this and the pickup is dead level, you'll have more definition on the bass strings because they'll be that bit closer to the pickups than the thinner 3 strings. Of course nothing is set in stone and some people prefer a bassier or treblier sound, so the best advice would be to get them at 1/16 at the bridge and 3/32 at the neck and use that as a starting point for your own preference. Adjusting the pickups is the easiest mod anyone can do and by listening to this video, there's quite a big difference in sound between a high pickup and a low 1. It's best not to set them too close to the strings though because the magnets can cause intonation problems if they're too close to the strings.
Jimmie Marchisotto No probs Jimmie you're welcome. A. Wagner I don't know about active ones as I've never used them, the info i posted was for regular humbuckers but if I had the active ones I'd start off with those measurements and take it from there. Some of my humbuckers are the PAF type so they're pretty low output and they sound great, i also have some a bit more powerful and they're fine too, so just see how it goes and tweak if necessary mate.
Depends on the pickups. Most of my guitars are G&L, which use MFD (Magnetic Field Design) pickups. MFD pickups utilize fewer windings around a stronger ceramic magnet, so I set them lower to minimize "string pull" and increase sustain.
Johan Segeborn I am really happy with your vid Johan, I never really thought about pup height before. But I got an old Burny Flying V this week through eBay, it's an awesome guitar but it sounded a bit dull because the pups were set very low.... I raised them last night and now it sounds awesome. There is so much we can learn through the web, just awesome :-)
At least to some pick ups it's true. I have tried different heights and there is one amongst the higher ones that you can actually feel the strings to have less sustain. It's because of the magnets heavily atracting them. If you go all the way up, or when a string is broken, you can see it stick to the pole pieces like a magnet will do. It does not happen with active pick ups as far I have seen. I usually play in hardcore punk bands and we need straight ahead gain effect so usually my favourite height is the highest possible or near, before getting to that point or loose the clarity and taste of the tone amongst the gain, and still keep some dynamics. But I also like to play other things so I think I will set up another guitar for different stuff.
Mid height seemed the most versatile and well rounded. Not too weak, not too muddy. Low sounded good on high gain amp setting, but lost its oomph without the amp cranked. High pickup sounded harsh at all gain settings. Just goes to show, set your pickup heights, folks!
that first riff had a nice, early thin lizzy tone. I think for me I like mine set somewhere between bottom out and mid way. anything higher seems to get too woofy. but it also depends on pickup type and amp gain. nice vid as always. keep up the great work.
First of all. Great demo as usual! It clearly shows how you can effect the sound signal to you amp and alter the dynamics of you pickups by simply adjust the heights! I often find the best pickup height as somewhere between the middle and high positions you used (I understand why you chose these for the demo) I try to take in to account the magnetic string pull. I am allergic to magnetic string pull which is not that obvious when riffing but more when playing lead higher up the neck. Different magnets have different string pull and it is not as simple as a2, a3,a4,a5 magnets increasing string pull and a a2 often have more stringpull than a a5 both full gaussed depending on the compound alloy of the magnets
+pleximaster Thanks man, great feedback as usual! It would be interesting to demonstrate string pull and show how it manifests itself using magnets of different strength
I love all the science non science time you take and enjoy sharing with all of us tone junkies. I have been finding that whatever a guitar gives me, I always find a way to make it sound and more importantly, feel exactly the way I want and need for whatever application I am using it for. Strings, picks are more of a concern for me as I have always used Dean Markley Blue Steels and they are not operating or making these apparently.... Fender xl 150s it is for now. Thank you again for all your exhausting work to show us subtle little things can be huge!!
Curious that I found the highest pickup height having the best sound overall. Always set my humbuckers lower, but in hindsight, it's always because I have to level them to match a single coil that's in the same guitar, or even in another guitar so that their volumes aren't that much different. Cool videos!
Victor Castro Would a boost switch help you with the single coils? I mean it's a tiny component you can add to the circuitry of the guitar. It ads more gain. I have bought one for an Epiphone but we havent installed yet.
Great video on much overlooked part of a guitar set up, to my ear dropping the mid height sample was pretty much best bang for buck for all varieties of playing styles.
Cooooool stuff. Also shows how much the guitar and its setup matter. On a side note: Usually I understand that people give thumbs down for certain videos, and I myself even wish there was an "unview"-button ;-) , but this is one of the videos where the thumbs down cannot possibly be linked to the video content, really... probably more to brain content.
Really excellent comparison! In general I notice that higher pickups give more output but the sound is very sharp and with a lot of harsh and muddy tone. On the other hand, lower pickups give less output but give more clarity and definition of notes although it have less punch with drives. I think the lowest is best for me, for balance maybe not too low or too high . Have a nice day, take care and Keep Rockin' man!
Thanks Johan Segeborn. I did not know that there was so much difference in positioning picups. I mean, I knew there were differences, but that was so, I did not know.
I love it when people actually do testing properly - well done
+Andrew Kirby Thanks!
You sir are doing the Scientific Method justice.
Easily the best guitar comparison channel I've found. You go through the effort of playing the same riffs at the same settings only adjusting one variable at a time.
+Ferretsnarf Thanks, I'm glad you like it. Cheers! Johan
And leaving irrelevancies out such as distortion pedals. He’s great huh? And as in science he explores only those questions which are worth asking. Great scientists think of new questions and he does that too👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
This is the greatest channel. It makes me so happy.
+AddR0ck Thanks, you make my day! :-)
This is a VERY good example of how one can change their tone by just adjusting the P/U height. I have always been amazed by the difference it can have, but it took a long time for me to realize just how much of an effect it really had. Nowadays with the internet there are so many questions answered we used to just struggle through. You have done I'm sure, many newer and novice electric guitar players a great service with this video. Thanks!
+Jr Bondy Thanks! I'm glad if it's useful.
Clearly demonstrates how important pickup height is to getting a good tone from your guitar. It is #1 on setting up my guitars. Thanks, well done! 🤘
I've been obsessed with this pickup height stuff lately. This video is just what I needed to see.
1:54 Low height
2:02 Mid height
2:11 High height
what do you think about the tone of each height? what's your favorite? I'm still trying to understand this stuff
Same! I have a charvel guitar from the 90s I got as my first guitar and it has these factory flat back emg looking pickups on it,
I've never been able to get any hi gain tones out of it my hole life, like I would unplug it and compare it to another guitar and it would sound gain where my charvel sounds clean,
Well I had this theory about raising the pickups and it fixed that "issue" with back to back testing compared to my lp it now has all the harmonic properties and can do pinch squeals and have sustain like a typical humbucker guitar!
This video was recalling inspiring and reassuring
For a more direct dynamic comparison, I plotted timestamps for those curious (mostly for me, but shared for y'all!)
Riff 1:
Lo @10 - @1:54
Mid @7 - @2:29
Hi @5 - @3:04
Riff 2:
Lo @10 - @3:39
Mid @7 - @4:31
Hi @5 - @5:26
Riff 3:
Lo @10 - @6:27
Mid @7 - @7:09
Hi @5 - @8:04
Riff 4:
Lo @10 - @8:50
Mid @7 - @9:30
Hi @5 - @10:11
Enjoy!
Hero
Yes, tone comparison timestamps hero. Thank you
I liked the middle setting on all of these. The furthest setting yielded cleaner tones and the closest the darker and more overdriven tones. The middle seemed a nice blend of both. Good job brother! I appreciate this!
+Pershing Wells Thanks my friend!
This is the type of tests that we would do all the guitarists. Thank you, Professor.
+gabriel rojas carrillo Thanks :-)
A cranked Marshall and a Les Paul is always a thing of beauty!
+Dan Allnatt Amen to that!!
I believe that sound is the 2nd closest Man has ever come to Perfect. It's right behind baseball.
+Juicicles damn rights
American Guitars with, UK Amps all the way
I spent 8 hours a couple days ago setting the pickup height on two identical Strats with Gold Lace Sensor pickups. It was an awesome opportunity to compare different pickup heights. I found that really low pickups experience a tremendous volume drop. And that raising them up a little brought the volume up quickly.....to a point. And then raising them didn't raise the volume much anymore. This was obviously the sweet spot, where we get good volume and good sustain. And the guitars both sounded their best with the pickups there.
With the strings fretted at the 22nd fret, I could fit a dime and a nickel stacked between the strings and poles. A little lower than factory specs, but certainly an improvement.
Good point, but if you want a clean sound from a certain pickup it's better to put it not so close from the string. But I don't know how Lace sensor pickups sounds in thet position. My standard fender Reissue 57 sounds better a little down from that point
Highest height sounded best to my ears at all volumes. Very dynamic and didn't lose high end when amp volume was reduced. Awesome showcase! Thanks
Sounded progressively head cold the higher the pickups went.
Excellent subject for a video and very will executed too. This video makes it so easy to hear what pick-up position can do to your tone and volume. - Thanks.
+SnapPunch Robert Thanks! Great to hear it!
On a non master volume head the volume knob is really the gain knob, from s circuit point of view. So pick up height is really adjusting the level at which you are hitting the front end. In a master volume head, you can adjust pickup height for tonality and adjust the gain for headroom and then adjust master volume for absolute volume levels
Man, I still praise the day I discovered your channel. With so many channels nowadays posting content just for money, your work is truly creative, genuine, art! Have a wonderful day, Johan, and take care ; )
+Perry Toad Thanks my friend, that means a lot to me. Cheers :-)
Higher the better! Thanks for the time and care you put into all your vids.
Johan, your videos are indispensable for tone freaks. Thank you so much!
+Ozma2112 Thanks, that's really good to hear!
Tack för alla intressanta tester du gör. Thanks for all interestning work from you :)
+Peter Christiansson Thanks, man I'm glad you like them! :-)
This channel is quickly becoming my favorite!
+Proteus Great to hear that! :-)
This was an absolutely brilliant comparison idea and execution - Well done and thanks, Johan!
+ZEGO24x Thanks :-)
This is an excellent video! Thanks for making it. For me, the lowest pickup height sounded the best with the higher amp gain settings. As the gain on the amp went down, I leaned towards the middle pickup height. The highest pickup setting sounded like crap to me at all times. No dynamic range at all and too trebly, like when a needle used to skip across a vinyl record.
I knew this was going to be really helpful like EVERY vid you make. I was surprised how critical pick up height is to getting overdrive and how a little tone is lost at the highest pick up position. Many thanks
Hahaha, love how is intros remind me of old journalists from the 60s-80s standing awkwardly and holding a mic upright. The swedish accent adds to the charm. Love your channel man! Keep up with the good work!
Johan , hello from Texas !I've watched at least 20 of your videos and I learned something from each of them , all I can say is , you my friend are a BADASS ! Thanks for putting all these experiments on RUclips for us to learn from !
I love this channel because every tweak my mind wants to think, he's already done it. I come here, I watch, I do. luv ya
Middle pickup height sounded best to me. More dynamic range and less "woofy" than the high height but more aggressive than the lowest height. That's about where I've got my Les Paul pickups adjusted currently and I've gotta say that my guitar sounds so much better compared to where I had the pickups before (only a couple millimeters away from the strings, way too high).
Fantastic topic. The pickup height seems to effect the eq quite a bit more drastically than I would have expected. The transient response being the most changed. Very informative as always!
+Dan Honsberger Thanks Dan! :-)
Nobody spreads the details like Johan the Brohan. While every else is trying to sell the product they have , my man is answering my questions like he's been in my mind. Even if that's HIS "product", it's exactly what we all want. Thanks my man.
+Scott allen Thanks my friend, glad to hear that!
yesss! finally a a well thought of comparison between pickup height at different volumes 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
+Rockin Civic Thanks, I'm glad to hear that!
Great demo!! this really illustrates the tonal differences with PUP height adjustment well. quality clip once again Johan - Cheers!
+sim0n17 Thanks, great too hear that!
What a great timing! I started to experiment a little with pickup height today on my Epiphone Les Paul Special II, also black edition. I hadn't thought of how much of a change it could do. The pickups were set quite low from factory. Tack så mycket!
+Marcus Nilsson Tack själv! :-)
this vid is a good resource for this topic..I liked it low for the high gain settings and medium seemed to be the best for all around amp settings. High pups took something away from the dynamics and added some harshness. Fantastic video, thank you for taking the time.
+EQcable Thanks, that's really good to hear!
One of the biggest problems of raising your pickups too close to the strings is the magnetic pull actually interfering with the string natural vibration and acting as a "damper"
One thing is for sure, that amp sounds GREAT !
+chatter Thanks, it does indeed!
Interesting experiment. Remember to lower the pickups after setting up the guitar for lower action. I lowered the bridge on my SG and the guitar sounded really bad. I forgot to lower the pickups as well. Try putting your amp gain and master around 6 or 7, and gradually lower the pickups until you get a nice rich tone. Something to remember after lowering the strings.
+Paddy Mac Thanks Paddy, good advise
Very interesting test! Always new, yet interesting videos here! Tackar, Johan! Du är mycket produktiv, och alt är helt positiv! Jag hoppas bästa för din channel!
+Peli Mies Thanks, glad to hear it! :-) Tackar så mycket!
Johan, you da man! Your videos are fun, and you have the gear and patience to really geek out!
Thanks Paulo! :-)
That was thorough as hell, thanks Johan!
+Rick McCargar Thanks Rick, yeah there was some editing involved there ;-)
Super nice video as always, Johan. To me, for practically every purpose the middle position you show is the right choice. Thanks, man!
+Álvaro Escribano Thanks Álvaro!
oh wow that was very helpful! never realized the sound get that muddy when the pickup is too close! Thanks!
+Olivier Vaillancourt-Girard Thanks! :-)
Whoa. Johan. I've been watching your vids the last few weeks and honestly, you make the most relevant and helpful videos! And they're all entertaining! Thanks so much!
Wondered about this for a long time,thanks for this really helpful video.
+Anže Tomazin Thanks Anže!
I gotta say, if you're looking for gain the higher the pickup the better off you are. Great demo! Johan you think up some awesome video demo's!
So glad I subscribed to your site! As always I'm eagerly waiting your next demo's! I also enjoy your playing very much.
+Jimmie Marchisotto Thanks Jimmie, that makes me really glad man! Cheers Johan
crazy,i adjusted my pickups this morning before i saw this vid. this confirmed what my ears heard after the adjustment and that is; medium height sound the best to my ear... good gain and clear string definition. good job ace! ;)
+STEVE LEITNER Thanks man! :-)
Fact is you don't want that pickup to high and you don't want it to low. You need some breathing room for dynamics. This is a good illustration of that. The middle placement yields the best control and dynamics. Next it's on to pole height and orientation. So let's go! Johan you da man
+Amp A. Holic hahaha :-) I have never adjusted pole heights actually, do you have any tips?
Johan Segeborn from what I've researched and tried I like the bridge pickup (LP) 1/16" and the neck further down. Then set the radius so all poles are that measurement from the strings. Finally, adjust by ear to balance the strings during a Chord. Usually G and B go down a bit as they seem to stand out.
It's really very easy. I'm surprised that few people understand the principle.
Actually the middle placement was which I liked the less in this video. Doesn't have the clearness and definition of the lower position neither the punch and aggression of the highest one.
Gabe King Whatever works for you is great Gabe. Perhaps I should have left the facts out of it. I know what I want to hear and feel when I pick up a les Paul. Of course these are all just personal preference. Thanks to Johan we all get to see and hear the outcome of all these great experiments.
love it! i can hear the different albums/ guitar sounds from the gods.
+MOUNTAINWITCHTV Thanks, that's a very nice compliment! :-)
Such a well put together video, thanks so much for doing this!
+Jesse Gimbel Thanks Jesse, I'm glad you liked it!
Det låter definitivt röjigare med micken höjd till max.
Tack för en bra video! :)
+Viktor Sten Tackar, Viktor!
Great videos bro, this is very informative, its very cool to see all these different things tested out in real time.
+John Doe Thanks, I'm glad that the videos are put to some good use! Cheers
Very thorough video, great work!
+Daniel Thanks! Glad to hear it!
Finally a great comparison on this topic. Personally i set my 498t pickup approximately like you set the medium position, while i set the paf style pickup in my epiphone a bit closer so that my rig sounds good with both!
Lars Sig yeah 498t sounds horrible and shrill too close but really good when backed off a bit! Also I changed the volume pots too 500k. Big mistake made it sound shrill and thin going back to originals!
Both my les pauls came with 500k's i love em both, but i changed out almost all the hardware on my Epiphone
+Lars Sig Thanks man
Great demonstration Johan, tack så mycket!
Greetings from Norway!
+RickyboyH Thanks Ricky!
RickyboyH
Very, very, very useful and insightful video on the topic. Kudos Johan!
He gets more dynamics with the pickups up high and can use touch to make it a soft attack and strumming or pick harder for a full hard on
attack !
John cranks amp up like no one else testing !
Thank you for taking your time to do all of this testing! We really appreciate it.
Awesome as always. Thanks for the cool comparison.
+Eric Meier Thanks Eric!
excellent video! I'm getting so much more out of my setup thanks to you!
+dannybrazen Thanks Danny, that's really good to hear!
hey, glad i found your channel. i dig all the things you try out . Keep up the good fight .
+Kenny Goody Thanks Kenny, Glad to hear that!
It almost sounds like another presence control to me! Good job, Sir!
Didn't realise it made such a huge difference thanks!
+Haaris Raja Thanks!
Great just as you thought you had your gear all figured out, this video comes along. Now we have to adjust our guitars' pickup height depending upon how much clean headroom you want for the stage volumes you are working at. Or have one guitar with really high pickups for real quiet gigs, all the way up to pickups way far down from the strings for those gigs with multiple 100 watt stacks going full blast.
+VoxPathfinder15R Thanks, I want motorized pickups that can be raised and lowered in real time.
Thanks for your premium testing Johan ! To me, the medium setting provides the best compromise. Cheers !
great topic to do a video on.
I personally love the really raised pickups sound. classic van Halen tone.
great job!
+Jeff Indigo Thanks Jeff!
Johan once again great info, thank you. for my taste well the pick up closer to the strings then that's my taste and also depends on each pickup.
+William Pereira Thanks William!
I used to crank the pickups right up under the strings. Fizzes up the sound and makes the picking response mushy. These days I have them sticking just up past the top of the pickup rings. Enough to look like a sheet cake sitting there. Perfect.
Great video! Simple and to the point.
Thanks, glad to hear it!
Having grown up in an era where guitarists were told to slam the pickup as close to the strings as possible, I guess I ended up rebelling against that -- I've always backed my pickups off from the strings, especially since I graduated to heavier strings. I get more tonal range that way. It depends on the guitar, amp and pickup, of course, but that goes without saying. Good demo vid here. Informative and helpful.
By far the best pick up adjustment video on you tube thank you
Thank you Johan. Very informative. Yes, it makes a huge difference.
Oh, nice video, I found the same thing testing my pickups. I must say, this video is amazing to clarify the differences in heights, it all depends on your style, what you are looking for. In my case, as I said it's the middle setup, not too far nor near. I got the best blend of both. (In my case, SG + BOSS SOD + Marshall 2203 + 1960Bx Celestion Greenback 25W)
very killer my man! sounds very great and gives me a great perspective, thank you.
+The Fight Thanks, great to hear that!
The optimum height for humbucker pickups is achieved like this.
Press all of the strings down at the last fret and adjust the pickups, measure from the top of the pickup to the bottom of the string until you're at 1/16th of an inch at the bridge and 3/32 at the neck. Then adjust the pole piece screws (if you have them) on the thinnest 3 strings the difference in thickness between the high E and low E, this'll be a couple of turns of the screws depending on your string gauge. If you don't have the pole piece screws, lower the pickup on the bass strings side the same amount of difference between the high E and low E string gauge, again this'll be only a couple of turns.
If you don't adjust this and the pickup is dead level, you'll have more definition on the bass strings because they'll be that bit closer to the pickups than the thinner 3 strings.
Of course nothing is set in stone and some people prefer a bassier or treblier sound, so the best advice would be to get them at 1/16 at the bridge and 3/32 at the neck and use that as a starting point for your own preference. Adjusting the pickups is the easiest mod anyone can do and by listening to this video, there's quite a big difference in sound between a high pickup and a low 1. It's best not to set them too close to the strings though because the magnets can cause intonation problems if they're too close to the strings.
I do it by ear
+Jammy Git Thanks, great feedback!
No probs Johan, just trying to help people out who might not know or have never tried setting up their pickups 👍
Jammy Git thank you for the info.
Jimmie Marchisotto No probs Jimmie you're welcome.
A. Wagner I don't know about active ones as I've never used them, the info i posted was for regular humbuckers but if I had the active ones I'd start off with those measurements and take it from there. Some of my humbuckers are the PAF type so they're pretty low output and they sound great, i also have some a bit more powerful and they're fine too, so just see how it goes and tweak if necessary mate.
Guys, is it true that when your pups are too close to your strings, the magnetic field will mute the strings and shorten the sustain?
Depends on the pickups. Most of my guitars are G&L, which use MFD (Magnetic Field Design) pickups. MFD pickups utilize fewer windings around a stronger ceramic magnet, so I set them lower to minimize "string pull" and increase sustain.
+Rieni Otten I don't know if it's partly a myth or something that needs to be considered. Would make for an interesting experiment!
Johan Segeborn
I am really happy with your vid Johan, I never really thought about pup height before. But I got an old Burny Flying V this week through eBay, it's an awesome guitar but it sounded a bit dull because the pups were set very low.... I raised them last night and now it sounds awesome. There is so much we can learn through the web, just awesome :-)
At least to some pick ups it's true. I have tried different heights and there is one amongst the higher ones that you can actually feel the strings to have less sustain. It's because of the magnets heavily atracting them. If you go all the way up, or when a string is broken, you can see it stick to the pole pieces like a magnet will do. It does not happen with active pick ups as far I have seen. I usually play in hardcore punk bands and we need straight ahead gain effect so usually my favourite height is the highest possible or near, before getting to that point or loose the clarity and taste of the tone amongst the gain, and still keep some dynamics. But I also like to play other things so I think I will set up another guitar for different stuff.
good presentation and way better than unorganised videos out there that waste a lot of time. people should learn how to be precise here
bloody brilliant demo once again.. you da man
+Rob D Thanks man! :-)
😆THAT'S WHY I LOVE THIS GUY, THANX AGAIN "JOHAN"( Middle postions sounds best)😎
Mid height seemed the most versatile and well rounded. Not too weak, not too muddy.
Low sounded good on high gain amp setting, but lost its oomph without the amp cranked. High pickup sounded harsh at all gain settings.
Just goes to show, set your pickup heights, folks!
Thanks man
Another brilliant video. Bravo.
+Shazbot302 Thanks :-)
that first riff had a nice, early thin lizzy tone. I think for me I like mine set somewhere between bottom out and mid way. anything higher seems to get too woofy. but it also depends on pickup type and amp gain. nice vid as always. keep up the great work.
+Dan Kiefert Thanks Dan! :-)
Great video man. So much to learn from it!!
The 2nd riff with volume 10 and high pickups sounded earth shattering.
+Ethridge Thanks, glad to hear it!
First of all. Great demo as usual! It clearly shows how you can effect the sound signal to you amp and alter the dynamics of you pickups by simply adjust the heights!
I often find the best pickup height as somewhere between the middle and high positions you used (I understand why you chose these for the demo) I try to take in to account the magnetic string pull. I am allergic to magnetic string pull which is not that obvious when riffing but more when playing lead higher up the neck. Different magnets have different string pull and it is not as simple as a2, a3,a4,a5 magnets increasing string pull and a a2 often have more stringpull than a a5 both full gaussed depending on the compound alloy of the magnets
+pleximaster Thanks man, great feedback as usual! It would be interesting to demonstrate string pull and show how it manifests itself using magnets of different strength
pleximaster good comment.
I love all the science non science time you take and enjoy sharing with all of us tone junkies. I have been finding that whatever a guitar gives me, I always find a way to make it sound and more importantly, feel exactly the way I want and need for whatever application I am using it for. Strings, picks are more of a concern for me as I have always used Dean Markley Blue Steels and they are not operating or making these apparently.... Fender xl 150s it is for now. Thank you again for all your exhausting work to show us subtle little things can be huge!!
Excellent video, very, very nicely done.
+QuillPen77 Thanks my friend
Curious that I found the highest pickup height having the best sound overall. Always set my humbuckers lower, but in hindsight, it's always because I have to level them to match a single coil that's in the same guitar, or even in another guitar so that their volumes aren't that much different. Cool videos!
+Victor Castro Thanks Victor!
Victor Castro Would a boost switch help you with the single coils? I mean it's a tiny component you can add to the circuitry of the guitar. It ads more gain. I have bought one for an Epiphone but we havent installed yet.
This is superbly put together - well done :-)
+Rohan Leach Thanks Rohan, I'm glad to hear that!
Today we ain't gonna "shekiaot" but rather compare? :D Unusual.
Like your videos though, keep them up! :)
+Tomáš Bajar Hahaha, it will be my pleasure!
Best channel on youtube, I'm glad I found it. My pickups were too low.
Dude keep up the good work! I find your videos very helpful and insightful. Hope you get enough bucks from the internet!
+Vagelis Polymeros Thanks my friend! I am not gonna monetize the channel, so there are no bucks :-)
Excellent comparison! Thanks!
+rdejianne Thanks :-)
Wow! I din't know that pickup height made that much of a difference! Thanks for a great video!
+George Alayon Thanks man!
Great video on much overlooked part of a guitar set up, to my ear dropping the mid height sample was pretty much best bang for buck for all varieties of playing styles.
+David Willis Thanks David!
Cooooool stuff. Also shows how much the guitar and its setup matter.
On a side note: Usually I understand that people give thumbs down for certain videos, and I myself even wish there was an "unview"-button ;-) , but this is one of the videos where the thumbs down cannot possibly be linked to the video content, really... probably more to brain content.
+YTOnceAgain Thanks my friend :-)
Really excellent comparison! In general I notice that higher pickups give more output but the sound is very sharp and with a lot of harsh and muddy tone.
On the other hand, lower pickups give less output but give more clarity and definition of notes although it have less punch with drives. I think the lowest is best for me, for balance maybe not too low or too high
. Have a nice day, take care and Keep Rockin' man!
Another great idea for a video. Cheers Johan!
+Steve Floyd Thanks Steve!
Thank Johan, I think you just solved an issue I’ve been having. Great job!
I will watch your videos purely for your accent alone. But seriously you have some great videos. thanks
Thanks Paul!
Great videos. Great playing. Rock on!!!
Thanks man! Rock on you too!
Again, very interesting. Keep 'em coming!
+Mick Côté It will be my pleasure :-)
Thanks Johan Segeborn. I did not know that there was so much difference in positioning picups. I mean, I knew there were differences, but that was so, I did not know.
Colliding! I wasn't expecting that word. Interesting video!
+BB2009LZ I'm an automotive engineer ;-)