Volume Control on Les Paul Standard

[therearenorules]

Quick question. I just got a LP standard, brand new. (I love it)

 

Each pickup is controlled by its own volume pots.

 

When in the "middle switch" position, the bridge pickup volume control seems to act as a master volume.

 

When it reaches about 3/4 of its rotation the output is loudest, and then, for the last quarter turn, the volume decreases.

 

When run independently, the neck pickup is WAY louder than the bridge, which I understand is fairly normal.

 

So I suppose my question is .... if I raise the bridge pickup will this increase its output, and will this solve the funny behaviour of the bridge volume pot in dual pickup mode?

 

(I'm guessing that when its "fully up", that it is providing more of the "mix" to the bridge pickup which is substantially quieter than the other pickup)

[theteenagegiant]

Neck pickup way louder than the bridge pickup! No way Jose, my Studio (same pickups as standard) has a way louder bridge pickup! The neck pickup is so muddy I almost never use it anyways. The wiring in Les Paul's post '50s is done so that when in the middle position, you only have to turn one volume knob all the way down to mute the sound. This is ubiquitous on all Epi's and Gibson's wiring as far as I know. And raising the bridge pickup would probably increase volume but would not fix the control problem.

[therearenorules]

The neck pickup is twice as loud as the bridge ...funny eh. Thanks for your reply!

[Swoop]

It wouldn't be uncommon for the neck pickup to be louder than the bridge pickup, given the fact that the string amplitude over the neck pickup is far greater than it is over the bridge pickup, thus making it louder. You can raise and/or lower the neck pickup to achieve a better volume balance.

 

As far as the wiring goes, it is true that in most Les Pauls these days, when both pickups are selected, either volume control is essentially the master and will decrease the volume of both pickups. But, when the pickups are selected individually, the appropriate volume control comes into play. You can modify this with a little rewiring. I understand it's quite simple actually. The ability to control the volume of the pickups individually while both are selected is commonly known as '1950s wiring'.

[Dave]

On all my Les Pauls, I have to lower the neck pickup and raise the bridge pickup to balance the volume. As Swoop said, the strings vibrate more widely over the neck pickup, thus more induction occurs over the neck poles. Most bridge pickups are a little hotter wound to compensate for this.

 

Raise the bridge pickup to compensate and lower the neck pickup as needed to maintain balance. It's an experimental operation, since high pickups produce more string output and less of the acoustic sound from body vibrations. If you lower the pickups and crank the amp volume a little more, you get more "woody" sound from the body of the guitar.

 

Some will say that there's no wood sound, since the pickups only sense string vibrations, but there is a microphonic property to any guitar pickup. Tap it with a pick or turn the amp up, mute the strings and rap on the body. You will hear sound as you do this. The mix can be interesting as you raise and lower the pickups.

[AlanH]

Gibson factory pickup height settings are apparently:

 

1/16" bridge

3/32" neck

 

...for both treble and bass sides.

 

The bridge pup is set nearer the strings for the reasons above.

 

To measure, depress the 22nd fret on each of the two E strings and set the height between the top of the pickup and the underside of the depressed string. So if, you have your action lower for the treble side of the pickup will also be correspondingly lower on that. Pole pieces are usually set flush, I believe.

 

 

If you set for the above you can then make all your adjustments to taste from that starting point. You might want each to have the same volume or maybe the bridge pickup louder for solo boosts but watch for the strings being magnetically attracted by the polepieces if they are set too close.

 

Alan

[Figstrum]

On all my Les Pauls' date=' I have to lower the neck pickup and raise the bridge pickup to balance the volume. As Swoop said, the strings vibrate more widely over the neck pickup, thus more induction occurs over the neck poles. Most bridge pickups are a little hotter wound to compensate for this.

 

Raise the bridge pickup to compensate and lower the neck pickup as needed to maintain balance. It's an experimental operation, since high pickups produce more string output and less of the acoustic sound from body vibrations. If you lower the pickups and crank the amp volume a little more, you get more "woody" sound from the body of the guitar.

 

Some will say that there's no wood sound, since the pickups only sense string vibrations, but there is a microphonic property to any guitar pickup. Tap it with a pick or turn the amp up, mute the strings and rap on the body. You will hear sound as you do this. The mix can be interesting as you raise and lower the pickups. [/quote']

 

 

 

I just picked up my LP STD from the shop, where I had the pups replaced. When I saw the pick ups, the bridge was way higher than the neck. Is there a reason why this is? other than the volume thing yall are talking about.

[Gordy01]

I just picked up my LP STD from the shop' date=' where I had the pups replaced. When I saw the pick ups, the bridge was way higher than the neck. Is there a reason why this is? other than the volume thing yall are talking about. [/quote']

 

 

The reason it looks so much higher is that when the string is fretted at the highest fret,

the string has more room to move than back at the bridge. This means the bridge

pickup can be set a bit higher.

If you fret the guitar at the highest fret, there should be 1/16 inch, to 3/32 inch

between the bottom of the string, and the top of the pickup.

And as stated above the string vibrates in a bigger pattern over the neck pickup, causing it

to sound a bit louder.

[shartom]

I bought an Epiphone LP Standard about a year ago. It sounded great in the store. When I got it home, I noticed that the bridge pickup was much louder than the neck. I turned the amp down an turned up the guitar volume controls to max and compared the volume. The bridge pickup was much louder. Adjusting the pickup height made some but not very much difference.

I took the guitar back to the store and compared it to an Ultra I. The pickups were balanced. The shop owner confirmed that there was a problem with the Standard. I went home with the Ultra and have been pleased with it ever since.

It is possible that you can get a malfunctioning pickup. Maybe the person winding it had a bad day.

[Musicfox]

When it reaches about 3/4 of its rotation the output is loudest' date=' and then, for the last quarter turn, the volume decreases.

[/quote']

 

I'd like to know more about this...... the technical mumbo jumbo behind it.... and..... will good quality pots... and which type... will make it (volume control) more linear if that's the right word.