Tips on setting your pickup height! - Never have your guitar sound thin or muddy again

This is a really good video because it describes the difference in sound between high set pick ups and low set pick ups, rather than just showing how to set them up.

I loved the way you explained in easy-to-understand terms what the results of lowering the pickup is. Thank you! Also appreciated the two channel guitar setting!

Best direct comparison and demonstration video I've seen so far!

this was the ultimate video on this topic thank you. I struggle with a low watt tube amp which limits my dynamic range a little, but I think dialing in the height of your pickups is a seriously overlooked control over your tone.

Great video! Really gave me the insight into adjusting pickup height to match the tone I need out of all my guitars!

Great explanation of how to get closer to the sound you want from the guitar. This guy sounds like he knows more about this than 99% of the other guitar YouTubers out there. Big thumbs up and subscription!

As a Owner of a highly flamed Les Paul in Iced tea burst just like the 58 i this vid at the end of the day the 58 plain top has its own special allure! The more i see the PT's the more i like them.👍

I bought a lightly used 2014 Les Paul R8 VOS in 2018. When I first plugged in and played, it sounded great... after noodling around a bit more, I found that the difference in tone from bridge to neck pickups was a bit lacking. The prior owner had cranked up the pickup heights, possibly because some people think "more is better". Lowering them both to a proper, balanced height really opened up the airy, 'woody' tone that should be in the neck pickup on a vintage LP and not the 'wooly', muddier tone of later year, higher gain LPs. The bridge went from a bit too hot to a classic "Telecaster on Steroids" bright, bighting tone and the balance between the Bridge and Neck was perfect while the tonal differences were as broad as the day is long. I can't help but think that the last owner might have done this chasing a tone they didn't find in that direction (which some people do, almost counterintuitively) or they just didn't like the vintage LP tone vs. the later year 80's distortion that called for higher gain tones and hotter pickups. Once readjusted, it was as an instant heirloom LP that has 'that sound' I had in my head from the egde-of-breakup blues and overdriven classic rock tones I'd heard and preferred all my life. If you have a tool to measure string and pickup heights, don't be afraid to experiment - you can always return 'home' - and definitely challenge yourself if you've been told to raise the pickup heights to get a hotter sounding pickup as you'll be leaving behind qualities you can't regain elsewhere in the signal chain.

To tune a pickup... You get up close to the string and then you back them off slowly as the string resonates you hear it oscillate. You may have to pluck the string multiple times The Sweet spot is for the oscillation no longer exists through the amp. That is where you get the most out of the pickup, response sustain, clarity tone! -Peace

Thanks Sébastien. This validates a lot if what I have learned through experimentation. I've also learned a few things!

Thank you,just lowered my Humbuckers and got more detail,control and resonance. No need to floor a Hot Rod,plenty of power.

Exactly what I need for my project. Thanks.

Man when you raised the pickups, that was sounding like some scary shit haha the increase in volume is nutty

Great explanation and examples man! Thanks.

Those are good tips that many guitarists seem to be unaware of. Humbuckers often have adjustable screw posts that can be raised or lowered to balance the volume between strings. In addition, raising the screw posts can add clarity, brightness, and enhance articulation. While lowering them produces a warmer, rounder tone. Always remember to take measurements from your pickups to the bottoms of your strings before you start, so you can easily return them to that position if you're not happy with the results. Also, small adjustments, 1/4 to 1/2 screw turn can make a big difference in tone.

There's some misunderstanding here about what actually changes with pickup height. It is true that the note fundamentals through maybe the 3rd harmonic increase in strength when the coil is closer to the string, but the perceived increase in highs is from the attack to sustain ratio increasing as well as the string pull effect on harmonics at different points. Of course, it doesn't sound like the highs are increased in this video because the high-end ducks when a tube amp is driven harder and the impedance on the tubes along the entire signal path increases. The perceived increase in sustain when pickups are lowered is also more about the attack to sustain ratio evening out than the minute effect of string pull at one point. I'd set the pickup height to what sounds right to you regarding attack/sustain ratio and use a clean boost to adjust the level into the first gain stage of your amp.

oof! my bridge pickup was giving me some muddy signal. found this video, lowered the pickup and we're sounding so much better! thank you!

Good video. I'm assuming those initial pickup height measurements were taken without fretting the strings at the last fret because they seem awfully low. I have a couple Gibson LP's, an R9 and an R0, both with Custombuckers. They are lower wind pickups with very weak A3 magnets. Due to the weak magnets, you can and pretty much have to adjust them fairly close to the strings to get anything out of them unless you prefer an anemic tone. They are set close right from the Custom Shop. For humbucker equipped guitars, I generally set the pickup height equal distance from the low-E and high-E strings and then fine tune the individual string output with the pole-piece screws. For single coil pickups , I generally set the pickup height to be 1-2 64's of an inch higher on the high-E than on the low-E. The pole-pieces are usually pre-staggered on single coil pickups to balance the string output.

3/32 on both humbuckers is a generally perfect setting, i've found. I don't have PAF style pickups mind you, as far as unbalanced coils, etc.

Excellent vid great advice.thanks😊