Need help with pick-ups!

Hi !
I bought my very first electric guitar a month ago-the Syncromatic Gretsch- I still got the buzz in my head just looking at it and think of all the possibitities I can do with my guitar. While messing about I noticed the screws on the two pick-ups were kind of loose,so I tighen them up until I realized that I had accidently altered the levels of the pick-ups. I would like to know what are the correct setting levels or heighs of the front and back pick-ups.
Many thanks,
DiamondsR4ever.

The hight of the pickups is a thing to be adjusted for your preference.

Closer to the strings will give more volume which leads to higher gain from the amp. (too close will make the sound very muddy)

Further from the strings will give less volume , which will result in less distortion. (too far and you'll not be able to get a heavy distortion sound no matter how much you drive your amp)

Also , the neck pickup should be as little further from the strings than the middle , and the middle a little further than the bridge... That's if you want even volume from all the pickups.


[Edited by SLY on 03-02-2003 at 02:39 PM]

Will changing the height of the pickups give you better/worse tone? Depending on how much and which way you adjust them?

Originally posted by Tele Master
Will changing the height of the pickups give you better/worse tone? Depending on how much and which way you adjust them?

Yeah, sure.

If the pickups are too close, the magnets will damp the vibration of the strings, reducing your sustain dramatically. It may also pull the strings toward the pickups in a way that makes it impossible to set up the intonation properly.

As a basic 'starting point' setup, fret the high E string at the highest note, and adjust the bridge pickup to sit about 1/16" (1.5 mm) under the string. Then fret the low E string at the highest fret and adjust the bridge pickup to sit about 3/32" (2 mm) below the string. Adjust the rest of yor pickups to be a little further away from the strings, as SLY has described. If you have a 3-screw or 4-screw adjustment, make the face of the pickups parallel with the strings.

If you have new-style, 'hot' humbuckers, you may find that this is a little too close for comfort, and you'll need to back everything away from the strings a little bit. I'm not sure how much pull you can expect from a new set of Synchromatics. You'll need to experiment with them to find out what settings work best.

BTW: A Gretsch!! {drool} :D

Dear my fellow guitarists !

Thanks for all the advice.

Cheers,

DiamondsR4ever.