Important Lesson i learnt about guitars with NGDx2

[chromesphere]

To be honest, I feel a little dense for not putting 2 and 2 together on this one, but because of the MASSIVE impact it can have on a guitars tone, thought I would post this here in case anyone else has this problem...

For a few years now I've been dissatisfied with my Gibson sg (my go to guitar of 20 years "old faithful"), the tone mainly.  Flat, dead, lifeless.  You may have noticed in sound demos, overdrives never really sounded quite right no matter the amount of gain im pumping my guitar signal up with. I suspected there was something going on with the guitar electronics, a cap, loose wire etc, but never investigated.  Turns out it was far simpler.

Comparing the SG to my 2 new LP's it was quite obvious there was an issue with the guitar.  Both LP's left it for dead, they sound more alive, with more gain and sustain and 'sizzle'. Just blistering compared to the uneventful SG. I checked the pick ups on all 3 guitars it was obvious that the pick ups on the SG were far too low.  A few years back I was having tuning issues, so I dropped them down but went way too far (one being greater then 1 cm from the strings).  I raised the pick ups again and wow...my SG is back again!  Obviously you can go too far the other way and have tuning issues and too much output again but they were just way too low on the SG.  I really had forgotten how good this guitar sounds.

I cant believe I didn't think of this before and was apprehensive to post this here because I felt like such a ding dong.  The hard lessons are the ones you don't forget, ill be making sure those pick ups are in the right spot in future. 

Have a play with your pick ups if you haven't checked them for a while or your not satisfied with the "energy" of your guitar, it honestly made more difference in my situation then any amount of amp knob twiddling.

[Aleph Null]

I had a similar experience with strings. I was feeling unsatisfied with the tone I was getting and was considering an expensive amp purchase when I realized I hadn't replaced my strings in months. I restrung and fell in love with my rig again! Go figure...

[Frank_NH]

Don't feel bad.  While setting your pickup height is part of the normal electric guitar setup process, it certainly is a personal preference.  And for those with Strats and Teles, you have to be careful not to get the pickups too **close** to the strings else you get the magnetic pull of the pole pieces affecting the string intonation ("strat-itis").

I'm still hankering to get an SG at some point, and I want one with p-90s so I can get that "Live at Leeds" tone! 

[matmosphere]

I had a similar experience with strings. I was feeling unsatisfied with the time I was getting and was considering an expansive amp purchase when I realized I hadn't replaced my strings in months. I restrung and feel in Love with my rig again! Go figure...

I almost never restring my guitars. I think two of them have had the same strings for at least three years. The one I play around the house probably hadn't gotten a new set in closer to ten years. Wonder what they'd sound like with new strings.

[madbean]

The best way I've found to do pickup height is to fret really high (like 15th or 17th) on the low E and adjust the bass side of the pickup to the spot just before I hear any warble, artifacts or weird sounding harmonics. Then I do the same for the high E and treble side of the pickup and done! This usually ends up being a bit lower than factory recommended height in some cases.

[chromesphere]

Good tip Brian, ill give that a go tonight!

[BrianS]

I start with a nickel coin and that really gets me in the ball park for fine tuning quickly.

[jimilee]

I read that it's one nickel on the treble side and 2 on the bass side


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[BrianS]

I use one on both sides. Perhaps I am doing it wrong but it seems to work for me.

[jimilee]

I use one on both sides. Perhaps I am doing it wrong but it seems to work for me.

I dunno, I need to do this to the rear pickup on one of my strays and I've been desperately looking around.

[chromesphere]

That's still far closer then I have reset the SG to, id say at the moment it could be maybe 6mm from the strings.  I have yet to experiment with this for any great deal of time but last night it seemed to me that 2-3mm to the strings caused this strange artefact in the sound, sort of like a fuzz, but in a horrid blown speaker way. (<- on the neck pickup)  I will try closer again tonight and work backwards from there

[jimilee]

If it works, leave it be and play with it. I love my SG btw.


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[alanp]

I start with a nickel coin and that really gets me in the ball park for fine tuning quickly.

What about stainless steel coins, or pyrite coins? I thought silver-looking coins were made out of some alloy, not pure nickel metal.

[solderfumes]

I always use the Fender guidelines as a starting point: http://www2.fender.com/support/articles/stratocaster-setup-guide/

As far as I can tell, pickups with Alnico V polepieces should be treated like Texas Specials, and pickups with Alnico II polepieces should be treated as "vintage style".  The "standard single coil" probably refers to pickups with ceramic bar magnets underneath.

Even tiny adjustments, like smaller than 1/64" adjustments, can make big differences.  It can also go the other way from how it went for the OP.  When I first got my Gibson LPJ, I liked the 490R pickup in the neck position but the 498T in the bridge position was too hot and kind of muddy.  I was thinking of swapping it out, but after adjusting it lower by a quarter turn or so, it brightened up a lot and became a perfect match for the neck pickup.

I often suspect that one of the reasons for having a hotter bridge pickup than neck pickup is that you can keep them both at an "ideal" height for tone but still have them match in volume.  That is, I wonder if pickup height is just as important to the tone as, say, the number of windings or the magnets.

[raulduke]

Pickup height is defnitely something that is overlooked.

I took a bit of time with my Strat to get everything nice and balanced, and it was well worth the effort.

I also love my SG. First one I've ever had and I don't know why I overlooked them in the past (+ they are a lot easier on the back than an LP).