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Author
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Topic: Polepiece Screw Effectiveness?
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Bryan Bradfield
Member From: Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
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posted 24 February 2005 06:00 PM
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My lap steel has adjustable polepiece screws.I understand that to increase volume from the pickup, I can set the polepiece screws closer to the strings, or as an alternative, raise the entire pickup closer to the strings. Is there a difference between these two procedures related to tone, or volume, or ??? |
Geoff Brown
Member From: Nashvegas
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posted 24 February 2005 06:24 PM
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Raising the pup height will increase the output. It will also dampen the strings and decrease sustain, due to magnetic pull on the strings. You'll notice it if you go high enough. And it will tend to thicken the tone...usually. Raising individual polepieces will help balance the output of the strings, and usually brightens tone. Finding the right combination of pup and polepiece height takes time. I'm speaking in general terms. What kind of pup are you using? |
Bryan Bradfield
Member From: Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
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posted 24 February 2005 06:31 PM
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I'm actively using a 1950 Valco. It has a great sound.I'm NOT using my Gibson BR9, because I don't like the sound. It appears to be a single coil pickup in the Gibson. Both guitars have adjustable polepieces. I want to experiment with the Gibson, but I want a general idea of what does and does not work. |
Geoff Brown
Member From: Nashvegas
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posted 24 February 2005 11:16 PM
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Ok, so that's a P90 in the BR9. I don't think there's going to be any pup height adjustment, just the polepieces. I don't know if it's a soapbar or a dogear style. If it's a soapbar you could shim it some to get the pup higher. If it's a dogear, I've seen risers used on Gibson archtops to raise the bridge dogear. Some of those P90s sounded weak in the bridge, so the riser helped. I guess if it was mine, I'd adjust the polepieces and see if I could find the tone I wanted, and go from there. I like P90s a lot. Changing pots and capacitor values can have a big effect on tone as well. |
Bryan Bradfield
Member From: Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
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posted 25 February 2005 04:56 PM
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Soapbar?
Dogear?
Shimming a soapbar I can understand, once I've identified a soapbar.
However, with a dogear, one could use a riser?
What is a riser?
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Geoff Brown
Member From: Nashvegas
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posted 25 February 2005 07:01 PM
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http://www.musikland-online.de/pix/onlineshop/tonabgit1680484881.jpg Creme colored is a dogear. Black is a soapbar style. I don't know which is used on the BR9. |
Bryan Bradfield
Member From: Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
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posted 26 February 2005 09:15 AM
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Geoff -
The picture you pointed to is not clear enough on my monitor to show the mounting holes in the sopbar PU. The pickup on my BR9 does not have dogears. My pickup seems to be attached to the guitar by 2 screws - one between polepieces 2 & 3, and one between 4 & 5. The are empty holes in the pickup top plate between polepieces 1 & 2, and between 5 & 6. |
Jon Light
Member From: Brooklyn, NY
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posted 26 February 2005 09:44 AM
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For reference and info:
http://www.lollarguitars.com/replacement_pickups.htm |
Bryan Bradfield
Member From: Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
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posted 26 February 2005 10:39 AM
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Thanks Jon -
The soapbar picture is much clearer at the Lollar site. The pickup in my BR9 sure appears to be a soapbar PU. |
Geoff Brown
Member From: Nashvegas
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posted 26 February 2005 08:34 PM
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Bryan, you might want to try working with the polepiece height and amp settings to find sounds you like, before you start shimming. And as I mentioned before, pot values and capacitor values will affect tone in a large way. A 500k tone pot will make for a brighter, trebly tone. A 250k pot will thicken your tone, with a shift towards mid and low frequencies. Likewise with caps. A .022 is a commmon value. Something of lesser value, like a .015 will brighten tone. Ceramic caps (regardless of value) are generally not the best choice for guitars. A good foil-in-oil or paper-in-oil cap is a good upgrade to make. Pots and caps are inexpensive, so it doesn't break the bank to experiment. Results can be pretty dramatic. Good luck. |
Bryan Bradfield
Member From: Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
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posted 27 February 2005 12:15 PM
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Thanks Geoff. There is enough information there to keep me experimenting for awhile, for tone.One final question - what components are typical for the "doo-wah" effect.
That is:
(a) value of potentiometer?
(b) a linear or a logarithmic (audio) taper potentiometer?
(c) value of capacitor? Your previously furnished hints on tone indicated that a lower value of pot, or a higher value of cap, thickens the tone.
Concerning the tone prior to using the tone control, would the tone stay the same in brightness, regardless of what is in the as-yet unused tone circuit? What I am getting at here is - would the "doo-wah" effect be most effect with maximum tone change?
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