
PRS PICKUP ADJUSTMENT





PRS Pickup Adjustment
Don't like the sound of your PRS? Here are some quick and easy adjustments you can make to your guitar pickups that may just give you that special sound you've been searching for.

Pickup Height
The height of your pickups can make a big difference when it comes to the tone of your PRS. Setting the pickup height so the coils are close to the strings will give a boost in volume. However, the magnetic pull of the pole pieces will affect the sustain of the strings. Distortion can also be introduced when the pickup coils are too close to the string (unless you're using a Lace Sensor or other low impedance pickup).
Of course, if the pickups are too close to the strings, you also run the risk of having the string actually touch the pole pieces or having the vibrating string cut into the plastic of the bobbin (or scratch the metal if you're using covered pickups).
Set the height using the screw on the left and right sides of the pickup ring. Turning the screw clockwise raises the pickup; counter-clockwise lowers it. Lowering the pickup too much can cause the pickup to fall into the body pickup cavity, which means you'll have to take off the strings, unscrew the pickup ring, and screw the pickup back into the pickup ring.
You might like the sound of the pickup coils even or very slightly higher than the pickup ring. This lets your amp do the work, ensures that the strings vibrate without any magnetic pull from the pickup, and keeps the pickup coils or cover from being scratched by the strings.
Individual String Volume
The slotted pole piece screws on a humbucking pickup allow you to fine tune the volume amonmg the individuals strings. If you use a wound G string, you may find that this string is louder (or softer) than the others when you strum a chord. If you use a very light gauge of strings, the high E string may need the pole piece raised a little so that it doesn't get lost in the mix.
Raise the pole pieces by turning them counter-clockwise. To lower them into the pickup bobbin, turn the screw clockwise.
Pickup Slant
This method slants the pickup height so that the bass strings are farther from the strings than the smaller strings. The difference need not be great, but having the treble string pole pieces slightly higher than the lower strings poles produces a chimey, open sound that works especially well with chorus sounds. By slightly higher, a 2mm (or ~1/16th of an inch) difference is a place to start.
Pickup Balance
Just as setting the height of the pickup is important, so is the balance between the neck and bridge pickups. The neck pickup is usually very loud and rich sounding, as it sits over the sweet spot at the base of the neck. That area is rich in harmonics, giving a violin-like sound. The treble pickup may need to be higher than the neck pickup so that when both pickups are active, you get a nice difference in tone between the neck and treble solo pickup sounds.
Fixing Pickup Rattle
Once in awhile, a pickup can rattle if the height screw doesn't fit tightly, or if a height spring is weak. This can happen with any brand of pickup, ad can be more pronounced when aftermarket pickups have been added to a guitar using the old mounting hardware.
Some early PRS guitars put a spring inside a spring to make the spring twice as hard to compress. Or you can put a small block of open-celled foam in the pickup cavity, which will make the pickup sit up straight, and remove unwanted vibration or rattle.
One last note about pickup vibrations: if the pickup is cockeyed so that it doesn't fit square in the pickup ring, it could be that one of the two pickup legs is bent. Most often, however, the pickup is resting on top of the connecting wires, making it sit higher on one side than the other. You can carefully bend the "foot" of the pickup leg (it has the threaded hole for the pickup height screw int it) with a pair of pliers. Bend it slowly. A little bend goes a long way. Put the screw back in and see if it helps the alignment. If it made it worse, benda small amount the other way.
Turn it 'Round
Some guitarists like the look of installing a pickup that's been turned around 180 degrees. This puts the adjustable pole pieces towards the center of the guitar, instead of towards the neck and bridge. Some argue that they can hear a little difference in the sound, too. Your mileage may vary. If you have sufficient wire to allow you to do this, and it makes you feel better, do it!
You have two ways to make it happen. The easiest is to unscrew the entire pickup/pickup ring assembly (4 screws), turning it end for end, and replacing the screws. The other way, which you'll need to use if your pickup ring has a visual defect or warp that would look bad if you turned it, is to remove the pickup ring, remove the pickup from the pickup ring, turn the pickup, attach it to the ring again via the pickup height screws, and reinstall the pickup ring. You can see that the first method is a lot less work.
Out of Phase
This trick requires you to unsolder the hot and ground leads of one of the pickups, swap the leads, and resolder. Be sure to do this only for one pickup (not both) or you'll defeat the purpose. Now when the pickup selector switch is in the middle position, you'll hear a pronounced "honk" or "quack" as the low frequencies are reduced. This distinct nasal tone produced by this out of phase wiring is great for funk, country, and adds some character to blues solos.
You can get a similar effect by turning a pickup coil magnet end-for-end to reverse its poles. Some find it's easier to unsolder, swap wires, and resolder. You be the judge.
So there you go. Several ways to ensure that your electric guitar sounds the best it can with its existing pickups. If you own several guitars, you'll find yourself changing the factory pickup settings to your preferred ones as soon as you add them to your stable. After all, they're your guitars, so why not make them play and sound the way you prefer? It's all part of creating your signature sound.
If you don't feel confident about making adjustments to your instrument, then leave the work to a competent professional. Always use the proper tools, work in a safe manner, and avoid distractions. The user assumes all risk and expense of injury or loss for attempting to use the tips contained herein.