https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/ Guitar Noise Discussion Board en-US Thu, 04 Jun 2026 22:15:29 +0000 wpForo 60 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-237344 Sat, 07 Apr 2007 06:51:32 +0000 Guitar Repair and Maintenance simbot https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-237344 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-236725 Tue, 03 Apr 2007 00:20:31 +0000
Yeah, the tone of your bridge pickup is quite different from the neck. The neck is usually full and warm, almost acoustic guitar-like. The bridge tones are less full, but much tighter. I have always had difficulty with neck pickups, it is hard to get a good crunch with overdrive or distortion, they tend to sound muddy, whereas the bridge pickup is great for distortion, very tight and defined with excellent crunch.

The 490R & 490T on my SG sound quite different, but I have been able to adjust the height to get a very even output from both. With carefull EQ through a pedal I get a tighter neck pickup tone, best I've ever had really.]]> Guitar Repair and Maintenance Wes Inman https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-236725 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-236615 Mon, 02 Apr 2007 05:51:01 +0000 Guitar Repair and Maintenance TRGuitar https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-236615 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-236609 Mon, 02 Apr 2007 05:17:55 +0000 Guitar Repair and Maintenance gnease https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-236609 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-236316 Fri, 30 Mar 2007 06:38:24 +0000
I raised it way up, extended the screws, it's slightly better, but still sounds funny, tinny, like the sound is coming out of a tin can, not warm and full like the neck PU]]> Guitar Repair and Maintenance simbot https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-236316 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-236298 Fri, 30 Mar 2007 02:29:11 +0000
But if you look closely you will notice the actual poles on the neck pickup are still much closer to the strings. This is because the strings are at an angle to the pickups which both sit level. The poles on the neck pickup are on the headstock side of the guitar, the poles on the bridge are on the body side of the guitar. So even if you raise the bridge pickup very close to the strings, the poles are still a greater distance from the strings.

So in addition to raising the bridge pickup, I also raised the poles on the bridge pickup only. I ended up lowering the bridge pickup slightly, but raising the poles fairly close. Just turn them with a screwdriver, be careful not to scratch the top of the pickup. They are very firm, but they turn.

It took a few adjustments, but I have both pickups very evenly balanced now, and both seem to have lots of output.

Your LP should be similar, try this.]]> Guitar Repair and Maintenance Wes Inman https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-236298 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-236172 Wed, 28 Mar 2007 18:55:15 +0000
BTW, according to Seymour Duncan wiring the center connection should be white and red. Green is connected to shield (earth) and black is hot. Given that and the wiring of your other pup (black to shield), the first thing I would try is black to shield (again, same as other pup), green to switch and red/white connected together.

good luck]]> Guitar Repair and Maintenance gnease https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-236172 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-236126 Wed, 28 Mar 2007 06:13:23 +0000
Thanks!]]> Guitar Repair and Maintenance simbot https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-236126 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-236124 Wed, 28 Mar 2007 05:59:22 +0000 Guitar Repair and Maintenance TRGuitar https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-236124 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-236122 Wed, 28 Mar 2007 05:36:41 +0000
Both PU's are the same, 4 wire. Green, white, red, black and an uninsulated ground wire. The instructions that come with PUPs, say to solder the white and green together, they don't get connected to anything else. This must put the 2 coils in series with each other. The red is the hot and goes to the volume pot. The black gets soldered to the uninsulated cable, and soldered to the pot casing, which is ground (I think of it as ground anyway).

So maybe if it's out of phase to itself, the white and green should somehow get switched? Thois goes against Gibson's instructions. AND I hooked up the neck PU as instructed (white & green tied) and it works fine. Shouldn't it be out of phase to itself as well?]]> Guitar Repair and Maintenance simbot https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-repair-and-maintenance/installed-new-pick-up-not-loud-enough/#post-236122