It was muddy, dark, and squishy before I adjusted the pole pieces, but clear clean and sparkly after. If all the poles are even height ("flat"), the first immediate difference is that you'll probably hear more bass frequency response, mainly because the string balance as … And if there’s still a string that sounds too loudly or quietly, adjust the individual piece … I set the height of the pole pieces on my Revstar to get the best balance between the strings, first by ear and then using SignalScope to actually measure the peak values. Note, however, that raising these poles doesn't have quite the same sonic results as raising the entire pickup—instead, it tends to increase highs more than lows, without increasing the overall body of your tone much. A good screwdriver is often all it takes to nail the pickup’s sweet spot while also fine-tuning your string-to-string balance to perfection. What are the tonal differences (if any) of lowering the entire pick up opposed to slightley screwing "in" the individual pole pieces. Pole piece height is a "natural EQ" of sorts, and fortunately can be explained in very simple terms. So, given that a pickup's tone is the union of many attributes (pickup height, mounting method, etc. But here’s why: The old PAF design using Alnico III or II magnets has a single small bar magnet in the base providing the magnetic charge for both the steel pole-piece screws and slugs in both bobbins of a humbucker. Do you have a … Occasionally with the neck I will raise the pole pieces … Guys, please forgive me if this is a stupid question. Luckily, P90s – as well as humbucking pickups – have a trick up their sleeves. Pickup height is string to top of pole piece - 1/16” in the diagram. if you can get the Guitar magazine they have a Les Paul special issue out currently that covers the Duggie Lock '59, the bridge pick up is set low, but the pole pieces super high, I've tried this on mine. (Measurements from the bottom of the string to the top of the magnetic pole piece screws) Yep … that’s CLOSE! I'm trying to get the most volume, clarity, and sustain out of my 53/10s, been playing around with the pickup height. ive gone through truss rod adjustments action/bridge intonation pickup height i know little to nothing about adjusting pole pieces aside from, balancin out volume between strings. What I found was that you might have to go against accepted wisdom to get the right balance - especially if you use non-standard strings. I have an even "string volume" right now, so lets say I give each pole a half turn "in" (clockwise). Because the magnetic pull is fairly low (in the 300-Gauss range compared to 1100 for a typical Strat pickup), you can get by with placing the pole-screws very close to the strings without worry about it sacrificing string resonance. Im learning to set-up my guitars. While you can’t easily adjust the whole pickup’s height, you can adjust the individual pole pieces under each string. Otherwise, the only height adjustment for these is available via their six threaded-steel pole pieces. Tweak pole pieces: After adjusting a humbucker’s height you should examine the height of its individual pole pieces or screws to make sure they follow the radius curve of the fretboard. I've found that I generally like the pole pieces lowered a bit under the cover (or flush with the cover), then raise the entire pickup. Also, the poles on my 53/10s are sunken below the cover a bit (see pic). I always tweak the pole piece and pickup height with humbuckers. I have an '06 R8, the pups in this thing are really hot and I just want to "tame" them a little bit. How close to the strings can a humbucker be raised before it starts effecting the sustain (negatively)? And so, setting the height on a P-90 is a lot more like setting a humbucker than it is a Strat/Tele pickup. Not sure what you’re doing, I was assuming you wanted pickup height. ), I specifically want methods and best practices for adjusting pole pieces for PAF/Humbucker/P-90 pickups. I went through the search and did find some helpful info. suggest you just adjust pickup height first before you start on the pole pieces.