Hey thanks for this, and all of your other videos. I am not much of a guitar player, but your videos, and vidoes like these, keep me interested, informed and inspired. Thanks for discovering these little tweaks and twerks and really nice to have made your acquaintance. Best regards from way over here on the west coast of Canada. ss
Thanks for this! Most interesting thing I learned was the concept of additive magnetic pull on the strings. I imagine i have struggled finding the sweet spot on a bridge pickup all because the neck pickup was too close. I’d dial in the bridge pickup, then do the neck, only to return to the bridge and not like what I had done. Something I will add for people doing adjustments - 1/4 screw turn can be all it takes to find that perfect spot, so don’t be changing things more than a full turn at a time before testing, listing, and adjusting more. Think of that slot in the adjustment screws as the hands on a clock, only turn 15 minutes at a time lol!
The best way to adjust the pickups height to the string is this way : Play the guitar with the controls wide open and plugged in to an amp.....you don't need the amp to be loud but the point is to make sound so you can hear the pickup output signal. Strike the strings and start to drop the pickup away from the strings...….you will hit a point where the signal output to the amp starts to drop down in level & that's where you stop dropping the pickup. At that critical point, raise the pickup gradually as listen for the point where the signal output brings to get bigger and louder (it will be only a few turns of the screw for height adjustment). The zone between where the signal starts dropping off and where the raising brings the signal louder is where you want to be. You adjust leaning into the louder direction but just at the threshold and maybe a hair more. The point is, that the pickup is far enough away from the strings for reasonable output but you are minimizing the magnetic drag on the strings from the pickup. You want to create the acoustic guitar thing of a natural string decay. Magnetic pull and drag on the string won't let the natural decay happen as the magnetic pull on the strings dampen the string vibration. The closer the magnet to the strings...the more dampening effect......even though the signal will be louder from the pickup as you raise it toward the strings. You can use your pick attack/touch sensitivity as well as the guitar volume control better to play it and control the guitar.....and your amp settings. This is where you inject a boost pedal if you need it to bump the signal up artificially...….like a KLON
It's also worth noting that the closer the pick up is to the bridge the less influence the pickup has on the string and vice versa. You can can prove this to your self with a strong magnet or simply by resting a pencil on the string in various places after the string has been plucked and seeing which pencil positions completly kill the string vibration most quickly. The string vibrates with the greatest amplitude at its mid point and so the neck pickup naturally picks up a stronger signal which allows you to adjust the neck pickup further from the string to help maximise sustain.
setting the bridge height off the body at the rear side correctly and having only the 2 outside screws to control the angle of the bridge (*middle 4 are for alignment only and are not snug) gets the bridge set up right. That affects the strings over the pickups and lets the strings vibrate more freely.
This is so educational, you should retitle it. I knew all this, but what I do is start by setting the pickups at the manufacturer default, then adjust them for sound. It’s quick and easy to find the sweet spot. Another factor is the string gauge. I play heavier strings, 10 to 52, so the pickup height is different because the magnetic pull is different. More metal.
God i have so many issues with my G string ringing weirdly in ways the other strings don't, completely new fretjob, set up so the other strings don't buzz. That one does, all over the neck. I figured out that the lower the pickups sit, the less it does it. I kinda hate my saymour duncan vintage staggered pickups for this, because if the G pole piece was lower i bet it wouldn't fucking do that
This is a VERY good point. I just bought a new 2018 Squire Strat, the pick up height seemed way too low on the bass strings. In my wisdom (?) I adjusted them to the Fender Specs (no details in the Squier manual). It sounded terrible, wobble/phasing due to the bass string adversely affecting the magnetic field from the pole pieces. I adjusted it back to the original spacing on the bass strings; that made it sound much better. The morale of the story is set it up to what SOUNDS right, not to some notional value. There is a video on here by Dan Patlansky, who advises against raising the PuPs too close to the strings.
I have Fender single coils with magnets under the coil. Also, some pickup manufacturers do use magnets for pole pieces on some designs (Seymour Duncan).
I do the pickup height adjustment by ear. Another thing that kills sustain on Strats are those paper stickers Fender puts on the base of the neck. There are You Tube postings about this.
All of my single pickup guitars sound better overall than my dual pickup guitars. I removed the neck pickup that I never used on my Charvel (simply cut a new pickguard) and the difference is quite noticeable. It's now clearer and more open and sustains better. The only thing the unused neck pickup was contributing to the mix was magnetic pull.
Have you every done a recording of each way? Lowered and higher positioned of the pickups? I would like to hear that comparrison.
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Thanks for the Common Sense Approach to Getting more sustain from a Stratocaster I'm a bonafide certified Stratocaster Junkie any one who can teach me something new about this Amazing Awesome Instrument we call the Strat I'm 64 years young I had my love affair with the Strar in my Junior High school maybe before so I'm still studying and learning and practicing and playing the Blues Guitar I'm the proud owner of a Fender Mexican Stratocaster with Fender Hot Noiseless pickups and a Fender Blues Junior IV Tweed amp with a Ibanez Sonic Distortion Mod this rig is a must for Blues Music Thanks for the great Common sense approach to setting up a Stratocaster I'm still learning that's half the fun of the Guitar
Actually it's magnet strength that affects string pull and might cause strange harmonic overtones. See if the shape of the magnetic field agrees with your sustain or sound, as does the the coil windings. You can play around with the height difference between the bass and treble strings. I place the strongest pole piece pickups at the bridge and might use a rail type or some new type of pickups like the Lace sensors at the neck. Yeah too bad, I need to pick up the harmonics so I set the pickups as close as possible. Lace sensors allow you to pick up more harmonics at the neck position when compared against the traditional pole pieces at the cost of punch or attack. Use a medium or light gauge set for more sustain and body. The 0.09 or 0.08 sets don't have the sustain and attack. This string height thing between the bass and treble strings is something I play around with to get the sound of an era. Cheers!
Ahhh I’ve been having warble on my 6th string after going up to 46 gauge. Now I know my single coils are too hi. Thanks! Would like to add ya best to do this plugged in, so you can balance your pickups outputs while fixing proximity to string vertically and horizontally.
If you hold the low E string on 9th fret and pick it with the front two pick ups high it will sound like boing and fade quickly, lower the front two pick ups down prob just a little above the pick guard with the low e side about 2mm lower then the high e side and pick the low E string holding the 9th fret and it will go boing and will fade away slow and even. You can lower the bridge to match the volume or be a little louder from there. Or lower it to begin with but test and adjust until the sound fading is even. It's very esy to hear it.
Great Lesson. You are exactly correct. You can't go "by the book" on pickup heights. Yes, you can use manufacturer specs as a benchmark, but it is really your ear that will give you the correct height.
You got to know your civil scope though I'm just getting into it and I can't even say it right I'm just kidding I'm using text to speech and I'm lazy anyways my buddy Biff up here we used to tear with Blackfoot anybody anyways I'm 14 I just found out about them but any of their guitars he attacked and repaired and she built some guitars for Grand Funk Railroad its kind of how are boss got into this business I believe and I'm a greenhorn still but yet Biff has great knowledge he informed me of the oscillator all these cool things that you could do course getting a the feed of the speaker without the speaker attached I got to figure out how to do that safely I've got an attenuator but you could zoom in on the sine wave and actually see little spikes and he says he could determine if it's a good amp or not that machine is an amazing tool you could find one for cheap do it
cg plott oh great suggestion by the way and F you if you start talking about the software apps use some of Abby's because I'm an it and I know my stuff go to the oscillator and shut up don't even think about it take your Authority from trained professionals and enjoy if you come up with something new in adventive Einstein will follow you but until that day let's do it right just as some doubted about digital and came to be I do love digital but still come on the day may come or psicosis tape but you still got to use those analog preamps so this is an advice not to even be argued but that's the thing you need that unit you cannot download an app and safely do the things you're going to damage your phone or the aunt that was just a precaution morning I've learned and heard from others the horror stories and yeah I'm lazy you know I meant an amp not my aunt good day to you all turkeys techies I said techies! Yay thanks for the video too by the way I was unaware of this and Biff didn't even tell me son of a be that's what I was trying to say earlier and yeah I truly believe it's all the way to the string until it barely touches and you telling me that doesn't affect the town too far away or else you're trying to sing into a microphone off stage so good thinking
Thanks man, very concise. I notice you have staggered single coil pickups. It looks like you have a modern radius strat, ie, not 7.5" like the older strats. in your view, can staggered pups be used on a larger radius strat (mine is appx 12" radius) providing the pickups are lower than usual? I have yet to establish if I can lower the G pole, or iI might try a wound 3rd G string.
Hi, I know this is an old video but if you see this, could you tell me how you deal with the huge volume jump from the single-coil neck and middle pickups to the bridge humbucker? I have a fender "Fat Strat". The pickup layout is the same as yours. I actually totally agree with you that the humbucker sounds great closer to the strings and the single coils with a bit of distance. Did you just learn to live with the volume jump or is there another piece of advice you could offer. I have an American Standard and a couple Les Pauls but it would be great to have this "Fat Stat" work out and have a little bit of both sounds. Thank you!
Get a multimeter and mesure the output with the Ohms scale on it. You will have similar volumes if your pickups doesn't have too much output difference. I have here a strat with Custom 69 Neck and Middle and a Little 55 (it's a Brazilian pickup, like a humbucker in a single format). The custom 69 has 5,8k Omhs and the Little 55 has 8k Ohms. With that difference I can't get similar volumes.
Adjust pup on the high side pluck string and listen......you will hear it ocsillating. (Similar to a string out of pitch ocsillation sound when tuning) Slowly adjust pup down until oscillation stops. It is just that simple for any pup, single or humbucker. String action and neck relief have the largest effect on sustain.
There is definitely a warble when it's too close. I was surprised how far down I had to go to get rid of it. It's not nonsense or a misconception. Use your ears or use a tuner.
One thing that might exacerbate problems are "baby strings" ie very slack, very light. Good set of something tight with enough mass and tension is a good way to improve your whole tone and response.
+MickP Yeah, try explaining "baby strings" to Billy Gibbons where it comes to tone. He uses .007's and I'm not hearing any tone loss or response from his playing!
I KNOW! I was thinking this dude obviously has never measured much, and sure not a machinist! He could have made it a lot easier by calling it what everyone else does!
Actually, many single coil pickups do indeed have a bar magnet running across the bottom of them. I believe that most of the Mexican made fenders have ceramic pickups made this way.
Been accumulating guitars since the late 70s and at one time had close to 100 of all types. I enjoyed playing unplugged most the time and thats the true way to hear a guitar's characteristics. Everything else can be tweeked. I don't understand the infatuation with sustain on a electric guitar. Acoustic yes. What are people doing? Are they hitting a G or D and counting the seconds? Do you hit a note and listen until only your dog can hear it? When playing how long do you really hold a chord or note? If its dying out within seconds you have bigger problems than magnet pull. And if you are a sustain fanatic get a compressor.
I've had over 60 Strats...been a working session man since the 70s...even built my own. Mostly just plug n to a decent amp [no pedals] and play... let my fingers make the thing work. .....way too much tech talk and gear now....lol...
I have set my poles very deep as low as they could go into the body on both single coil and humbuckers with just a very slight drop off in volume. Use a metal paper clip tied to a string and let the paper clip dangling near the poles, to see for yourself when the magnetic poles really make the metal paper clip snap to the magnet. You will be surprised at how strong the magnetic field can be and also how far apart the poles can be from the strings with hardly any loss of volume at all. Also the magnetic attraction, or how close the poles are to the strings is not perfectly proportionate to the volume. You can really separate them (poles from the strings) a lot more than you would think you could. Who plays at 100% volume every day anyway? I certainly do not. So even if there is a very slight drop in volume with the separation as great as you can get it, you can turn the amp or guitar volume knob up to compensate. Honestly I doubt the human ear could hear a difference in volume anyway when the amp and guitar are set to full volume, even using my method. The benefit of extreme separation of poles and strings is the magnets hardly affect the natural harmonic orbital rotation of a vibrating guitar strings so your sustain is as good as you can get!
I apologize Bud good observations but I believe this is about sustain not a volume thing but hey read my comment give it a try give it a shot there is an extreme difference learn from the wise Uno unless you are an experienced guy and I don't know cuz I want to learn from you just kidding I'm new to the game too I didn't even realize this but he is correct no need for paper clips aluminum foil just kidding again yes if you do have the strings hard enough they will vibrate no matter what but not if you get them a paper like the way it'll go stick into that magnet when it comes to arrest sustain to stay sustain admit I'm a text to voice idiot but hate what's the title if it's not about just sustained or tone but I believe he was trying to talk about just your pickup height and not letting it affect your tone or abilities but yeah you want that. Sound you do whatever you want because people sing up into the microphone and sm58 when they're doing their heavy metal stuff and it sounds so good does not sound good when you're two feet away or two in away because the proximity effect and that's basically what this is
Hi, only problem is with regular single coil hum will stay the same and sound will decrease, so in fact you´ll end up with MORE hum (signal to noise ratio) of course if you have noisless pups or humbackers that´s another story.
WillsEasyGuitar pretty much debunks the "string pull" theory. I think when the pickups are too close to the strings the lower frequencies don't have enough space to fully "develop" before they are captured by the electromagnet, cutting out the lower frequencies and some of the harmonics. That's what accounts for less sustain. A lot of the sustain comes from the harmonics and the harmonics are dampened by being too close to the strings. Of course, I may just be imagining this...
A pickup is not an electromagnet. It's an alternating-current (AC) generator. A pickup captures all of the frequencies in the section of vibrating string that is directly over the coils. The trick is to find a balance between too little and too much gain, because that sweet spot (pickup height) for the best tone and response is quite narrow.
so guitar guts tele blackface lost all my power and getting interuptions static type stuff is it dust or my jack leads broken? ?? any vids on removing tele pick guards n servicing em?
It's simple: dunk the neck PUP as far down as you can get it. Dunk the middle nearly as far. Put the bridge PUP as high as you can, as determined by how you rest your hand on the bridge -- you don't want your right hand to be pushing the 6th string onto the pickup pole piece. BUT ... the string elipse at the bridge is VERY small, so the pickup is not going to interfere with the vibration, and really, you need volume from that PUP simply BECAUSE the elipse is so small. So essentially, from neck to bridge, you should have an ascending height cascade. Hope that helps someone ...
Nooby question. Could pups being adjusted to close cause them to pick up harmonics from other unplayed strings? I have noticed on my ESP Strat, which is an HSS setup with a Floyd Rose Special(upgraded big brass block), that when I am playing one string, I will hear a very faint harmonic coming from the next string up, or down. Rather annoying, & I haven't messed with it much to resolve it. Could it be from pups being too high?
no its the resonance of the guitar. If you play a note say an E, other strings can start vibrating harmonics of the same note. For example open E string=> seventh fret harmonic (E note) on A string. This is much more noticeable on acoustics since the body vibrates more. But it can also be other things resonating, like the strings between the tuners and nut. And also the tremolo springs often resonate. You can put fuel line cuttings or surgical tubing inside the springs to mute this out.
Anthony, this problem is where muting the strings not being played becomes part of your technique. The other strings will react (resonate) to the string being plucked if you don't stop them from moving. Sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes not. It depends on what fits the song being played. You must use your hand or fingers to mute them when you don't want them to ring. Good luck. It's a tricky thing to adapt, but worth it!
If you're hearing those weird overtones only when playing on the bridge pickup (common with bridge humbucker-equipped Strat style guitars), it's probably the vibrato springs in the rear cavity that are vibrating. The pickup senses this and sends the signal to the amp. Try this: remove the rear cover and stick a mini-marshmallow-sized piece of soft foam rubber between each pair of springs. This damps the springs' vibrations. The vibrato will continue to operate just fine.
The magnet does not pickup the string vibration, the coil does. The strings are within the pickup magnets magnetic lines of flux which magnetizes the strings. The lines of flux from the strings then moves with the strings which is picked up by the coils. It has to do with the relative motion of the magnetic field/s and the coils. There is no relative motion between the pickup magnet and the coils, but there is relative motion between the magnetized strings and the coils. Simple experiment to prove this. Simply take a volt meter, a length of wire and a magnet. Hook the ends of the wire to each of the probes on your meter then pass your magnet over the wire. If you hold the magnet still it will produce no voltage. But moving the magnet over the wire in close proximity will produce a voltage. It's all about the relative motion between the magnetic field and the conductor/coil.
Yes, and once you find THE right position, the Stratocaster will sound so well that you will have a hard time putting the damn thing down!!! Lol Lower than higher pickup height is where its at, makes all the difference in the world! Nice video to help Stratocaster owners get a much better sound. Funny how when we first start out in the world of playing guitars we tend to raise those darn things way up thinking it's best... I know we've all been through that phase, only with time, and when you become a more seasoned player can you REALLY understand what's going on with correct pickup height. :-)
The Jimi B Project Many good steel rulers will have 32 and 64 ths on one side and mm on the other. Also lots of cheap rulers/gauges specific to guitar string/pickup height can be bought from the Chinese Communist sites like AliExpress etc.
Exactly! Those are some huge heights. Double what fender calls for. And setting them with the string off the nut can cause huge variables as you move around the fretboard.
Those are some huge clearances? Are you not depressing the string on the last fret before adjusting the height. I can't think of anyone I know who sets pickup height with the string Coming off the nut. Your tolerances are about double what fender recommend s. Most of us who watch your channel would assume a setup is done a certain way but it may be best to specify which method you are using so it doesn't discondonculate the bejeebers out of a new player.
Great video a hundred percent correct anyone else wants to say different try this get as close as you can with your string to your posts of magnets of whatever you got your Jagger's and tell me there's no difference if you were to put it that Manufacturing like Overkill it right and think over kill it by lowering it too far away it's like singing into a mic off stage this is a hundred percent accurate it is just like when you fly a kite if anyone else has anything different to say and you want to think about it too much just think the guy for his video that he's got us thinking thank you for your video sir I didn't even know this and I work in the industry professionally up here in Detroit my go-to guys Biff his name I meant to say is Biff and is touring with Blackfoot Judas Priest Cinderella all this hair bands that I'm not really into but you got to realize a lot and learn a lot about town and electronics going on tour overseas and all this Jazz and yeah I have a supersonic amp here in the states either and safely and then testing my readings before plugging in or professionally hiring someone to do so because youtubing it you will either murder yourself which is funny that's not the correct way to say you done murdered yourself or the amp or somebody else I don't care if it's analog solid state digital fufa if you're not comfortable don't know don't try to learn in one minute before you go on through UA-cam video or ask the other band can you borrow their amp and less you're back lining and you got the Bucks I didn't see any bad comments but if you did we need to somehow get just all the holes off here if I'm coming off as an a hole to you that means it's probably you thank you sir again for this fantastic video it got me thinking because I am getting ready to put my pickups in to Fat Cats or should I put my Seymour Duncan humbucker on the bridge up to me use your ears another good comment sorry about the misspells but you chat always jit what you want but if you fly sometimes you get what you bleed hey all those words I purposely said stop reading my comment go do something sincerely Porter Redeye raccoon writer guitarist singer intelligent lighting fixture repair technician at fantasee lighting during the day fill it right and you'll find us good day!
Hmmm... I put my pickups as close as possible to the strings and noticed that they sounded better the closer I got. But I use Lace Sensors, which have relatively very weak magnets, compared to alnico or ceramic bars.
Dude I have rewirerd my strat so I can use all 3 . Most Strats have 5 combinations mine has 7 . I think you can buy a Strat that has 7 combinations . I wired mine when I was 17 about 30 yrs ago .
You can also use one of the tone -pots for volume on the middle pup, a 3-way switch for the neck and bridge and have a single master tone control. Much more flexible.
Another sustain thief is a loose saddle screw. If one of those is dangling and vibrating you get a phantom buzz that steals your sustain and your tone. Just snug 'em all up.
If you really want to understand 😎 ua-cam.com/video/5JMsRX6SGlw/v-deo.html To keep it simple: If it sounds right, it is right. So it's the ear, not the ruler. The only thing to consider: You may not ad clarity via any amp, but you may amplify bass. So when in doubt, give a little more distance.
Sorry, but a lot of this is incorrect. The magnetic pull affecting the sustain is minimal compared to the actual physical proximity of the pickup to the string. This is a common false axiom a lot of players have. The magnetic pull on the string can and will affect the sustain if it is real close. Notice how when you come to within an 8th of an inch to the pole piece with a screwdriver. The magnetic field becomes exponentially stronger, pulling the screw driver tip to the magnet. Kind of a black hole effect. Yes this can affect sustain if your strings are within about 3/32". But what about the major factor that the pickup proximity to the string affects sustain? A vibrating string when first struck moves the most in an skeptical sort of vibration. Coming really close to the pickup. At this initial attack, the volume jumps, the voltage produced at the initial point can go over 2 volts! Almost immediately after the attack, the vibration will diminsh in a downward curve. It will level out as it reaches bottom. It takes a very long time for it to actually hit s bottom, theoretically, it never does, and I won't go into all that. With the pickup moves further away from the string it doesn't come nearly as close to the pickup on the attack. It doesn't produce the sharp spike it does when close. As the vibration curves in the same pattern, it's still relatively the same distance as the attack. Not ten times as close, but but probably one fifth as close as b4. Thus the attack voltage and the following voltage are way closer. You can now turn up the volume without that spike going thru the roof. This makes the whole duration of volume from start to finish longer. And yes, your magnets aren't pulling on the strings either. A double whammy here. Adjusting your strings for max sustain, good broadband frequency response, ample volume, is a matter of personal preference. So there is no exact formula for this. But many make the mistake that the closer, the better mindset. Don't want to come off as a "know it all", but I have many decades of experience working for a few of the major guitar mfgs. in Southern Calf. doing electronics.
Thank you John! So it's somewhat like a natural compressor to have the pups farther away... very interesting. (SRV's pups were adjusted very low). Thanks for taking the time to write that. And you have learned something too... UA-cam comments is where people with low self-esteem go to attack others as a means to feel smart and superior in a futile attempt to convince themselves that they don't think they are losers (too bad the ego boost from the "win" only lasts a few minutes" for them). Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Back the screws holding the neck to the body off a touch while the neck neck is under normal string tension. You may hear a 'crack' sound. That is the neck seating in the pocket properly. Then tighten the screws again. Instant sustain upgrade to bolt on neck guitars.
A reason to count in 64ths is to work in common denominators when you are doing adjustments in 64ths. Say the advice was: "for the bridge I like to set it between 5/64 and 6/64. For the neck I drop it between 7/64 and 8/64." That makes so much more sense than: "bridge between 5/64 and 3/32 and neck between 7/64 and 1/8."
Backing off the pups can easily make ALL the difference.It's stupid easy to experiment with; noticed that TOO MUCH signal is most often why even the cheapest models sound bad, especially using 10's and heavier.Can be a game changing adjustment. Cranked up, you can actually hear that there is a "threshold point"of optimal volume before distortion,- usually right around there is where you'll get the adverse string/ magnet pull. Also, crap Chinese electronics & mini pots can make decent pick ups sound bad; had a Jazzmaster that I really disliked the basic, clean sound(fine, unplugged), and that's all it took,- from flat and brittle, and ugly, to full, harmonically alive, and still jangly/cutting.Most Fender's require a little careful "balancing".
Wrong. Inverse square law. Look it up. Unless your strings are so close that they can't move because they are practically stuck to the pups, you won't notice any difference. I'm a guitar ignoramus and I even I know that. This is a common misconception. And while people keep on spouting this non-sense, then more people will believe it.
Because bridge single coils are almost useless (unless you are Mark Knopfler or Vince Gill) and Ibanezes don't have strat neck and middle single coils and their necks are too thin! You asked! :)
5:54 minutes of un-scientific, unproven claims. Besides, how much sustain do you really need? But I see what you're trying to do with that screwdriver, de-magnetize the pickup for perfect sustain.
You don't think a magnet moved closer to the standing wave on a vibrating guitar string will interfere with the string's movement? You can prove that to yourself pretty easily with a magnet and a guitar string...
Guitar Guts you may not know that someone took the time to do such a test, with a large magnet. And the outcome? Nexr to irrelevant. Science results care nothing about what you think and your logic behind it. Even scientific results may be proven wrong by subsequent tests.
Oh my god! Just play the damn thing. Every guitar model have something different. Learn and adapt yourself to the guitars. Don't make them all the same. This is guitarded!!!! Why did you buy this guitar dude if it doesn't have as much sustain as you need. If Strat was good enough for Hendrix i guess it must be enough for you.
I lowered my pick ups on my strat and it was a game changer! Thanks so much for this video!
Hey thanks for this, and all of your other videos. I am not much of a guitar player, but your videos, and vidoes like these, keep me interested, informed and inspired. Thanks for discovering these little tweaks and twerks and really nice to have made your acquaintance. Best regards from way over here on the west coast of Canada. ss
Thanks for this! Most interesting thing I learned was the concept of additive magnetic pull on the strings. I imagine i have struggled finding the sweet spot on a bridge pickup all because the neck pickup was too close. I’d dial in the bridge pickup, then do the neck, only to return to the bridge and not like what I had done. Something I will add for people doing adjustments - 1/4 screw turn can be all it takes to find that perfect spot, so don’t be changing things more than a full turn at a time before testing, listing, and adjusting more. Think of that slot in the adjustment screws as the hands on a clock, only turn 15 minutes at a time lol!
thanks for this video.. first time in years i've been happy with a guitar following this guide
The best way to adjust the pickups height to the string is this way :
Play the guitar with the controls wide open and plugged in to an amp.....you don't need the amp to be loud but the point is to make sound so you can hear the pickup output signal. Strike the strings and start to drop the pickup away from the strings...….you will hit a point where the signal output to the amp starts to drop down in level & that's where you stop dropping the pickup. At that critical point, raise the pickup gradually as listen for the point where the signal output brings to get bigger and louder (it will be only a few turns of the screw for height adjustment). The zone between where the signal starts dropping off and where the raising brings the signal louder is where you want to be. You adjust leaning into the louder direction but just at the threshold and maybe a hair more.
The point is, that the pickup is far enough away from the strings for reasonable output but you are minimizing the magnetic drag on the strings from the pickup. You want to create the acoustic guitar thing of a natural string decay. Magnetic pull and drag on the string won't let the natural decay happen as the magnetic pull on the strings dampen the string vibration. The closer the magnet to the strings...the more dampening effect......even though the signal will be louder from the pickup as you raise it toward the strings. You can use your pick attack/touch sensitivity as well as the guitar volume control better to play it and control the guitar.....and your amp settings. This is where you inject a boost pedal if you need it to bump the signal up artificially...….like a KLON
I’ve copied this to my notes app for future reference. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Pickup height was always something that confused me
Great idea, I´ll try this, thank you!
It's also worth noting that the closer the pick up is to the bridge the less influence the pickup has on the string and vice versa. You can can prove this to your self with a strong magnet or simply by resting a pencil on the string in various places after the string has been plucked and seeing which pencil positions completly kill the string vibration most quickly. The string vibrates with the greatest amplitude at its mid point and so the neck pickup naturally picks up a stronger signal which allows you to adjust the neck pickup further from the string to help maximise sustain.
setting the bridge height off the body at the rear side correctly and having only the 2 outside screws to control the angle of the bridge (*middle 4 are for alignment only and are not snug) gets the bridge set up right. That affects the strings over the pickups and lets the strings vibrate more freely.
Thanks for the vid. It's always so easy to take pics these days also w that cell phone.
This is so educational, you should retitle it. I knew all this, but what I do is start by setting the pickups at the manufacturer default, then adjust them for sound. It’s quick and easy to find the sweet spot.
Another factor is the string gauge. I play heavier strings, 10 to 52, so the pickup height is different because the magnetic pull is different. More metal.
some forum I looked at showed how to set my strat pickups with coins. it also matters about what type of magnet you have.
Great lesson... giving this a try...
Quality video. Very good job.
I have noticed the lower the humbucker the better the crunch of the power cords are! Like the guitar sounds in the band obituary' first few albums
There is a sweet spot that gives you "TONE" not just volume.
Finally someone mentions the single coil wable on strats.Wich effects the g string so much.
God i have so many issues with my G string ringing weirdly in ways the other strings don't, completely new fretjob, set up so the other strings don't buzz. That one does, all over the neck. I figured out that the lower the pickups sit, the less it does it. I kinda hate my saymour duncan vintage staggered pickups for this, because if the G pole piece was lower i bet it wouldn't fucking do that
This is a VERY good point. I just bought a new 2018 Squire Strat, the pick up height seemed way too low on the bass strings. In my wisdom (?) I adjusted them to the Fender Specs (no details in the Squier manual). It sounded terrible, wobble/phasing due to the bass string adversely affecting the magnetic field from the pole pieces. I adjusted it back to the original spacing on the bass strings; that made it sound much better. The morale of the story is set it up to what SOUNDS right, not to some notional value. There is a video on here by Dan Patlansky, who advises against raising the PuPs too close to the strings.
@@GCKelloch Yes, that's a better explanation: natural string oscillation adversely affected by proximity to the pole piece magnets.
I have Fender single coils with magnets under the coil.
Also, some pickup manufacturers do use magnets for pole pieces on some designs (Seymour Duncan).
oh yeah like the stag mag which is good if you have a wound g but don’t want adjustable poles
Good information ,just what i want to know.
I do the pickup height adjustment by ear. Another thing that kills sustain on Strats are those paper stickers Fender puts on the base of the neck. There are You Tube postings about this.
on fenders own guide to fitting a neck one of the very first things the guy says is to remove those stickers.
All of my single pickup guitars sound better overall than my dual pickup guitars. I removed the neck pickup that I never used on my Charvel (simply cut a new pickguard) and the difference is quite noticeable. It's now clearer and more open and sustains better. The only thing the unused neck pickup was contributing to the mix was magnetic pull.
Have you every done a recording of each way? Lowered and higher positioned of the pickups? I would like to hear that comparrison.
Thanks for the Common Sense Approach to Getting more sustain from a Stratocaster I'm a bonafide certified Stratocaster Junkie any one who can teach me something new about this Amazing Awesome Instrument we call the Strat I'm 64 years young I had my love affair with the Strar in my Junior High school maybe before so I'm still studying and learning and practicing and playing the Blues Guitar I'm the proud owner of a Fender Mexican Stratocaster with Fender Hot Noiseless pickups and a Fender Blues Junior IV Tweed amp with a Ibanez Sonic Distortion Mod this rig is a must for Blues Music Thanks for the great Common sense approach to setting up a Stratocaster I'm still learning that's half the fun of the Guitar
Actually it's magnet strength that affects string pull and might cause strange harmonic overtones. See if the shape of the magnetic field agrees with your sustain or sound, as does the the coil windings. You can play around with the height difference between the bass and treble strings. I place the strongest pole piece pickups at the bridge and might use a rail type or some new type of pickups like the Lace sensors at the neck. Yeah too bad, I need to pick up the harmonics so I set the pickups as close as possible. Lace sensors allow you to pick up more harmonics at the neck position when compared against the traditional pole pieces at the cost of punch or attack. Use a medium or light gauge set for more sustain and body. The 0.09 or 0.08 sets don't have the sustain and attack. This string height thing between the bass and treble strings is something I play around with to get the sound of an era. Cheers!
Ahhh I’ve been having warble on my 6th string after going up to 46 gauge. Now I know my single coils are too hi. Thanks!
Would like to add ya best to do this plugged in, so you can balance your pickups outputs while fixing proximity to string vertically and horizontally.
If you hold the low E string on 9th fret and pick it with the front two pick ups high it will sound like boing and fade quickly, lower the front two pick ups down prob just a little above the pick guard with the low e side about 2mm lower then the high e side and pick the low E string holding the 9th fret and it will go boing and will fade away slow and even. You can lower the bridge to match the volume or be a little louder from there. Or lower it to begin with but test and adjust until the sound fading is even. It's very esy to hear it.
Great Lesson. You are exactly correct. You can't go "by the book" on pickup heights. Yes, you can use manufacturer specs as a benchmark, but it is really your ear that will give you the correct height.
I use an oscilloscope... ;-)
You got to know your civil scope though I'm just getting into it and I can't even say it right I'm just kidding I'm using text to speech and I'm lazy anyways my buddy Biff up here we used to tear with Blackfoot anybody anyways I'm 14 I just found out about them but any of their guitars he attacked and repaired and she built some guitars for Grand Funk Railroad its kind of how are boss got into this business I believe and I'm a greenhorn still but yet Biff has great knowledge he informed me of the oscillator all these cool things that you could do course getting a the feed of the speaker without the speaker attached I got to figure out how to do that safely I've got an attenuator but you could zoom in on the sine wave and actually see little spikes and he says he could determine if it's a good amp or not that machine is an amazing tool you could find one for cheap do it
cg plott oh great suggestion by the way and F you if you start talking about the software apps use some of Abby's because I'm an it and I know my stuff go to the oscillator and shut up don't even think about it take your Authority from trained professionals and enjoy if you come up with something new in adventive Einstein will follow you but until that day let's do it right just as some doubted about digital and came to be I do love digital but still come on the day may come or psicosis tape but you still got to use those analog preamps so this is an advice not to even be argued but that's the thing you need that unit you cannot download an app and safely do the things you're going to damage your phone or the aunt that was just a precaution morning I've learned and heard from others the horror stories and yeah I'm lazy you know I meant an amp not my aunt good day to you all turkeys techies I said techies! Yay thanks for the video too by the way I was unaware of this and Biff didn't even tell me son of a be that's what I was trying to say earlier and yeah I truly believe it's all the way to the string until it barely touches and you telling me that doesn't affect the town too far away or else you're trying to sing into a microphone off stage so good thinking
Thanks man, very concise. I notice you have staggered single coil pickups. It looks like you have a modern radius strat, ie, not 7.5" like the older strats. in your view, can staggered pups be used on a larger radius strat (mine is appx 12" radius) providing the pickups are lower than usual? I have yet to establish if I can lower the G pole, or iI might try a wound 3rd G string.
Yeah. Don't be a pussy and just shove that G string magnet down (it will move with enough force) and problem solved.
Good video for newbies thanks . I'm not sure how many kids read these days . So maybe this will spur them on to learn more.
Hi, I know this is an old video but if you see this, could you tell me how you deal with the huge volume jump from the single-coil neck and middle pickups to the bridge humbucker? I have a fender "Fat Strat". The pickup layout is the same as yours. I actually totally agree with you that the humbucker sounds great closer to the strings and the single coils with a bit of distance. Did you just learn to live with the volume jump or is there another piece of advice you could offer. I have an American Standard and a couple Les Pauls but it would be great to have this "Fat Stat" work out and have a little bit of both sounds. Thank you!
Get a multimeter and mesure the output with the Ohms scale on it. You will have similar volumes if your pickups doesn't have too much output difference. I have here a strat with Custom 69 Neck and Middle and a Little 55 (it's a Brazilian pickup, like a humbucker in a single format). The custom 69 has 5,8k Omhs and the Little 55 has 8k Ohms. With that difference I can't get similar volumes.
Adjust pup on the high side pluck string and listen......you will hear it ocsillating. (Similar to a string out of pitch ocsillation sound when tuning) Slowly adjust pup down until oscillation stops. It is just that simple for any pup, single or humbucker. String action and neck relief have the largest effect on sustain.
So true! 😊
Indeed, a single coil too close to the strings can give you that warble.
There is definitely a warble when it's too close. I was surprised how far down I had to go to get rid of it. It's not nonsense or a misconception. Use your ears or use a tuner.
Thanks great vid
Yes.. I like to lower my pickups and over drive the amp a touch more.
Have you played around with the Ed O- Brien strat?
Thank you.
For god sake use mm instead, espesially when dealing with small distances.
They don't have mm in the US.
@@jonmatthews4254 we have it, we just chose something better
4/32 is 3 mm, or at least very close...
Does lowering the H lower its volume? My H is loud! I have a player strat HSS
Pickup height is very important
1/8 3/32.....I was struggling with 8/64 and 6/64. Took me a min. Been a while since school.
Imperial measurements are a complete joke sometimes 😂 Metric is the way
I have a hot rail in my strat in the bridge position. It sounds pretty good, but I'm a bit confused about how high it should be.
Why not use magnetic slugs along WITH a bar magnet on a humbucker, or would that just cause a magnetic polarity disaster ?
One thing that might exacerbate problems are "baby strings" ie very slack, very light. Good set of something tight with enough mass and tension is a good way to improve your whole tone and response.
+MickP Yeah, try explaining "baby strings" to Billy Gibbons where it comes to tone. He uses .007's and I'm not hearing any tone loss or response from his playing!
i dig... i wear the middle one flat...i never use it so would the removal of it change my sound? ive got three of Yamaha Pacifica 112Vs (ssh)
refering to my pacs question : minimally i guess? removal of the mid pu...?
P knows what he’s talking about . I just don’t have patience to explain to a dude . Read the guy after you . With the P . He’s right !
8/64th = 1/8" and 6/64th = 3/32" just fyi
I KNOW! I was thinking this dude obviously has never measured much, and sure not a machinist! He could have made it a lot easier by calling it what everyone else does!
Yeah but what is that in imperial gallons?
Actually, many single coil pickups do indeed have a bar magnet running across the bottom of them. I believe that most of the Mexican made fenders have ceramic pickups made this way.
None of my 5 MiM came with ceramic magnets. I bought them all used so maybe they were all upgraded?
Been accumulating guitars since the late 70s and at one time had close to 100 of all types. I enjoyed playing unplugged most the time and thats the true way to hear a guitar's characteristics. Everything else can be tweeked. I don't understand the infatuation with sustain on a electric guitar. Acoustic yes. What are people doing? Are they hitting a G or D and counting the seconds? Do you hit a note and listen until only your dog can hear it? When playing how long do you really hold a chord or note? If its dying out within seconds you have bigger problems than magnet pull. And if you are a sustain fanatic get a compressor.
I've had over 60 Strats...been a working session man since the 70s...even built my own. Mostly just plug n to a decent amp [no pedals] and play... let my fingers make the thing work. .....way too much tech talk and gear now....lol...
I have set my poles very deep as low as they could go into the body on both single coil and humbuckers with just a very slight drop off in volume. Use a metal paper clip tied to a string and let the paper clip dangling near the poles, to see for yourself when the magnetic poles really make the metal paper clip snap to the magnet. You will be surprised at how strong the magnetic field can be and also how far apart the poles can be from the strings with hardly any loss of volume at all.
Also the magnetic attraction, or how close the poles are to the strings is not perfectly proportionate to the volume. You can really separate them (poles from the strings) a lot more than you would think you could. Who plays at 100% volume every day anyway? I certainly do not. So even if there is a very slight drop in volume with the separation as great as you can get it, you can turn the amp or guitar volume knob up to compensate. Honestly I doubt the human ear could hear a difference in volume anyway when the amp and guitar are set to full volume, even using my method.
The benefit of extreme separation of poles and strings is the magnets hardly affect the natural harmonic orbital rotation of a vibrating guitar strings so your sustain is as good as you can get!
thanks Peter
I apologize Bud good observations but I believe this is about sustain not a volume thing but hey read my comment give it a try give it a shot there is an extreme difference learn from the wise Uno unless you are an experienced guy and I don't know cuz I want to learn from you just kidding I'm new to the game too I didn't even realize this but he is correct no need for paper clips aluminum foil just kidding again yes if you do have the strings hard enough they will vibrate no matter what but not if you get them a paper like the way it'll go stick into that magnet when it comes to arrest sustain to stay sustain admit I'm a text to voice idiot but hate what's the title if it's not about just sustained or tone but I believe he was trying to talk about just your pickup height and not letting it affect your tone or abilities but yeah you want that. Sound you do whatever you want because people sing up into the microphone and sm58 when they're doing their heavy metal stuff and it sounds so good does not sound good when you're two feet away or two in away because the proximity effect and that's basically what this is
Mark Porter gosh mate, ever heard of commas?
Hi, only problem is with regular single coil hum will stay the same and sound will decrease, so in fact you´ll end up with MORE hum (signal to noise ratio) of course if you have noisless pups or humbackers that´s another story.
Too close also seems to reduce the intensity of touch harmonics to the point where the weaker ones can vanish.
WillsEasyGuitar pretty much debunks the "string pull" theory. I think when the pickups are too close to the strings the lower frequencies don't have enough space to fully "develop" before they are captured by the electromagnet, cutting out the lower frequencies and some of the harmonics. That's what accounts for less sustain. A lot of the sustain comes from the harmonics and the harmonics are dampened by being too close to the strings. Of course, I may just be imagining this...
A pickup is not an electromagnet. It's an alternating-current (AC) generator. A pickup captures all of the frequencies in the section of vibrating string that is directly over the coils. The trick is to find a balance between too little and too much gain, because that sweet spot (pickup height) for the best tone and response is quite narrow.
so guitar guts tele blackface lost all my power and getting interuptions static type stuff is it dust or my jack leads broken? ?? any vids on removing tele pick guards n servicing em?
Check out “Dave’s World of Fun Stuff”.
It's simple: dunk the neck PUP as far down as you can get it. Dunk the middle nearly as far. Put the bridge PUP as high as you can, as determined by how you rest your hand on the bridge -- you don't want your right hand to be pushing the 6th string onto the pickup pole piece. BUT ... the string elipse at the bridge is VERY small, so the pickup is not going to interfere with the vibration, and really, you need volume from that PUP simply BECAUSE the elipse is so small. So essentially, from neck to bridge, you should have an ascending height cascade. Hope that helps someone ...
good point. I have noticed that I rest my hand differently depending on the song.
Your main consideration in setting your pups is hand comfort?
Nooby question. Could pups being adjusted to close cause them to pick up harmonics from other unplayed strings? I have noticed on my ESP Strat, which is an HSS setup with a Floyd Rose Special(upgraded big brass block), that when I am playing one string, I will hear a very faint harmonic coming from the next string up, or down. Rather annoying, & I haven't messed with it much to resolve it. Could it be from pups being too high?
no its the resonance of the guitar. If you play a note say an E, other strings can start vibrating harmonics of the same note. For example open E string=> seventh fret harmonic (E note) on A string. This is much more noticeable on acoustics since the body vibrates more. But it can also be other things resonating, like the strings between the tuners and nut. And also the tremolo springs often resonate. You can put fuel line cuttings or surgical tubing inside the springs to mute this out.
Anthony, this problem is where muting the strings not being played becomes part of your technique. The other strings will react (resonate) to the string being plucked if you don't stop them from moving.
Sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes not. It depends on what fits the song being played.
You must use your hand or fingers to mute them when you don't want them to ring. Good luck. It's a tricky thing to adapt, but worth it!
If you're hearing those weird overtones only when playing on the bridge pickup (common with bridge humbucker-equipped Strat style guitars), it's probably the vibrato springs in the rear cavity that are vibrating. The pickup senses this and sends the signal to the amp. Try this: remove the rear cover and stick a mini-marshmallow-sized piece of soft foam rubber between each pair of springs. This damps the springs' vibrations. The vibrato will continue to operate just fine.
Fred Flints 🐒💭aKa palming
The magnet does not pickup the string vibration, the coil does. The strings are within the pickup magnets magnetic lines of flux which magnetizes the strings. The lines of flux from the strings then moves with the strings which is picked up by the coils. It has to do with the relative motion of the magnetic field/s and the coils. There is no relative motion between the pickup magnet and the coils, but there is relative motion between the magnetized strings and the coils. Simple experiment to prove this. Simply take a volt meter, a length of wire and a magnet. Hook the ends of the wire to each of the probes on your meter then pass your magnet over the wire. If you hold the magnet still it will produce no voltage. But moving the magnet over the wire in close proximity will produce a voltage. It's all about the relative motion between the magnetic field and the conductor/coil.
Yes, and once you find THE right position, the Stratocaster will sound so well that you will have a hard time putting the damn thing down!!! Lol
Lower than higher pickup height is where its at, makes all the difference in the world!
Nice video to help Stratocaster owners get a much better sound. Funny how when we first start out in the world of playing guitars we tend to raise those darn things way up thinking it's best... I know we've all been through that phase, only with time, and when you become a more seasoned player can you REALLY understand what's going on with correct pickup height. :-)
Could you please tell me what you meant by 8 64ths for the single coil pickup? Could you please tell me the distance in mm? Thanks
3.175...hope that helps...a year later.
The Jimi B Project Many good steel rulers will have 32 and 64 ths on one side and mm on the other. Also lots of cheap rulers/gauges specific to guitar string/pickup height can be bought from the Chinese Communist sites like AliExpress etc.
The Jimi B Project Check out “Dave’s World of Fun Stuff” for some guitar service, repair and setup vids.
Hundred of metric converter tables on the interwebs.
I got rid of my backache when i swopped my LP for a Strat 🤣🤣
Is the height you mentionfretted or unfretted?
Exactly! Those are some huge heights. Double what fender calls for. And setting them with the string off the nut can cause huge variables as you move around the fretboard.
Those are some huge clearances? Are you not depressing the string on the last fret before adjusting the height. I can't think of anyone I know who sets pickup height with the string Coming off the nut. Your tolerances are about double what fender recommend s. Most of us who watch your channel would assume a setup is done a certain way but it may be best to specify which method you are using so it doesn't discondonculate the bejeebers out of a new player.
i made my strat sustain for ages by getting a les paul
😂 😂
And we're so happy that you did! One less person trying to play a real guitar ...
Yeah. And remember, fuzz is shit.
Hey hey hey
@@Tonetwisters Haha mate, that really made me laugh on this New Years day in sunny NZ,, maybe say hi
ua-cam.com/video/DgretiFUO7g/v-deo.html Gib
Just keep Strat pickups low and be done with it.
Drop em low and crank the amp. Easy peasy
Great video a hundred percent correct anyone else wants to say different try this get as close as you can with your string to your posts of magnets of whatever you got your Jagger's and tell me there's no difference if you were to put it that Manufacturing like Overkill it right and think over kill it by lowering it too far away it's like singing into a mic off stage this is a hundred percent accurate it is just like when you fly a kite if anyone else has anything different to say and you want to think about it too much just think the guy for his video that he's got us thinking thank you for your video sir I didn't even know this and I work in the industry professionally up here in Detroit my go-to guys Biff his name I meant to say is Biff and is touring with Blackfoot Judas Priest Cinderella all this hair bands that I'm not really into but you got to realize a lot and learn a lot about town and electronics going on tour overseas and all this Jazz and yeah I have a supersonic amp here in the states either and safely and then testing my readings before plugging in or professionally hiring someone to do so because youtubing it you will either murder yourself which is funny that's not the correct way to say you done murdered yourself or the amp or somebody else I don't care if it's analog solid state digital fufa if you're not comfortable don't know don't try to learn in one minute before you go on through UA-cam video or ask the other band can you borrow their amp and less you're back lining and you got the Bucks I didn't see any bad comments but if you did we need to somehow get just all the holes off here if I'm coming off as an a hole to you that means it's probably you thank you sir again for this fantastic video it got me thinking because I am getting ready to put my pickups in to Fat Cats or should I put my Seymour Duncan humbucker on the bridge up to me use your ears another good comment sorry about the misspells but you chat always jit what you want but if you fly sometimes you get what you bleed hey all those words I purposely said stop reading my comment go do something sincerely Porter Redeye raccoon writer guitarist singer intelligent lighting fixture repair technician at fantasee lighting during the day fill it right and you'll find us good day!
,.,,,....;;;"'!)(---,,..!!!!????),,,,,,,,,.........
Wow, nothing said
Hmmm... I put my pickups as close as possible to the strings and noticed that they sounded better the closer I got. But I use Lace Sensors, which have relatively very weak magnets, compared to alnico or ceramic bars.
Dude I have rewirerd my strat so I can use all 3 . Most Strats have 5 combinations mine has 7 . I think you can buy a Strat that has 7 combinations . I wired mine when I was 17 about 30 yrs ago .
...and this is relevant because..?
You can also use one of the tone -pots for volume on the middle pup, a 3-way switch for the neck and bridge and have a single master tone control.
Much more flexible.
Another sustain thief is a loose saddle screw. If one of those is dangling and vibrating you get a phantom buzz that steals your sustain and your tone. Just snug 'em all up.
6/64 should be reduced to 3/32 same thing.
If you really want to understand 😎
ua-cam.com/video/5JMsRX6SGlw/v-deo.html
To keep it simple: If it sounds right, it is right. So it's the ear, not the ruler. The only thing to consider: You may not ad clarity via any amp, but you may amplify bass. So when in doubt, give a little more distance.
Sorry, but a lot of this is incorrect. The magnetic pull affecting the sustain is minimal compared to the actual physical proximity of the pickup to the string. This is a common false axiom a lot of players have. The magnetic pull on the string can and will affect the sustain if it is real close. Notice how when you come to within an 8th of an inch to the pole piece with a screwdriver. The magnetic field becomes exponentially stronger, pulling the screw driver tip to the magnet. Kind of a black hole effect. Yes this can affect sustain if your strings are within about 3/32". But what about the major factor that the pickup proximity to the string affects sustain? A vibrating string when first struck moves the most in an skeptical sort of vibration. Coming really close to the pickup. At this initial attack, the volume jumps, the voltage produced at the initial point can go over 2 volts! Almost immediately after the attack, the vibration will diminsh in a downward curve. It will level out as it reaches bottom. It takes a very long time for it to actually hit s bottom, theoretically, it never does, and I won't go into all that. With the pickup moves further away from the string it doesn't come nearly as close to the pickup on the attack. It doesn't produce the sharp spike it does when close. As the vibration curves in the same pattern, it's still relatively the same distance as the attack. Not ten times as close, but but probably one fifth as close as b4. Thus the attack voltage and the following voltage are way closer. You can now turn up the volume without that spike going thru the roof. This makes the whole duration of volume from start to finish longer. And yes, your magnets aren't pulling on the strings either. A double whammy here. Adjusting your strings for max sustain, good broadband frequency response, ample volume, is a matter of personal preference. So there is no exact formula for this. But many make the mistake that the closer, the better mindset. Don't want to come off as a "know it all", but I have many decades of experience working for a few of the major guitar mfgs. in Southern Calf. doing electronics.
total gibberish. PLEASE tell us what guitar company you work for, so we can avoid it.
Inverse square law.
a lot of words to show how smart he thinks he is.
thanks John...
Thank you John! So it's somewhat like a natural compressor to have the pups farther away... very interesting. (SRV's pups were adjusted very low).
Thanks for taking the time to write that. And you have learned something too... UA-cam comments is where people with low self-esteem go to attack others as a means to feel smart and superior in a futile attempt to convince themselves that they don't think they are losers (too bad the ego boost from the "win" only lasts a few minutes" for them).
Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
FYI 6/64ths" = 3/32" 8/64ths"= 1/8"
Dougsie yeah, but you're more technical in 64ths
Only posted for those that didn't have a rule w/ 64ths
EH? more technical? in what way is that technical. Technically 3/32 = 0.09375" just as 1/8" = 0.125"
My point exactly
How is 8/64ths twice as far as 6/64th?
Sustain Robber is bolt on neck. Magnets are not strong enough to do that.
aalex497 doubt
Back the screws holding the neck to the body off a touch while the neck neck is under normal string tension. You may hear a 'crack' sound. That is the neck seating in the pocket properly. Then tighten the screws again. Instant sustain upgrade to bolt on neck guitars.
8/64ths"? shurely you mean 1/8th" , also 4/64" = 1/16", 6/64" = 3/32" .
A reason to count in 64ths is to work in common denominators when you are doing adjustments in 64ths.
Say the advice was: "for the bridge I like to set it between 5/64 and 6/64. For the neck I drop it between 7/64 and 8/64."
That makes so much more sense than: "bridge between 5/64 and 3/32 and neck between 7/64 and 1/8."
@@juicysuit7195 You bunch of moron "math geniuses".
Try just counting to 10 and use millimeters instead. Much easier and perfectly clear.
Zachary Handcrafted Guitars woah there buddy take it easy😎
This is hilarious. Imperial measures are awesome, fuck Napoleon.
Did you say 8/64 ? That's a radium made up size..
6/64? do you mean 3/32? 🤤
also 8/64? really?
how about 1/8?
seriously, what grade did you make it through in school?
If you want maximum sustain you have to pay for it. Sell all that junk and get a prs.
8/64=1/8
Next time I buy weed I’m asking my guy for an 8/64th
Backing off the pups can easily make ALL the difference.It's stupid easy to experiment with; noticed that TOO MUCH signal is most often why even the cheapest models sound bad, especially using 10's and heavier.Can be a game changing adjustment.
Cranked up, you can actually hear that there is a "threshold point"of optimal volume before distortion,- usually right around there is where you'll get the adverse string/ magnet pull.
Also, crap Chinese electronics & mini pots can make decent pick ups sound bad; had a Jazzmaster that I really disliked the basic, clean sound(fine, unplugged), and that's all it took,- from flat and brittle, and ugly, to full, harmonically alive, and still jangly/cutting.Most Fender's require a little careful "balancing".
Wrong. Inverse square law. Look it up.
Unless your strings are so close that they can't move because they are practically stuck to the pups, you won't notice any difference. I'm a guitar ignoramus and I even I know that.
This is a common misconception. And while people keep on spouting this non-sense, then more people will believe it.
I hate when people use words like 'warble'... WTF does 'warble' mean in YOUR part of the US? Not a word, never heard of this strat 'warble'
Slight Pitch variation
We have warbles in our garden.
I just keep my mouth shut and play my guitar .
Shut up an play yer guitar -Frank Zappa
Pretty ironic. Frank was a master tinkerer. Have you ever seen the wiring setups he had on some of his guitars?
Wolf notes are more of a problem than sustain, why put a humbucker on a strat?? Buy an Ibanez
Because bridge single coils are almost useless (unless you are Mark Knopfler or Vince Gill) and Ibanezes don't have strat neck and middle single coils and their necks are too thin!
You asked! :)
@Flatus Antiquitous Are there Ibanezes with necks that have as thick of a profile as a strat neck? Which models?
No guitar really needs three pickups so improve the sustain by removing the middle pickup.
You've GOT to be kidding.
8/64 ths ?....GEEEZ !...I CANT SEE THEM.... LETS SETTLE ON AN 1/8 th
I hate sustain. Do everything to stop it. It's a guitar, not a violin.
woah this accent😂
For fucks shake stop saying that ! Check wills easy guitar busting that lie with a huuuuge magnet that bearly affects the tone!!!
Everything about a strat is anti-sustain.. bolton neck, 25.5 scale, cheap pickups, tremolo bard, 9.5 inch radius
Try telling that to Steve Ray ! ( i know he's dead but you get my drift) ! No probs getting a 'thick' powerful tone out of his strats. 🎸👍
Really bad focus on this video. Can’t watch it.
5:54 minutes of un-scientific, unproven claims. Besides, how much sustain do you really need? But I see what you're trying to do with that screwdriver, de-magnetize the pickup for perfect sustain.
You don't think a magnet moved closer to the standing wave on a vibrating guitar string will interfere with the string's movement? You can prove that to yourself pretty easily with a magnet and a guitar string...
Guitar Guts you may not know that someone took the time to do such a test, with a large magnet. And the outcome? Nexr to irrelevant.
Science results care nothing about what you think and your logic behind it. Even scientific results may be proven wrong by subsequent tests.
Lots of BS here about sustain.
If you are at the point with your playing capabilities that you are questioning how to get better sustain this video is no use to you.
Oh my god! Just play the damn thing. Every guitar model have something different. Learn and adapt yourself to the guitars. Don't make them all the same. This is guitarded!!!! Why did you buy this guitar dude if it doesn't have as much sustain as you need. If Strat was good enough for Hendrix i guess it must be enough for you.
What a load of rubbish, totally wrong.