Distance of Pickups from Strings

by dean
(nola)

What changes take place the closer the pickups are to the strings?

ANSWER

In general, the closer the pickup is to the string, the more output. If you get too close, you will get distortion and the string will sound muddy even on a clean setting. Also, if it is too close, the sustain of the string will be reduced due to the string being too far into the magnetic field of the pickup.
If the string is too far away, you will lose output and some of the frequency sensitivity.

Because the bass strings vibrate in a larger pattern than the treble, the strings on the bass side need to be slightly further away from the pickups than the strings on the treble side.

In general, the high e string should be about the width of a nickel from the pickup and the low e string about the width of 2 nickels,

Lynne