Gibson Thunderbird pickups height

exiledarchangel · March 26, 2010, 08:55:03 AM

How much close to the strings you adjust the pickups on your Thunderbirds? I'm trying to adjust the Gibson pickups I put on my Epi but I can't raise them to be close enough to the strings, I think its due to the deeper route for the epis. I can get a nice sound but since they are away from the strings I don't get much output (my pee and my bach are much more louder).

uwe · March 26, 2010, 09:52:00 AM

How far away are they? They should be very loud for passive pups. Generally TB Plus pups can be as close as to already interfere physically with the strings without any weird magnetic stuff happening.

The Epi route depth is a familiar problem.

Bionic-Joe · March 26, 2010, 10:44:19 AM

I have a Blue 65' T bird II, use a pick and mine are about 1/8th" from the strings. LOUD AS A JET!!!!

TBird1958 · March 26, 2010, 11:21:43 AM

When I changed the pups in my Nikki Sixx Mk.II out to Lull's I made some mahogany blocks up to fill the routs as they are quite thin compared to TB plus, it was pretty easy work I used a mitre box finishing saw and some files.
Here they are test fitted........Remember to notch the corner for the wire

exiledarchangel · March 26, 2010, 01:29:02 PM

I think I'll follow Mark's advice and glue two wooden blocks on the cavities! But maybe I'll choose maple for its brighter sound!

Uwe, the distance from the strings is about 1cm (3/8" ) now. Damn, even my pee is louder!

uwe · March 26, 2010, 01:35:21 PM

That is an unneccessarily great distance, but you might also have a set of older TB Plus pups - they've become louder over time.

TBird1958 · March 27, 2010, 02:33:35 PM

Those are new pups so they should have plenty of output, my other thought here is about your wiring scheme, could the 3 way toggle have something to do with it? They were wired V T Killswitch and belive me, they had plenty of ummph.

tore00 · March 27, 2010, 03:52:39 PM

I try to locate pickups on my basses as close as possible to strings without having buzzes.

Nocturnal · March 27, 2010, 06:53:14 PM

How thick would you make blocks to go in the pickup cavities? I may need to do this as well with my Goth-rehab bass.

exiledarchangel · March 28, 2010, 11:24:02 AM

Quote from: TBird1958 on March 27, 2010, 02:33:35 PM
Those are new pups so they should have plenty of output, my other thought here is about your wiring scheme, could the 3 way toggle have something to do with it? They were wired V T Killswitch and belive me, they had plenty of ummph.

No, I think there's nothing to do with the wiring, by missing the tone control you actually make the pups sound a little brighter (pots always bleed some highs even if they are on 10).

Quote from: Nokturnal on March 27, 2010, 06:53:14 PM
How thick would you make blocks to go in the pickup cavities? I may need to do this as well with my Goth-rehab bass.

I'm interested on this info too, I guess half an inch would be ok.

TBird1958 · March 28, 2010, 12:25:25 PM

There's a nice woodworking shop near my work they have a great selection of fine cut strip stock, I found some pieces that were 1 1/2" wide x 1/8"x 36" and 1 1/2"x 1/4" x36". I used an extra '76 pup cover as a template and cut them out with a Zona saw and a mitre box finished up with a file to round the corners. With two thickness you can glue them together and probably get the correct height.