ES-175 - Neck pickup placement.

[joegold]

Hi

 

I have a 1990 ES-175 on which the exposed pole-pieces of the neck pickup are placed about 1/16" to 1/8" closer to the bridge than the "24th fret" string node.

I.e. The pole-pieces are not directly under the node where the 24th fret would be if there was a 24th fret. They're closer towards the bridge.

 

I've recently checked out 3 other ES-175s (2 from 2009, and 1 from 2005) and they all have the neck pup pole pieces directly under the node.

 

Was the uncommon pickup placement on my guitar the type of thing that was ever done on purpose by Gibson, for some reason, or is my guitar just a victim of sub-par quality control?

[On my guitar, the bridge saddle/foot needs to be much closer to the bridge pickup too (for correct intonation) than it is on these other ES-175s I've been looking at, so I think they goofed with the placement of this pickup too.]

 

The main reason I'm asking about all of this is because my 175 has always seemed quite a bit brighter sounding when amplified than I expected it to when I first bought it (circa 2007) and it's also brighter than these other 175s when amplified.

My guitar has a mahogany back and sides and is actually darker sounding acoustically than these other instruments. So this is all a bit vexing to me. I'm after a very dark sound, btw.

I don't think I can wholly attribute its uncharacteristic brightness to just that 1/8". But it's probably not helping.

It's very pretty (blond) and plays great too so I'd hate to part with it and start looking for another one (because I want to have a good 175 in my collection), but I've never really bonded with it.

 

Any good info appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[Californiaman]

I don't know how to respond to this.

Pictures always help.

[joegold]

I don't know how to respond to this.

Pictures always help.

 

In this case a picture wouldn't show anything.

[henry_lee]

hey joe -

 

I've read your post a few times to get clear on what's going on... from what I can decipher,

it seems you're saying both pickups are a bit further away from the neck, toward the bridge?

 

If so, I can see how this may be true. At one point I had a 1990/91 ES-175

and my 2006 ES-175 reissue concurrently for quite while. I got a really long time to compare

them both. Believe it or not, the body shapes seemed slightly different... just ever so slightly.

 

So I could see how the specs might've changed over time. I think the mid-00's to current models

are a tiny bit closer to the originals with some details, and also have a little more refined body shapes.

It's quite possible Gibson has fine-tuned the specs over time.

 

Having owned quite a few ES's, I'd wager a pickup swap would make a bigger difference in tone.

Maybe take it in to a tech and have them look at it / listen to it?

 

Btw, let's see some pics! I rarely see the mahogany / maple ones!