hi,

what is the ideal height or gap between pickups and string..?

my grg170dx neck pickup seems lower than a bridge one..

it's very subjective... depends on one's taste.

but neck pickup is usually slightly lower to avoid picking it when strumming

i tot al pickup got the same hieght...peh! loads of thing need to be learn about electric guitar.... not like acoustic..easy.

very hard to play with picks as i normally do more plucking on acoustic...

usually the neck pickup is lower to balance the pickup heights. USUALLY, bridge pickup put closer to the string because people want a higher output from them and USUALLY, the neck pickup is lowered to provide tonal versatility. in simple words, neck pickups usually tend to be "warmer" in tone compared to the bridge pickup, which usually is "brighter" or "sharper"

hope you understand what i just said

if the neck pickup is too high and close to string, you'll get too much thick tone and less clarity. but again... it depends on one's taste also.

the bridge pickup is nearer to the strings cos at that section the strings dont vibrate as much...so the closer it is, the easier it is to pickup string vibrations.
then you adjust accordingly to how you want it to sound.

while for the neck pickup...in standard guitar setup work...it is always adjusted to balance the volume output between the two, and this usually places it much lower.

pickups heights are quite subjective...

usuali the bridge pups are higher
and the neck pups are lower...
jz make sure the notes sound same loud on both pups

for me...
usuali the bass side pup is lower than treble side...
just to make sure the lower notes dun overpower the higher tunes
and so tat ur pups magnetic field dun disturb ur string vibration and kill sustain

usuali pickups wit cover can go closer to the strings
since covered pups produce a large area forcefielf
instead of concentrated magnetic field as the polepiece siblings

If both pups are almost equal in output, then the neck pickup will give a louder sound compared to the bridge pickup, given the same string/pickup distance. This is because, string amplitude over the neck pickup is higher compared to the bridge pickup. Hence, the neck pickup is usually lowered to equalize the outputs levels.

on EMG user manual:

emg active pickups have very little magnetism compared to passive pickups. we recommend you adjust the pickups as close to the strings as possible. sustain and string movements will not inhabited buy close adjustment.

reading your comments confuse me bros...
so do i have to put my neck pickups to a higher level??
coz its barely touching the strings now...

This post has been edited by JamesWannabE: Feb 25 2008, 01:03 AM

What supercolossal posted is related to passive. EMG's are actives
they use a weak magnet which outputs a small current to the preamp within the pickup which is then amplified again. Thats why actives are able to produce very hot sounds with very little noise.

The weaker magnet justifies recommendation to put the pup closer to the strings.

I tired putting my Neck pickup very close to the strings on my LP-100 (EMG 81/85) and they didn't sound good for me, as I prefer playing cleans on the neck pickup (It distorts too easily when strummed hard). Had to lower it quite a bit to get the tone I was looking for. The bridge pickup is quite close to the strings as it dirties the tone better.

And yes, it made alot of diff between the original stock pickups and the EMGs.

i just adjust them to get the same volume throughout