Neck pickup not aligned with strings? Is this normal?

[berk]

On my LP standard (2004) the neck pickup is not aligned with the strings; the pickup-to-string height is much smaller at the neck side. Is this normal, is there some kind of tone logic behind this?

 

 

(picture is not from the actual guitar but from an Epiphone, but pickup position is the same)

[Bram]

The strings should go in the same direction as the pickup...in the picture it looks like a huge neck/bowing problem to me, but I could be wrong.

 

It doesn't look right for sure.

[Bram]

No, it isn't logical.

 

Basically you'll get a more bass heavy neck sound if you adjust the pickup like this...the neck side of the neck pickup should be adjusted lower -> try to adjust the bridge side of the neck pickup a bit higher untill the whole pickup goes into the same direction as the strings.

 

If it won't work properly I'd check the whole set-up/action of the guitar.

[berk]

How do you adjust pickup 'tilt'? The height adjustment screws lower or raise all of the pickup, but do not change the - for want of a better word - 'tilt', ie pickup-string alignment. What would be the way to do this?

[Tom99SS]

The pickup height screws are probably tilted (maybe the pickup wire somehow got it the way). Next string change remove the 4 corner screws and reset the pickup and also check to make sure nothing is blocking the height adjusting screws when you reinstall the pickup. Just an idea.

[Ren]

Hi there,

 

I'd take the pickup out and inspect it. It shouldn't be tilted like that, somethings not right.

[Thundergod]

I don't think the problem is with the pickup... it looks prety straight to me (compared with the body not with the ring)... but look at the string angle... your bridge must be about to fall off!

[berk]

Thundergod, I took the picture with the guitar lying flat on it's body, what you see is the neck angle:

 

[RichCI]

I would remove the ring and see if there is some of the pickup wire jammed underneath the pickup that is forcing it to pitch up on an angle. If that's not it and you can't find any other reason for it to be angled like it is, I wouldn't worry about it if you like the way it sounds.

[MikeRom]

Pickup tilt is not unusual nor does it affect anything beyond astetics. Push the high side down with your finger if you don't like it, might level it out some.

[BIGBENDS]

I've wanted to understand that very thing for a while now too. Why do most pickups lay parallel to the strings but others don't? Can or should they be adjusted to be parallel? Can anyone from Gibson Admin. reading this answer that for us?

[RichCI]

Some pickups have three or four adjustment screws to adjust angle but, IMO, adjusting the pole screws will pretty much accomplish the same thing, at least to any degree that it makes that much of a difference. If the aesthetics of the angle are bothersome, check for something pushing up one side (like a pickup wire); if there's nothing doing that, put something under the low side to shim it up a bit. I haven't examined the pups in my LP in a long time, but I would guess they're not exactly parallel to the stringsl either way it sounds fine to me.

[Bram]

I've wanted to understand that very thing for a while now too. Why do most pickups lay parallel to the strings but others don't? Can or should they be adjusted to be parallel? Can anyone from Gibson Admin. reading this answer that for us?

 

The intention of adjusting pickups is to set them parallel to the strings for the best tone/volume balance between the strings. You can always lower or higher the pickups if you feel that it sounds better that way, but always with caution.

 

Leave the pickups the way they are if you think that it sounds right at the moment. I once had an original Yamaha SG

-2000 with the possibility to change the pickup angle in almost every direction...not my cup of tea, but it worked well.

[L5Larry]

This is not proper pickup allignment, but way too typical of the way the humbuckers get mounted in the surrounds (mounting rings) and fastened to the body of the guitar. There are many factors weighting in here such as the way the surrounds are tapered (front to back) to be parallel to the string path, the fact that the bottom of the rings are cut straight (the side perpendicular to the string path) and then just bent around the curve of the carved top (which curves the top of the ring changing the dimension between the adjusting screws, and causes a lot of stress in the ring, many of them eventually crack), instead of the bottoms be cut on the curve to match the curve of the guitar's top, therefore making the tops of the rings straight with no stress or dimensional changes. The way the pickup surrounds are cut and mounted has always been an pet peeve of mine, and I have refitted a few Gibsons with contoured bottom mounting rings. It is a very slow and intricate fitting process, and takes a couple specialty tools, not really a do-it-yourself for most people, and takes too much time to do to be able to afford to pay a tech to do it.

 

Another factor that effects the way the pickup sets is just exactly where the surround is mounted in relation to the pickup routing hole. There is very little tolerance between the size of the routed hole in the wood and the size of the plastic ring. If the ring is mounted only slightly off line (front to back) the side of the pickup below the ring will be touching the side of the route and therefor the bottom of the pickup is being be pushed, tilting the pickup. I have had to slightly enlarge one side of the route to give a pickup the clearance it needed to sit straight. Also, if the pickup is resting against the wood in the hole, it will also rattle and/or buzz. Not that big of a deal on a solid body, but a HUGE problem on an archtop.

 

The last possibility, and easiest problem to fix (as RichCI has stated above), is that the pickup is being pushed or pulled by its own wire. But, you can also use its wire to help pull or push it back straight by using a small "zip tie" to fasten it another wire, usually "bundleing" it with other wires. Another way I've seen this problem addressed is to wedge a piece of foam, cotton ball or something soft between the pickup and the side of the route. I think of this as the last resort for it doesn't really address the contributing factor of the problem, only "band aids" it.

 

This problem is a by-product of the manufactureing process of mass production, and has been typical of Gibsons since the invention of the humbucker. There is no way Gibson ever will, or can afford to, address this issue. Even there HIGH dollar archtops are fitted with the humbuckers in this manner.

[Thundergod]

Sorry! I was looking at it from the wrong perspective ... I guess.

 

You should take the ring out and check for the wire, it might be trapped between the pickup screw and the wood...

[SRV-Zeppelin]

Wow, Larry.... wow.

[L5Larry]

Wow' date=' Larry.... wow.[/quote']

 

I'm not sure if that's good or bad!

 

Do you mean "thanks for the info", or "shut to F*** up"?

[bryvincent]

that's the problem with USA LPs. too steep neck angle and too curvy top carve. if you look at the picture, you can see the neck pup ring is not inline with the fingerboard and the bridge is high.

 

one easy solution is to bend the height screw very, very slightly. this would make the pup rock as you turn the screw. that way you can set the pup angle you want.

 

you can also buy a bridge pup ring and sand it so that it will be inline with the fingerboard.