Pole Pieces.

[WhiskeyJack]

[mention]muttley[/mention] [mention]Greg_L[/mention]

What do pole pieces do ? Do they need to be certain heights? Can you even adjust them? Will adjusting these things do anything to my tone or damage the pick up?

I only ask as i adjusted the height of the entire humbucker on my Epiphone and it made a pleasurable difference but in my search for "how-tos" on that i found some posts and diagrams elsewhere of pole piece heights and settings? I didn't touch them and likely never will it just got me curious.

[Greg_L]

@muttley @Greg_L

What do pole pieces do ? Do they need to be certain heights? Can you even adjust them? Will adjusting these things do anything to my tone or damage the pick up?

I only ask as i adjusted the height of the entire humbucker on my Epiphone and it made a pleasurable difference but in my search for "how-tos" on that i found some posts and diagrams elsewhere of pole piece heights and settings? I didn't touch them and likely never will it just got me curious.

I adjust my pole pieces (when applicable) to the radius of the strings. Pickups are usually flat, and naturally the radius of the bridge makes the two Es closer to the pickup than the D and G. So I usually set the pickup height according to spec, and then set each pole piece to follow the radius. Then I'll go further with the pickup height to get more or less output. Usually right on spec is okay with me because I usually choose pickups that I know will work for me just as they are. Usually you get a pickup and the poles either buried flat with the pickup or they're all over the place. If you can adjust them, give it a try. Sometimes a string might sound weaker than it's neighbors or too loud. Adjusting the poles can take care of this. It's a fine tuning kind of thing. Set your action/string height, set your pickup height, and fine tune with the pole pieces if you want.

[muttley]

You will remember from your school fysiks that if you move a ferrous metal object through a magnetic field you generate and electrical impulse in any coil of copper wire that happens to be in that magnetic field. On a humbucker the pole pieces are nickle/chrome/gold plated steel they contact the magnet under the bobbins and help spread the magnetic field up to where the strings are vibrating and will improve the inductance in the copper coil.

Some pickups have adjustable pole pieces to allow you to tinker with the output that each string will generate. Some pickups have staggered set pole pieces, think old style fender... The trick is to balance the out put of each string so that you are happy with the overall balance and then adjust the height of the pup so that you get the tone and amplitude you want. Its a matter of hitting a sweet spot. Too high and the poles pieces (being magnetic) will dampen the vibration of the string and too low and the signal becomes weak and colourless.

You wont do any harm tinkering with the pole pieces. If you want to be careful simply make a note on a pad of how many turns you make on each pole and you can easily reverse it. Never remove the pole pieces totally from a p90 as some of the better ones and the older bobbins are forbon not plastic and they can spring apart. The poles help to keep them together. On a plastic bobbin you would be good.

[WhiskeyJack]

Ok cool thanks dudes !! I don't know that i'd ever dive that deep into tweaking but it definitely answered my question!!! I got all kinds of electricalish stuff to do this week so fingers crossed i can get my mutt pupps put in.

It's only been a year right ?

Honestly i am scared of making a mess of my Gibson. I'll do my electrical work to the Sparrow first. i miss playing that guitar.

[muttley]

If you are that nervous about doing the soldering haven't you got a tech nearby? It really wouldnt be a long or expensive job. Four little solder joints two of which are to the back of pots...

[WhiskeyJack]

If you are that nervous about doing the soldering haven't you got a tech nearby? It really wouldnt be a long or expensive job. Four little solder joints two of which are to the back of pots...

I'll be fine. i just gotta ball up and do it.

[Greg_L]

I'll be fine. i just gotta ball up and do it.

Soldering to the backs of pots can be a little bit of a bitch if your iron isn't up to snuff. Get a little tube of flux to help out. That shit is soldering gold.

[WhiskeyJack]

I'll be fine. i just gotta ball up and do it.

Soldering to the backs of pots can be a little bit of a bitch if your iron isn't up to snuff. Get a little tube of flux to help out. That shit is soldering gold.

I agree. I may not have spent much on my soldering iron kit when i got it and i got pretty frustrated. but i went ot a local hardware store and i got this flux used for plumbing. It can't recall exactly what was in it, i want to say little teeny tiny bitty bits of solder itself mixed in with the paste and it greatly improved my experience. not a whole lot was needed. But whatever was in it produced better results than just regular old flux paste. I would just put a wee bit on what i was doing and away it went. beauty.