squawken Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 I had the Rio Grande BBQ/Texas pickups installed in my Goldtop and picked it up today. It was really what I was looking for. Sounds awesome through the Bad Cat. But in the short time I got to test it out I noticed a quirk. It is especially noticeable through the Marshall. It seems the neck pickup is stronger and has more sustain than the bridge pup. I checked to make they were installed in the correct locations and they are. The BBQ (bridge) is supposed to be hotter than the Texas (neck). Could it be the volume pot for the bridge pup may need replacing? It seems like the volume doesn't roll down as smoothly as on the neck pickup. Any thoughts guys?
mars_hall Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 If you have an meter, put your controls wide open and measure the resistance tip to ring at the end of your guitar cord for each pickup separately. You should expect to see the bridge pickup has slightly higher resistance. A bridge pickup has to pickup smaller vibrations of the string so they wind them slightly hotter. That doesn't mean the effective output will be higher since it has a smaller input to begin with. The historic way to balance out the volume of the two pups is to set the neck pickup lower, thus lowering its output signal. All things being equal, the sustain should be the same but the tone different. Are you using 4-conductor pups? The thought being that the coil is tapped by mistake when it was installed. Have you adjusted the pole screws on the bridge pup?
squawken Posted January 11, 2011 Author Posted January 11, 2011 If you have an meter, put your controls wide open and measure the resistance tip to ring at the end of your guitar cord for each pickup separately. You should expect to see the bridge pickup has slightly higher resistance. A bridge pickup has to pickup smaller vibrations of the string so they wind them slightly hotter. That doesn't mean the effective output will be higher since it has a smaller input to begin with. The historic way to balance out the volume of the two pups is to set the neck pickup lower, thus lowering its output signal. All things being equal, the sustain should be the same but the tone different. Are you using 4-conductor pups? The thought being that the coil is tapped by mistake when it was installed. Have you adjusted the pole screws on the bridge pup? I am not using 4 conductor pups. I haven't adjusted the pole screws-not sure how to do that.
mars_hall Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 I am not using 4 conductor pups. I haven't adjusted the pole screws-not sure how to do that. You usually just screw them out to match the arch of the bottom of the neck. If one string is hotter than the others, you screw it out less and vice versa. I usually have the neck pup flush with the ring.
squawken Posted January 11, 2011 Author Posted January 11, 2011 You usually just screw them out to match the arch of the bottom of the neck. If one string is hotter than the others, you screw it out less and vice versa. I usually have the neck pup flush with the ring. Got it. I did bring the bridge pickup up with slight improvement, but there still is a difference. I don't mind the neck pup being hot, I just want the bridge pup to be as hot, which it isn't.
mars_hall Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 Got it. I did bring the bridge pickup up with slight improvement, but there still is a difference. I don't mind the neck pup being hot, I just want the bridge pup to be as hot, which it isn't. Did you lower the neck pup? May need to move its screws slightly depending on the impact. I usually do screw adjustments in exact half turn increments while plugged in.
JohnCovach Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 Whenever you put pickups in, you have to balance the height of the two pickups by ear. You'll find that tone will change with the height. I like the two pickups to be balanced, so I compare them by switching back and forth to listen for levels. Then I listen to the pickups together to fine tune the "quack." Pickups that are too far from the string will sound kinda weak (to my ears, anyway). When they're too close, the sound can be harsh (some people like that, though. If you do that and one pickups remains stronger than the other, I'd redo the solder job and use the meter to check the output.
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