P90/Alnico archtop owners!

[BillyB]

Can anyone give me a measurement?


I need the distance between the top on the pickup and the string - on both neck and bridge pickups.



Thanks


B.B

 

[Troels]

There's no such thing as a fixed distance from PU top to the strings because:

1. The top sinks over the years and the distance improves
2. There are different PU covers for P90s and different rings to put below
3. The pole screws are adjustable.

As a rule of thumb: P90s are powerfull PUs and should be adjusted leaving plenty of room between the top of the pole pieces and the bottom of the strings.

 

[BillyB]

There'll be a ballpark distance though - Just to clarify, i'm not talking about pole-piece to string distance either - just from the pickup plastic top.


I think my Alnico's that were fitted to my L-4CES are a little too close to the strings. 'S'all. :salude

 

[Bhodie]

Just measured my Casino for the heck of it.. action is not super low or anything and it is 5/16" string to magnet on the neck and 3/16" on the bridge.. seems to work...

 

[rays44]

Measurments won't help with Alnico staple pickups. They were typically wound to be louder than P90's from the same era. This means that they don't have to be adjusted close to the strings which is a good thing. The Alnico on my '56 Custom has in fact, become somewhat de-gaussed over the years and has lost some output. This is where the problem is because the staple poles ARE the magnets and will pull the strings out of tune (producing ghost tones) much the way Strat pickups can if raised to close to the strings. The best way to judge the right height is by ear. Balance the output of both pickups, but if raised close to the strings, pay particular attention to those ghost tones and back off accordingly. No such problem, of course with P90's, as they can be raised as high as need be without the same problem.