@@TomoFujitaMusic I have heard that the stratocaster has a love-hate following. Either you love to hate it or you hate to love it. Either way, you'll find it hard to ignore. Even Slash has a secret thing for it. I saw him wearing a t-shirt that said Fender, only it didn't say Fender. 1. Physically, the Stratocaster is a comfortable guitar to wear. That contour body is, well.... like a fine figured woman who fits like a glove and slippery when wet. 2. It's made to hot rod. Look at Jeff Beck's hot rod Ford. 3. That's how sick I am. What say you?
With a pickup heightened, the string stops vibrating, due to the magnetism from the pole pieces. A string too close to the pickup poles can also distort or warble, and actually negatively affect the intonation. Sometimes, I wish I played a digital piano.
I'm fairly certain this is just a myth, someone on UA-cam tested it, even with magnets far greater than those on the guitar and the strings were fine. I don't remember the name of the video however
@@SIlly28 the string doesn't all together stop playing, it sounds generally the same just with a weird "gurgle", it's sounds like a accidental slow vibrato kind of
@@SIlly28 Not a myth at all, it just depends on the type of magnet. My strat has Fat 50's which are Alnico 5's. If the neck pickup is too close to the strings then I get the warble effect when the note sustains so i have to set them pretty low.
@@FRX67It is normal as single coils in particular need to be staggered from one another because the strings naturally obtain more space the closer u get to the bottom of the guitar (bridge). This simply helps with equal volume of all pickups, but adjusting is very tasteful and matters on what the player generally prefers.
I need to rewatch this some. I'm a googling newbie. Fresh from my butt: String cross section & so mass varies by radius squared, area = pi*r*r Magnetic flux varies by cube of distance, example 2*2*2= 8 and 3*3*3= 27 So small change in distance is large change in magnetic field strength. Mostly from other butts. The pickup magnet weakly magnetizes the strings. When you move a magnet (changing magnetic field, both increasing and decreasing) by a wire it generates an electric current in the wire. The weakly magnetized vibrating strings generate changing electric currents in the pickup coil. I have read a too strong magnetic field attraction pulls on and decreases string movement. It's a Goldilocks deal you may be able to optimize by ear or phone app spectrograph. I'm thinking the pole pieces (screws) should be set closer as string diameter decreases. With the pickup off the guitar use calipers to measure thickness over a screw, turn the screw 2 half turns and measure again, subtract the smaller measurement to find the distance change of a full turn and write it down for the pickups of that guitar. If you find a constant of your distances relative to string diameter for a pickup, know that for another pickup with a different strength magnet the best adjustment may have a different constant, and that induced magnetic strength of string is likely to vary too.
Been playing since 11. I’m 31. I’ve always taken my guitar to techs for anything but string changes. Then Gibson came out with a Guitar Maintenace Series during Covid and I learned how to do everything from checking and setting neck relief, string action height, pickup height, pole piece screw adjustment (humbuckers), intonation and so fourth. Now I’m working on all my guitars and my friends guitars because I love doing it so much. Everyone should take time to learn how to fully setup and adjust their instrument…. Also Sorry to all the techs who rely on us for your living. Lol
Great tip. Recently swapped my guitar's pickups and was somewhat unhappy with the result. But adjusting their height with your advice in mind made a huge difference. Now they sound amazing to me. Much more balanced and dynamic.
Thanks so much! Join guitar players from 37 countries for online #guitarlessonswith Berklee professor @TomoJustFunky at tomovhxtv.vhx.tv. Only $1.84/week! New video was posted today. Lesson 1 is available to all site visitors!
So nice to hear that! Thanks so much! I teach much more detail video lessons and super easy theory lessons at my Guitar Wisdom! Just added new lessons!! tomojustfunky.com/tomo-fujita-guitar-practice-advice/
There's screws. How can you not know that they're adjustable when there screws? Also, in 10 years of guitar playing how did you never have the desire to adjust your pick up height? Lol
@@chrisking6695 You can’t knock someone for not knowing something, that’s the basic fundamentals of learning! Screws could be seen as basically holding the thing in place and not necessarily for adjusting so if you don’t know you simply don’t know and don’t really question it. I’ve been playing for nearly 50 years and knew this about 49 years ago but I wouldn’t choose to criticise someone for not knowing it.
Finally found someone who made a video on this. Trying to explain this to some who say it has to be a certain measurement instead of no, it's how it sounds. Thank you.
I also think this is a great channel for educational purposes and entertainment. I don't want anyone to think I was bashing this channel, I think it is great and fully enjoy it!! Even at 75 years old now. Thanks!
Absolutely. Lowering the pickups from the strings especially on a brand new guitar always make it sound better because when they’re up to high, the magnetic field is to strong on the strings and the sustain is deadend.
Squier strats are really good instruments these days! I have a standard I got last year, it's very resonant and the pickups are alnico and fantastic, they don't even need to be changed. Great strat tone in all positions.
Been playing Strats since 1963. I sink the neck PUP, with the treble strings up a bit. Middle is a little higher. Bridge is as close to the strings as I can get it without mashing the strings down onto the pickup. Pickups tend to interfere with the elipse of the strings, which interferes with the tone.
Thanks so much! I teach much more detail video lessons (more theory lessons!) at my Guitar Wisdom site. Please check my FREE guitar advice! tomojustfunky.com/tomo-fujita-guitar-practice-advice/
Wow , I was just practicing today these chord progressions and It's interesting to mention how you combine those two scales together. Simply wonderful , you're a inspiration Tomo, keep up the good work !
Thanks so much!! I have much more detail video lessons at my "Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom" tomovhxtv.vhx.tv Just added more Backing Jam Tracks so you can jam with me! Join subscribers from 55 countries
I've been using a similar method, but with a twist. I rarely use a clean tone because I'm primarily a MeTaL guitarist. So what I've been doing for a while with guitars that have 2 humbuckers is: I'll lower the Neck pickup for the Lower notes, and raise it for the highers notes, like you demonstrated in this video. That way it keeps my solos more clear and balanced sounding across all strings. And for the bridge pickup, I do the opposite. I'll optimize the pickup for the lower tones in drop tunings, and lower the pickup for the higher note strings. It serves two purposes. To keep the palm muted low notes from getting to muddy, and it also helps with muting the higher strings during rhythm sections. This is the first video I've seen someone actually using a different slanted pickup height \m/
You play very well! You are on the right track! The low waves are longer and that is why they probably go down on pickups ... and for the high ones, on the contrary, they are shorter in length wave and therefore the strings must be closer to pickup ...
I was just messing around with my guitar, taking it apart and cleaning it. just discovered I could higher and lower the bridge and it blew my mind. had no idea. I kinda already assumed how much doing that can improve the sound, but I found this great video and pretty much confirmed what I was thinking. after all these years, and all the videos I've watched and I never knew you could do this. very cool, and makes a lot of sense. thanks for making this video! you just got another subscriber
Thanks so much! I teach much more detail video lessons (more theory lessons!) at my Guitar Wisdom site. Please check my FREE guitar advice! tomojustfunky.com/tomo-fujita-guitar-practice-advice/
I've watched a few videos about height pickups before this one. And of course, the best advices, explanations, and tone taste come from the Master Tomo Fujita. You're a wonderful teacher, thank you !!
My recent experience with swapping a stock Jackson humbucker pickup with a Seymour Duncan sh6 distortion was exactly what you just described. When I installed the pickup and set the height to the recommended 1.6mm they sounded very full, compressed, crunchy because they are very high output pickups and sometimes have a bit of a Fizz in the top end. Lowering the pickup height greatly improved the versatility, Dynamic and overall tone of the pickups without losing any of the tight low-end that this particular pick up is known for. A pickup also responds to harmonics a lot better with the Lower height and are a lot more versatile and a lot more Clarity and Dynamics
By adjusting the pick up's like this you avoid the so called "string pull". The magnetic field has a negative influence on the the sustain of the string. So yes, lowering the pick up helps to avoid that!
That is how a stratocaster should sound - I usually don't like the sound of strats, but that's because the player doesn't know how to make them sound good. Simple is better, and having a great touch, tone, and feel, is more important than technical ability. Thank you for reminding us that lowering our pickup height can improve tone............................................!
This man is responsible for the absolute BEST made, and sounding affordable guitarsever made. The AZES Ibanez guitars. Absolutely love them and thank you for getting Ibanez to make them.
Long time guitarist, and Strat player., I always had a tendency to raise the pickups on my Strats, to increase volume, sustaIn , I thought, never really ask any of my guitar techs,, they would lower them, I would get it home and raise them I guess, i will try lowering lower side, Thanks for the advice, I have seen a couple of your videos, and seems like you are THE MAN, so I will subscribe, even an old dog like me can learn some new tricks. Thanks!
@@TomoFujitaMusic I also love playing guitar. I will do my set up today and adjust pickups. And will do a short video. If you ever come to New Zealand, we should jam!
Assuming you have a stratocaster with a 9.5 radius fretboard...Get a feeler gauge. Then put a capo on the first fret. Press the 6th string where the neck joins the body (typically on the 17th fret on a strat). Slip a .010 feeler gauge in between the 8th fret and the string. The feeler gauge must slip right in just right with barely a touch on the bottom of that string and the fret. That should give you a proper bow.
Have done this for years,have tried other height adjustments to compare,but always come back to this,Eric Johnson does this too,as well as others,brings out the 2,and 4 positions nicely,less thin tone,good stuff
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It's kind of a strange coincidence that you made this video. I never made a video of myself doing this?.. but this is how I have always set up my guitars. It's a tone secret that not many people know. Whenever I play with bands people are always asking me why are set "crooked". I tell them "they're not crooked there where their supposed to be".
Is there anyway to take guitar lessons from you? Ive been playing 10 yrs and love texas style blues and soulful stuff like warren haynes. Seems like you teach well and know how to play.
WOW To have advice from a Berklee School of Music Guitar Instructor, all be it not private sessions or on campas class time, is SO AWSOME !!! It is good to know of you. I will be working through your You Tube installments, with my guitar in hand.
You have to balance the volume between the pickups. The neck pickup will always be the loudest because that's where the string elipse is largest, so you have to dish it down. Middle needs to be a bit higher. Bridge should be highest of all as the string elipse is smallest.
Wow, thanks this is some helpful stuff! 5:25 and that's how my strat was already set up from the store which is nice. I prefer low pickup rather than high. And again thank you for the nice vid!
You're welcome! Thanks so much! I teach much more detail video lessons and super easy theory lessons! at my Guitar Wisdom! Please check my FREE guitar advice! tomojustfunky.com/tomo-fujita-guitar-practice-advice/
And what about the distance from the strings to a humbucker on the bridge..specifally a 500T gibson on the bridge of a strato fender , i play metal and rock ...more classics Thanks
First I adjust the front pickup for sweat tone, lower the lower string side a little bit more. Then I adjust the bridge pickup matching volume (not too loud) as the front pickup.
Something that also matters a lot is the location of the pickup in relation of how distant the bridge is from the fretboard. As mister Fujita mentioned, there is a treble area and low frequency area. This is something I mention of you're having a guitar build project. This is something very important to have in mind. Overall, experiment with the type of pickups and different ways to heighten them.
I tried 4mm, 3mm, 2mm on treble side, 3mm, 2mm, 1mm on bass side. (From bridge to neck) and i now need to get my damn amp fixed so i can really hear it, ableton is shit at modelling amps i think. So much fret buzz comes through it
Also if you lift them as far as you can you will kinda feel the magnitism the tone is quite bright... lower them right down and you will feel like the strings are loosing tension try it ,it realy helps especialy on strats i use a squier affinity in practise, it realy helps if you are in a bedroom living with others as it takes slight touches of the string to get a good sound in fact some guitars it won't even look as if you're picking sometimes and it dampens the sound sometimes this is great especially when you're creativity shines in the later hours try it without a plectrum as you can get different textures I prefer lowering them
Funny, I've just lowered the pickup height on my Tokai Tele Thinline with flat wound stings, sound is much better. Very noticeable difference on your Squier Strat. Nice playing !
Thanks so much! So great to hear that! Good job!! I teach much more detail video lessons and super easy theory lessons! at my Guitar Wisdom! Please check my FREE guitar advice! tomojustfunky.com/tomo-fujita-guitar-practice-advice/
Lowering the pickups will give more sustain because the magnets don't interfere the vibration of the strings that much. But It will lower the output which you can compensate with the amp or a boost pedal. Even more sustain if you have guitar with just one pickup because their will be even less magnetic pull on the strings. Allan Holdsworth for instance prefered guitars with just one pickup set very low.
There's also each pole piece height problem, specially the D / G string, inherent to the Fender pickups, solution probably efficient at a time of wound G string and strong radius, not sure today with flatter radius
Tomo San!! Long time no see!! So glad to find your channel and subscribed. Will never forget your kindness in sending me lesson material and CDs. Hope all is well!!
Tomosan Konichiwa, Domo Arigato Gozaimasu! I just subscribed to your channel and I will be a subscriber for life! I am honored to be your student Master Tomosan!
Nice playing. I heard Aeolian, like the progression, until the end, where I heard something like harmonic minor over the five (or phrygian dominant). I'd be curious to know if I missed something. Anyhow, nice video.
Yeah, I have a Squire Classic Vibe 70's that the neck pickup has to be almost all the way down or the warble sounds like I've kicked in a vibrato pedal. It has Alnico pickups, so I'm surprised at that. Maybe a really hot out of spec pickup. Thanks for the video.
Fit Lace Sensor pickups, you can have them closer to the strings without losing sustain as they don’t rely on a strong magnetic field, great sounding pickups too, ask James Burton
Subscribed. Real advice on set up from a real guitar player. Simple and straight forward. Going to do this to my Strat right now. Many thanks indeed my friend.
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I have heard that the stratocaster has a love-hate following.
Either you love to hate it or you hate to love it. Either way, you'll find it hard to ignore. Even Slash has a secret thing for it. I saw him wearing a t-shirt that said Fender, only it didn't say Fender.
1. Physically, the Stratocaster is a comfortable guitar to wear. That contour body is, well.... like a fine figured woman who fits like a glove and slippery when wet.
2. It's made to hot rod. Look at Jeff Beck's hot rod Ford.
3. That's how sick I am.
What say you?
With a pickup heightened, the string stops vibrating, due to the magnetism from the pole pieces. A string too close to the pickup poles can also distort or warble, and actually negatively affect the intonation. Sometimes, I wish I played a digital piano.
I'm fairly certain this is just a myth, someone on UA-cam tested it, even with magnets far greater than those on the guitar and the strings were fine. I don't remember the name of the video however
@@SIlly28 the string doesn't all together stop playing, it sounds generally the same just with a weird "gurgle", it's sounds like a accidental slow vibrato kind of
@@SIlly28 Not a myth at all, it just depends on the type of magnet. My strat has Fat 50's which are Alnico 5's. If the neck pickup is too close to the strings then I get the warble effect when the note sustains so i have to set them pretty low.
@@rydera9121 Fair enough, never really noticed on my own either, so you're probably right about the other magnets
I play keyboard, you don't, it's hours and hours of programming for good sounds before you can afford great plug-ins yet alone a great keyboard lol
1:20 High Pick Up, 3:30 Low Pick Up.
Awesome!
@@TomoFujitaMusic Excellent video. What about the bridge? That seemed quite a bit higher than the neck and middle
@@FRX67 that's normal. Standard even. Humbucking pickups can go much closer to the strings than single coils
@@FRX67It is normal as single coils in particular need to be staggered from one another because the strings naturally obtain more space the closer u get to the bottom of the guitar (bridge). This simply helps with equal volume of all pickups, but adjusting is very tasteful and matters on what the player generally prefers.
I need to rewatch this some. I'm a googling newbie. Fresh from my butt: String cross section & so mass varies by radius squared, area = pi*r*r
Magnetic flux varies by cube of distance, example 2*2*2= 8 and 3*3*3= 27 So small change in distance is large change in magnetic field strength. Mostly from other butts. The pickup magnet weakly magnetizes the strings. When you move a magnet (changing magnetic field, both increasing and decreasing) by a wire it generates an electric current in the wire. The weakly magnetized vibrating strings generate changing electric currents in the pickup coil. I have read a too strong magnetic field attraction pulls on and decreases string movement. It's a Goldilocks deal you may be able to optimize by ear or phone app spectrograph. I'm thinking the pole pieces (screws) should be set closer as string diameter decreases. With the pickup off the guitar use calipers to measure thickness over a screw, turn the screw 2 half turns and measure again, subtract the smaller measurement to find the distance change of a full turn and write it down for the pickups of that guitar. If you find a constant of your distances relative to string diameter for a pickup, know that for another pickup with a different strength magnet the best adjustment may have a different constant, and that induced magnetic strength of string is likely to vary too.
Been playing since 11. I’m 31. I’ve always taken my guitar to techs for anything but string changes. Then Gibson came out with a Guitar Maintenace Series during Covid and I learned how to do everything from checking and setting neck relief, string action height, pickup height, pole piece screw adjustment (humbuckers), intonation and so fourth. Now I’m working on all my guitars and my friends guitars because I love doing it so much. Everyone should take time to learn how to fully setup and adjust their instrument…. Also Sorry to all the techs who rely on us for your living. Lol
Good job! Thank you for sharing!
This is all true. You have to dial it in to get the right tone. It’s a tedious process, but well worth it.
Great tip. Recently swapped my guitar's pickups and was somewhat unhappy with the result. But adjusting their height with your advice in mind made a huge difference. Now they sound amazing to me. Much more balanced and dynamic.
Glad it helped!
Lower pick up height creates less volume, but greater sustain. It's a trade off. I prefer the sustain.
Thank you!
Interesting. I like keeping the volume there cuz it gives me a wider range of attack response.
That's why there's a "10" on our amps. 🎩
🤘🏻😋 🤘🏻
🎸
👖
Crank your amp.
Riverdeepnwide imagine if there was an 11
Man I would give anything to have a year of weekly lessons with this man
Thanks so much!
Join guitar players from 37 countries for online #guitarlessonswith Berklee professor @TomoJustFunky at tomovhxtv.vhx.tv. Only $1.84/week! New video was posted today. Lesson 1 is available to all site visitors!
Had my strat for 10 years and never realised you could adjust the pickups 🤦♂️ My neck pickup sounds instantly better.
So nice to hear that! Thanks so much! I teach much more detail video lessons and super easy theory lessons at my Guitar Wisdom! Just added new lessons!!
tomojustfunky.com/tomo-fujita-guitar-practice-advice/
Tbh I didn't knew until I bought my electric guitar last month
There's screws. How can you not know that they're adjustable when there screws? Also, in 10 years of guitar playing how did you never have the desire to adjust your pick up height? Lol
@@chrisking6695 because Jonathan is lying…. That’s why he never adjusted his pickups 🤣
@@chrisking6695 You can’t knock someone for not knowing something, that’s the basic fundamentals of learning! Screws could be seen as basically holding the thing in place and not necessarily for adjusting so if you don’t know you simply don’t know and don’t really question it. I’ve been playing for nearly 50 years and knew this about 49 years ago but I wouldn’t choose to criticise someone for not knowing it.
Finally found someone who made a video on this. Trying to explain this to some who say it has to be a certain measurement instead of no, it's how it sounds. Thank you.
Thanks so much!
Please visit new Tomo Fujita USA WebSite for signing up mailing list ( more information, giveaways etc )
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I also think this is a great channel for educational purposes and entertainment. I don't want anyone to think I was bashing this channel, I think it is great and fully enjoy it!! Even at 75 years old now. Thanks!
So happy to hear that! Thank you so much! You're very kind!
thank you very much! I'm coming from a classical guitar background and am only just getting an electric. These are the reasons I've hesitated so long
Great! I hope the video helps!
I went for the lesson and ended up loving the sound, riff and melodies! Keep it up! Thanks for this!
Thank you!
Absolutely. Lowering the pickups from the strings especially on a brand new guitar always make it sound better because when they’re up to high, the magnetic field is to strong on the strings and the sustain is deadend.
Thank you!
Squier strats are really good instruments these days! I have a standard I got last year, it's very resonant and the pickups are alnico and fantastic, they don't even need to be changed. Great strat tone in all positions.
Tomo, you’re wonderful for taking time out of your busy day to instruct us. Thank you !!!!
Thank you!!
Been playing Strats since 1963. I sink the neck PUP, with the treble strings up a bit. Middle is a little higher. Bridge is as close to the strings as I can get it without mashing the strings down onto the pickup. Pickups tend to interfere with the elipse of the strings, which interferes with the tone.
Thank you!
This guy would make any guitar sound good
Thanks so much! I teach much more detail video lessons (more theory lessons!) at my Guitar Wisdom site.
Please check my FREE guitar advice!
tomojustfunky.com/tomo-fujita-guitar-practice-advice/
Wow ,
I was just practicing today these chord progressions and It's interesting to mention how you combine those two scales together.
Simply wonderful , you're a inspiration Tomo, keep up the good work !
Thanks so much!! I have much more detail video lessons at my "Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom"
tomovhxtv.vhx.tv
Just added more Backing Jam Tracks so you can jam with me!
Join subscribers from 55 countries
I've been using a similar method, but with a twist. I rarely use a clean tone because I'm primarily a MeTaL guitarist.
So what I've been doing for a while with guitars that have 2 humbuckers is: I'll lower the Neck pickup for the Lower notes, and raise it for the highers notes, like you demonstrated in this video. That way it keeps my solos more clear and balanced sounding across all strings.
And for the bridge pickup, I do the opposite. I'll optimize the pickup for the lower tones in drop tunings, and lower the pickup for the higher note strings. It serves two purposes. To keep the palm muted low notes from getting to muddy, and it also helps with muting the higher strings during rhythm sections. This is the first video I've seen someone actually using a different slanted pickup height \m/
Thank you for sharing! Good job!
Stevie Ray Vaughn had pickups set flush with pickguard - FYI
Using very heavy strings. 13 -56 can compensate for that somewhat.
You play very well! You are on the right track! The low waves are longer and that is why they probably go down on pickups ... and for the high ones, on the contrary, they are shorter in length wave and therefore the strings must be closer to pickup ...
Thank you so much! Magnet pull.
I was just messing around with my guitar, taking it apart and cleaning it. just discovered I could higher and lower the bridge and it blew my mind. had no idea. I kinda already assumed how much doing that can improve the sound, but I found this great video and pretty much confirmed what I was thinking. after all these years, and all the videos I've watched and I never knew you could do this. very cool, and makes a lot of sense. thanks for making this video! you just got another subscriber
Glad I could help! Thank you so much!
Lower pickups stop that spikey sharp sound and smoothes the tone between the bass and treble strings.
This is fundamental to getting balanced pickup height. Not sure if I'd consider it a secret, but it sure is important.
Very very important!
Well if it was a secret its not any more !
Let’s be honest Tomo is the guitar teacher we all need
Thanks so much! I teach much more detail video lessons (more theory lessons!) at my Guitar Wisdom site.
Please check my FREE guitar advice!
tomojustfunky.com/tomo-fujita-guitar-practice-advice/
I've watched a few videos about height pickups before this one. And of course, the best advices, explanations, and tone taste come from the Master Tomo Fujita. You're a wonderful teacher, thank you !!
You're welcome! These setups are so important to in order to improve your playing! Thank you!
So glad i came across this. My player series sustain is pretty bad.
Try this!
Excellent advice, sir. Thank you. Just did it on my Fender CS Esquire '59, and it sounds/feels MUCH more sweet & balanced.
Thanks so much!! Good job!!
I love red guitars! I love red Fender guitars! A good amp makes a cheap guitar sound good.
@@KRAZEEIZATION if you got a little soul and you hit those notes - you'll make a cheap one sound great !
Playing by ear. The best. Thanks
Yes! Thank you!
My recent experience with swapping a stock Jackson humbucker pickup with a Seymour Duncan sh6 distortion was exactly what you just described. When I installed the pickup and set the height to the recommended 1.6mm they sounded very full, compressed, crunchy because they are very high output pickups and sometimes have a bit of a Fizz in the top end. Lowering the pickup height greatly improved the versatility, Dynamic and overall tone of the pickups without losing any of the tight low-end that this particular pick up is known for. A pickup also responds to harmonics a lot better with the Lower height and are a lot more versatile and a lot more Clarity and Dynamics
Thanks for sharing! Pickup height really can change the overall tone!
By adjusting the pick up's like this you avoid the so called "string pull". The magnetic field has a negative influence on the the sustain of the string. So yes, lowering the pick up helps to avoid that!
and HOW do we know when is too low or tooo High?
Not true, magnetic field from pickups is not that strong to pull strings at all, lol
@@CarpeDiem23
That is totally incorrect. They can DEFINITELY affect the string vibrations. This is a proven thing.
Thank you for your advice and wisdom. The setup hight worked 100% for me. My pick harmonics are now easy to play.
You're very welcome! Good job!
I have a Squire Stratacaster and think to tone is great, thanks for the information on the pickup height
Awesome! You're welcome! Try it.
Thank you!
asymmetrical set up to the pick ups makes so much sense to me.
Thank you again
Boaz
You're welcome! Thanks so much!
New Tomo Fujita USA WebSite
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That is how a stratocaster should sound - I usually don't like the sound of strats, but that's because the player doesn't know how to make them sound good. Simple is better, and having a great touch, tone, and feel, is more important than technical ability.
Thank you for reminding us that lowering our pickup height can improve tone............................................!
That's so nice to hear that. Thanks so much!!
Tomo Fuyita .. you are a guitar maestro. Respect !!!
Thank you!
So glad I found you on UA-cam, very helpful. Nice playing Tomo was as well
Thanks so much!!
Just did this to my new Squire Bullet Strat and mannn. Sounds better than before. Thank you Tomo. Subbed.
So great to hear that!
This man is responsible for the absolute BEST made, and sounding affordable guitarsever made. The AZES Ibanez guitars. Absolutely love them and thank you for getting Ibanez to make them.
Thank you so much! So happy to hear that! The Ibanez 31 is a great guitar for that price point!
I have both versions HSS and SSS in two colors each. Play them everyday while 90% of my other guitars just sit there and look at me now.
That is simmiler to my guitar i changed the pick guard and pickups to black yesterday thanks for your help
You're welcome!
Great Information! Thank You Tomo
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!!
12 bar blues is great to practice with and jam.
Long time guitarist, and Strat player., I always had a tendency to raise the pickups on my Strats, to increase volume, sustaIn , I thought, never really ask any of my guitar techs,, they would lower them, I would get it home and raise them I guess, i will try lowering lower side, Thanks for the advice, I have seen a couple of your videos, and seems like you are THE MAN, so I will subscribe, even an old dog like me can learn some new tricks. Thanks!
We all done! Then learn something new!
You seem very knowledgeable.
You can obviously play very well too. I will watch more of your videos.
Thankyou.
Thank you very much! I love guitar so much so I needed to know! Thank you so much!
@@TomoFujitaMusic I also love playing guitar. I will do my set up today and adjust pickups. And will do a short video. If you ever come to New Zealand, we should jam!
Great tone. Love the pro reverb. That cheap strat sounds better than any I've heard. Amazing job.
Thanks so much!
Because the cheap guitar is in a maestro hands. Guitar does not play by itself.
Guitar is a tool for making music/noize depending on how you are using it. The players personality can be "heard" and the Guitar is portable!!
I got a les Paul when I was 9 and I remember I was fumbling with it and put the neck pickup so low only now at 16 I’m changing it 😅
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for this! can you talk about truss rod adjustment? How to understand if it needs repair and for the right action
That's a bit hard to do. I do it by myself.
Assuming you have a stratocaster with a 9.5 radius fretboard...Get a feeler gauge. Then put a capo on the first fret. Press the 6th string where the neck joins the body (typically on the 17th fret on a strat). Slip a .010 feeler gauge in between the 8th fret and the string. The feeler gauge must slip right in just right with barely a touch on the bottom of that string and the fret. That should give you a proper bow.
Great pick-up height adjustment advice! I just lowered my strat pick-ups under the low e. Sustain and tone improved. Thx Tomo!
Glad it helped!
Have done this for years,have tried other height adjustments to compare,but always come back to this,Eric Johnson does this too,as well as others,brings out the 2,and 4 positions nicely,less thin tone,good stuff
Thanks for sharing! I better make another video!
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Improve your musical foundation, strengthen your technical skills, and enjoy demos featuring vintage guitars, classic amps, the use of effects, and various playing styles.
I always set my strat string height at 2.4 mm on the bass then 2mm on the treble. Other players on youtube seem to jack it up high for strat pickups.
Love your chops
It's kind of a strange coincidence that you made this video. I never made a video of myself doing this?.. but this is how I have always set up my guitars. It's a tone secret that not many people know. Whenever I play with bands people are always asking me why are set "crooked". I tell them "they're not crooked there where their supposed to be".
Is there anyway to take guitar lessons from you? Ive been playing 10 yrs and love texas style blues and soulful stuff like warren haynes. Seems like you teach well and know how to play.
WOW To have advice from a Berklee School of Music Guitar Instructor, all be it not private sessions or on campas class time, is SO AWSOME !!! It is good to know of you. I will be working through your You Tube installments, with my guitar in hand.
nice clean sound & great playing
Thanks!
I’ve watched this three times and each time I get a different take away
Either I am slow or he is A genius
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thank you sir. you're my fav guitar teacher on youtube
Thank you!!
I watched this video, I adjusted my pick ups similarly to where you had them here. My Strat sounds great thank you!
Great to hear!
Great demo learned a lot that's the great thing about these demos every day's a school day for guitar nerds like me keep up the great work
So nice to hear that! Thank you!!
You have to balance the volume between the pickups. The neck pickup will always be the loudest because that's where the string elipse is largest, so you have to dish it down. Middle needs to be a bit higher. Bridge should be highest of all as the string elipse is smallest.
Thank you!!
Wow, thanks this is some helpful stuff! 5:25 and that's how my strat was already set up from the store which is nice. I prefer low pickup rather than high. And again thank you for the nice vid!
You're welcome! Thanks so much! I teach much more detail video lessons and super easy theory lessons! at my Guitar Wisdom!
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Wow, great tone. Sounds terrific.
Thanks!
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That my profilepicture Squier is vibe, price/quality is good.
Nice example. You can really hear the difference.
Thank you!!
Great tip Tomo, learned something new after years of playing. Thanks!
Thanks so much!
And what about the distance from the strings to a humbucker on the bridge..specifally a 500T gibson on the bridge of a strato fender , i play metal and rock ...more classics
Thanks
First I adjust the front pickup for sweat tone, lower the lower string side a little bit more. Then I adjust the bridge pickup matching volume (not too loud) as the front pickup.
Cool! I turn the PUps down so I don‘t hit them with the plek 💪🎸
It was a pleasure and a learning experience at the same time to watch your video!
Thanks so much!
Something that also matters a lot is the location of the pickup in relation of how distant the bridge is from the fretboard. As mister Fujita mentioned, there is a treble area and low frequency area. This is something I mention of you're having a guitar build project. This is something very important to have in mind. Overall, experiment with the type of pickups and different ways to heighten them.
Thank you!
I tried 4mm, 3mm, 2mm on treble side, 3mm, 2mm, 1mm on bass side. (From bridge to neck) and i now need to get my damn amp fixed so i can really hear it, ableton is shit at modelling amps i think. So much fret buzz comes through it
Great Job with this Demo and explanation. Fantastic tone-too. Enjoyed it. oNe LovE from NYC
Glad you enjoyed it!
Also if you lift them as far as you can you will kinda feel the magnitism the tone is quite bright... lower them right down and you will feel like the strings are loosing tension try it ,it realy helps especialy on strats i use a squier affinity in practise, it realy helps if you are in a bedroom living with others as it takes slight touches of the string to get a good sound in fact some guitars it won't even look as if you're picking sometimes and it dampens the sound sometimes this is great especially when you're creativity shines in the later hours try it without a plectrum as you can get different textures I prefer lowering them
Thank you for sharing! Good job!
Tks for this Tomo, always learn somethig with you, in this case i belive put lower the pickup.
You're very welcome! Thank you so much!
nice chops great clean tone
Thanks!
Tomo Fujita, I love you!
Thanks!
Excellent tutorial, Cheers! 😊
Thank you so much!
Funny, I've just lowered the pickup height on my Tokai Tele Thinline with flat wound stings, sound is much better. Very noticeable difference on your Squier Strat. Nice playing !
Thanks so much! So great to hear that! Good job!!
I teach much more detail video lessons and super easy theory lessons! at my Guitar Wisdom!
Please check my FREE guitar advice!
tomojustfunky.com/tomo-fujita-guitar-practice-advice/
Love the Dave Brubeck riffs .
Lowering the pickups will give more sustain because the magnets don't interfere the vibration of the strings that much.
But It will lower the output which you can compensate with the amp or a boost pedal.
Even more sustain if you have guitar with just one pickup because their will be even less magnetic pull on the strings.
Allan Holdsworth for instance prefered guitars with just one pickup set very low.
Thanks so much!! You know about "good tone" by listening!!
Thanks for the lesson.
You're welcome!
Dude I really enjoyed that video and am working on my strat and how to adjust those things
Thank you so much! So happy to hear that!
There's also each pole piece height problem, specially the D / G string, inherent to the Fender pickups, solution probably efficient at a time of wound G string and strong radius, not sure today with flatter radius
Thank you!
This has been addressed by many on YT! It's all a case of vintage 'correctness'!
The Pro Reverb sounds beautiful great content
Thanks so much!
I love the Pro Reverbs!!
Tube output stage. Only the Princeton has that as well.
Tomo this tip is awesome, thanks!
You're welcome!
Very cool thanks for that info.
Glad you liked it! Thank you!
Tomo San!! Long time no see!! So glad to find your channel and subscribed. Will never forget your kindness in sending me lesson material and CDs. Hope all is well!!
Hey Roger from Texas!!! So great to hear from you!! How's hunting these days?
You're very welcome! You are a nice person!!
Tomosan Konichiwa, Domo Arigato Gozaimasu! I just subscribed to your channel and I will be a subscriber for life! I am honored to be your student Master Tomosan!
Thanks so much!!
It must be decreasing the magnetic pull which allows the string to vibrate longer before relaxing.
Thanks for sharing!
A lesson on that scale would be nice . The last lick you did before ending the video sounded so so nice
Thank you!
Nice playing. I heard Aeolian, like the progression, until the end, where I heard something like harmonic minor over the five (or phrygian dominant). I'd be curious to know if I missed something. Anyhow, nice video.
Yeah, I have a Squire Classic Vibe 70's that the neck pickup has to be almost all the way down or the warble sounds like I've kicked in a vibrato pedal. It has Alnico pickups, so I'm surprised at that. Maybe a really hot out of spec pickup. Thanks for the video.
Thanks for sharing! You're welcome!
You play really good. Nice video. Thanks.
Thank you!!
Fit Lace Sensor pickups, you can have them closer to the strings without losing sustain as they don’t rely on a strong magnetic field, great sounding pickups too, ask James Burton
geespar1 and billy Corgan
Really cool video. Thank you sir. ✌️
Glad you liked it! Thank you!
Great info!!! Definitely gonna work in my Stratocaster!
Thank you!!
Subscribed. Real advice on set up from a real guitar player. Simple and straight forward. Going to do this to my Strat right now. Many thanks indeed my friend.
Thank you so much!!
Yo dawg - you make a squire sound a lot better than most peeps can make their Fender CS's ever hope too!
This is great! Professor Snapes explaining :D
Thanks!
Irie Republic j
Thanks Tomo great information
Thank you!!
May have to try this on my PRS.
Try it on any guitar!
It's all about proper setup for better tone!
I like 2.7 mm gap in Strats and 1.5 mm on Teles. I also drop the treble side a bit but only in Strats.
Awesome!!
You should drop bass side, not treble bro, check it again
Cool i will check it out
Thanks!
Good upload mate, Just what i wanted to know. SRV had his pickups set similar to this.
So awesome to hear that.