Guttorm Andreasen Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Hi guys. I have a lovely Epiphone SG G-400 Custom, however, I am unable to find the proper set-up specifications for it. Since there are 3 pickups on it, where I usually strum the strings, there seems not to be enough space between the middle pickups and the strings so that my pick keeps hitting the pickup. Should I raise the strings? Anybody else with experience or thoughts? Thanks! Guttorm Andreasen, Oslo, Norway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad1 Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Hi guys. I have a lovely Epiphone SG G-400 Custom, however, I am unable to find the proper set-up specifications for it. Since there are 3 pickups on it, where I usually strum the strings, there seems not to be enough space between the middle pickups and the strings so that my pick keeps hitting the pickup. Should I raise the strings? Anybody else with experience or thoughts? Thanks! Guttorm Andreasen, Oslo, Norway Joe is right. I would never have a G400 Custom because I too hit that middle pup with my pick. If you can handle the action being higher, than raise the action. If you lower the middle pup however, it will affect the sound quality. Adjusting pups should be done to get the proper distance from the strings in order to get the best sound from your pickup; not to allow space for your pick to strum. So I wouldn't recommend that. I say either find a way to strum without hitting the pup, or sell the guitar. You didn't mention how long you've been playing or your experience/knowledge with guitars, so it's kind of hard to know what to tell you. You may find after a period of time that you can make small adjustments in the way you play that will eventually help you to stop hitting that pup. Good luck whatever you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad1 Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Um...raising the action for clearance would affect the sound quality the same as lowering the pickup. Plus, raising the action would increase the clearance from all of the pickups, especially the bridge pickup. You are absolutely right! I screwed up. That's the first time I have ever been wrong on this forum... Thanks for correcting me. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad1 Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Not correcting, per se, but just analyzing the problem along with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 this very issue turned out to be an exellent "training tool" for me, as I had to teach myself to not take too deep a "bite" with the pick, which actually improved my playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guttorm Andreasen Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 Hi guys, thanks for all your valuable input. It seems that some of you have indeed encountered the problem earlier. I am fairly ok player, I guess, on the intermediate side of it. I play in several bands and release a lot of my own music. This is the first time I have tried playing sincerely on a 3 pick-up guitar and I mst say that I find it hard. Both your points on levelling either the bridge or pick-up are good ones and unfortunately I think it must go. But it's fabulous looking though! :-) Guttorm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemans335 Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Set ups are a matter of personal preference and playing style. Dan Erlewine's book: "How to make your electric guitar play great' will teach you how to do set ups yourself. It's surprisingly easy. You can get the book from StewMac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzoboy Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I also have an Epi G-400-Custom and have no problems with my pick hitting any of the pickups.A lot of people find this a problem but the fault doesn't necessarily fall on the guitar but on wrong pick hand technique.A lot of people tend to "bury" the pick when strumming and playing lead and consequently keep hitting the pickups.Playing in such a manner slows down your picking speed dramatically,if you ever watch shredders doing sweep picking or just playing blindingly fast riffs,their picking hand has a very very light touch and this permits very fast riffs.In order to get the best out of 3 pickup guitars you have to modify your picking technique as most people really have too heavy a picking strumming method when a very light touch is sufficient to get a very full tone.You can still strum very hard but you have to try and keep the pick from going too deeply into the strings and just have it to a point where it's just contacting the strings enough to get an audible sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemans335 Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 But the problem comes when you've been playing HH guitars for years or decades, and then try an HHH. You have years of habits to try to undo. Easier just to stick to HH guitars and not have to change how you play. I have a very light, controlled touch with my right hand, and still have a problem with HHH's. Another thing working against them is that the middle humbucker falls in a poor place as far as string nodes go, and the tone generated is nothing like it is in the bridge or neck slots. Single coils fare better in the middle position, hence the huge popularity of HSS amd HSH guitars (compared to the miniscule number of HHH's). 6 coils lying in a row like sardines just wasn't the best idea. Looks nice though. I have one of the alpine white SG Customs w/Maestro, that's gorgeous, but I got it for looks, not practicality. A third factor is that in an already-heavy guitar, like an LP, a third humbucker adds noticeable weight. As it is, a number of players complain about how much an HH LP weighs. Almost all of the major innovations in electric guitars occurred in the 1950's, a post-war time of incredible experimentation and development. Not all of those ideas were destined to be gems. HHH guitars and varitone switches are two that limp along, ignored by most manufacturers and players. Gibson and Epiphone perpetuate them for historical reasons, but there just isn't much demand. Better alternatives have been developed. Middle single coils sound better than middle HBs, and push-pulls give more usable tone options than varitones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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