Bridge/Neck pickup volume difference -quantifiable?

[Angus]

I appreciate the reason why the neck pickup is (all things being equal) going to give sound louder than the bridge, but recently, its been bugging me a bit. It seems like a lot, maybe the neck would need to be at 5 to seem at a similar volume to the bridge when that's on 10.

These are the original pickups on a '79 Norlin, identical T-Tops I assume. Apart from all the mods and stuff that has been going on over the last few years, what sort of settings generally create a matched volume between the pickups on a non-modded Les Paul?

[Stowburst]

Maybe your neck is hotter than the bridge? is it the pole peices or the whole pup? I would try lowering it and trying to get a decent blend between the neck and bridge. I like to have my bridge louder than the neck

[Angus]

Originally Posted by Stowburst

Maybe your neck is hotter than the bridge? is it the pole peices or the whole pup? I would try lowering it and trying to get a decent blend between the neck and bridge. I like to have my bridge louder than the neck

No pun intended, but what is standard? What is the normal difference?

If I have both pickups set at 10, the neck (louder one) even seems to accentuate my vibrato better than the bridge one.

I don't want to mess about with it, if its fairly normal for an unmodded seventies Les Paul, but if its not, then I'd like to get it adjusted.

I would appreciate any wisdom I can get on this, I'm a bit of a bedroom guitarist and don't get out a lot.

[Dino]

Like Stowburst said ... experiment with the height adjustments on your pickups and/or pole pieces.

[Blues Power]

most neck pups are wound a lil hotter than the bridge to compensate for string vibrations..

also you may have larger valued pots or caps in the neck vs the bridge.

there s/b a small vol difference but if its drastic and bothers you , than maybe you can dig deeper and see what you have inside

[ES350]

Originally Posted by Blues Power

most neck pups are wound a lil hotter than the bridge to compensate for string vibrations..

Most winders do the opposite...bridge a bit hotter than the neck (1K seems to be a reasonable increment). All old Gibsons have 'uncalibrated' pickup sets and the best you can do is adjust them for a decent balance. You can pull the cover on the bridge pu to get it louder and brighter if you want to...or a replacement pickup for the bridge is another option.

A string will have more engergy when plucked, towards the middle of the string, less at the ends. If the bridge and the neck pickups are identical, the neck will sound louder. That is why bridge pickups usually are made to compensate by either being wound with more turns, or have stronger magnets or both.

[Angus]

Originally Posted by Dino

Like Stowburst said ... experiment with the height adjustments on your pickups and/or pole pieces.

Okay gents, point taken.

I'll have a look at adjusting the pickup height, but is there any basic info I can get on this, as I don't really know what I'm doing.

My thoughts currently are I don't want to change the neck one, as I think it sounds great. so perhaps I can raise the bridge pickup a bit. As I understand it, that would make it a bit louder, and "mushier"? That might actually suit me.

Any pitfalls for the unwary? At what point do the adjusting screws drop out?

Thanks for any tips.

P.S.
Pole pieces? That's inside the pickup right? Sounds abut technical for the likes of me

[ES350]

Those screws on the top of the pu?
Those are adjustable pole pieces.
You can turn them.
It makes that string louder.
Try it.
They won't fall out.

[Blues Power]

Originally Posted by ES350

Most winders do the opposite...bridge a bit hotter than the neck (1K seems to be a reasonable increment). All old Gibsons have 'uncalibrated' pickup sets and the best you can do is adjust them for a decent balance. You can pull the cover on the bridge pu to get it louder and brighter if you want to...or a replacement pickup for the bridge is another option.

U R correct, i had it typed backwards.

sorry all

[SonicBoom]

Originally Posted by Angus

Okay gents, point taken.

I'll have a look at adjusting the pickup height, but is there any basic info I can get on this, as I don't really know what I'm doing.

My thoughts currently are I don't want to change the neck one, as I think it sounds great. so perhaps I can raise the bridge pickup a bit. As I understand it, that would make it a bit louder, and "mushier"? That might actually suit me.

Any pitfalls for the unwary? At what point do the adjusting screws drop out?

Thanks for any tips.

P.S.
Pole pieces? That's inside the pickup right? Sounds abut technical for the likes of me

Angus,

It sounds like you may not have adj. your pups before, so here is a brief description. There's really nothing to worry about. The outer screws on the pup ring adjust the pup up or down. Nothing can fall out or get messed up. If you're concerned, start off by measuring the height from the pole piece (the hole on the cover where the pole piece/slotted screw is) to the underside of the string on both the high E and then the low E while pushing down on each string at the last fret (the one nearest the pups). Do this for each pup. Write down the measurements so you can adjust it back to its current setting if you don't like something later.

Adjusting the pup closer to the string obviously increases the string vol., which it sounds like you need to do on the bridge pup to get more vol. Adj. the height of each end of the pup. Some people (like me) prefer the low E side to be closer to the string for more bass. I've seen measurements on the bridge pup ranging from 3/32 to 1/16 of an inch (sorry, don't know the metric equiv.), but the key is to adjust it using your ear - to get the sound you like. Make small adjustments and listen to the tone of the high and low E string as you adjust. As the pup gets closer to the string, the tone will change. Too close, and the tone will sound woofy (distorted). Back it off 'til the tone cleans up, unless you like that tone.

There is nothing that you can damage by making any of these adjustments. The pole pieces are for finer tuning because they adjust the tone and vol. of each string. I don't mess with them much - haven't had a need to. Again, make small adj. (1/4-1/2 turn) and test with each string. Just be sure that you don't adjust the pup so close that the string hits the cover when you pluck the string.

When adjusting pup height, be sure to switch back and forth btw. the neck and bridge pup, listening for vol. balance. Don't worry about adjusting the middle switch position. That should get you started. Adjust it, play it awhile, and adjust it more if needed.

Hope that helps.

[Angus]

Originally Posted by SonicBoom

Angus,

It sounds like you may not have adj. your pups before, so here is a brief description.

Thanks very much for that.

I've had a right old tweak and got the volumes very close.
The adjustement I made was about 4 (360 degree turns) which I suspect is pretty radical.

I've only touched the bridge pickup, the neck one looks like it could not be much further from the strings, the poles are pretty much flush as well.

I'm slightly worried I may have overdone it, the bridge pickup sound hotter and louder, but it is pretty close to the strings or rather the poles are (they were not flush on this pickup). I've been in Beano lead territory and it sounds a lot better to me, but I'm not sure about cleaner tones.

I think I need to come back to this tomorrow with a fresh ear, and possibly compromise a bit between my current and original setting. But its nice being able to go from neck on 10 to bridge on 10 with no loss of volume or gain.

Thanks again guys.