Neck pickup - why is it so loud?!?!

bigdawg

this seems to be a common trait with (my) humbucker pickups - the neck even lowered to the ends of the adjustment screws is always a lot louder than my bridge pickup - anyone got any clues to match them up a bit better - other than the volume knob!

OilCityPickups

The loudest part of the string is closest to the centre of its arc of vibration. so if you put two identical output humbucking (or single coil) pickups, one in the neck and one in the bridge, the neck one will always be louder. Normally winders 'calibrate' a pair of pickups that are meant to be used together so the bridge pickup is significantly more powerful than the neck. 

Historically all original Gibson PAFs were wound equal between neck and bridge ... and some companies still do that (god knows why) but most modern players prefer a calibrated set.

If you buy from different manufacturers for neck and bridge, it becomes somewhat of a lottery as you can't tell a pickup's output solely from it's DC resistance (despite what the internet numpties say).

If you are right 'up' at the bridge ... and right 'down' at the neck ... you have a seriously poorly calibrated set!!

bigdawg

that would explain it - they are an 'age correct' PAF style humbucker - they do sound amazing, but it always bugged me about the neck - oh well I guess thats what the volume knob is for

thanks for the explanation GW

p90fool

It might be worth measuring them too, to see if it's worth swapping their positions.

ICBM

The real trick is to overwind the bridge pickup just enough that it evens up the balance, but not so much that it starts to sound like an obviously hotter pickup.

It's funny that the very first production solid electric guitar of all - the Telecaster - has a deliberately mismatched set of pickups… and yet the Strat doesn't! All subsequent Leo-era Fenders as far as I know do have calibrated sets though.

geepers0677

This problem frustrated the hell out of me with a SG standard I had to the point it was unusable. 

bigdawg

oddly enough this is in my SG too...  Seems to be more prominent than my LP

ICBM

I've really noticed it on SGs too. I think it's because they're so flexible around the neck joint that it amplifies the pickup response - the neck itself is longer and more resonant than a Les Paul too - because the pickup vibrating relative to the strings is effectively the same as the strings vibrating relative to the pickup. A Les Paul has a much stiffer neck joint and neck, so the neck pickup is more controlled.

richardhomer

Same on my '335

OilCityPickups

The very reason I don't make non-calibrated sets even of my PAF types... unless to special order. I know it's 'right' but it sounds wrong!

ICBM said:

The real trick is to overwind the bridge pickup just enough that it evens up the balance, but not so much that it starts to sound like an obviously hotter pickup.

That tends to be around 15-20% depending on the instrument :-)