5. Technical checklist
Visually, your instrument should now be in good shape. But, as mentioned before: We're not quite done yet! In order to maintain your guitar's value and to avoid unpleasant surprises on stage, you should regularly go over a technical checklist, as we have outlined below.
Height adjustment of the pickups
Most guitarists tend to neglect checking on their pickup height once in a while. This is a pity, because the distance between the pickup and the strings massively contributes to a guitar's tone. We'll show you what to consider when you adjust your pickups.
The basics
The general rule: The closer the pickup sits below the strings, the stronger and louder the signal will be.
In addition, a smaller distance generates inharmonic overtones, which can produce a fat sound when they're in the right proportion to the harmonics. But take care! If the distance is too small, the inharmonics can take over and cause an unpleasantly rough and hard tone.
For adjusting the pickup distance, two concepts can be distinguished: Fender-style single coil pickups with magnetic pole pieces, and pickups based on the Humbucker design.
Adjusting vintage style single coils
For pickups with magnetic pole pieces (e.g. vintage style single coils), the distance from the strings should be slightly larger than with Humbuckers, which are based on indirectly magnetized pole pieces. Begin by lowering the neck pickup to a distance of approximately 6 mm. The distance between the pickup and the string is measured with a ruler while depressing the string at the last fret.
This position will be the starting point for our adjustments. Now hold the guitar in a playing position, strike the low E string and simultaneously decrease the distance. When the string's vibration becomes irregular, it is affected by the magnetic field of the pickup and you've reached the minimum distance. Now increase the distance by about half a millimeter and strike the string again. If it vibrates unhindered, the pickup height is adjusted correctly.
By the way: Due to the smaller mass of the high E string, you can reduce the distance you just found for the low side by about another millimeter on that side.
The setting for the neck pickup serves as a starting point for adjusting the other two pickups. Usually, the center pickup can be positioned about half a millimeter closer to the strings, while the distance can be reduced by 1 mm (compared to the neck pickup) for the bridge pickup.
Humbucker
In a Humbucker pickup, the magnets are located below the coil and their magnetic fields don't directly affect the strings. This means that despite the higher output, the distance between the pickup and the strings can be smaller than with the considerably more “magnetic” vintage single coils. For the bridge pickup, a value of about 2-3 mm has proven to be a realistic average. Only high power pickups with extremely powerful magnets require a greater distance of about 3.5-4 mm.
Hint:
As with single coils, the distance between the high E string and the pickup should be about 1 mm less than the setting found for the low E string, in order to achieve a balanced performance.
The neck pickup
Due to the greater amplitude of the strings' vibrations in the area around the neck pickup and the resulting louder signal, it should be placed a bit farther from the strings than the bridge pickup. Balancing the volumes of the two pickups is usually done by ear. If the neck pickup is louder than the correctly adjusted bridge pickup, just lower it by about a millimeter. If it is too quiet, bring it closer to the strings.
