Misdee Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Does anybody know the correct height for an EMG Geezer Butler P pickup? There are no guidelines that I can find on the EMG website. I know there is no "right" answer but I would be interested to hear how other people are adjusting this pickup. My initial impression is that, despite Geezer's reputation as a heavy rock/metal player, this pickup is not one of the hyped-up "hot" P pickups such as the Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder et al. It is surprisingly vintage in it's output and overall tonality. I'd love to hear what other people think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micguy Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 (edited) It's not supposed to be super hot - I heard rumors it was designed to emulate a certain vintage P pickup owned by Bobby Vega. So, adjust it like a vintage pickup. Which, of course means nothing - On a two pickup bass, I generally adjust the bridge pickup as high as I can get it without issues of hitting the pole pieces, etc, and then adjust the neck pickup height to match outputs. On a P , I go for something a bit closer to the strings, as I like the way that sounds - there'a s non-linearity in pickups which adds harmonics as you get closer to the strings, I like a bunch of that when can get it. A rule of thumb I've heard is: Hold the strings down at the last fret, and adjust for ... a couple nickels from the strings to the pole pieces. I have no idea what UK currency matches a USA nickel in thickness. Edited July 23, 2019 by micguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dov65 Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misdee Posted July 24, 2019 Author Share Posted July 24, 2019 Thanks for the advice, I will experiment . I am always wary of setting the pickup too close to the strings and getting magnetic interference from the pickup on the orbit of the strings, causing unwanted overtones. There is nothing wrong with the tone of the GZR as I currently have it set, it's just not quite as loud as my other very similar P Bass equipped with a Lakland Neo Punch pickup set at the same height. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 Neodymium magnets are much stronger than the alnico I’m guessing the Geezer is built with. They won’t have the same output level at all. Set the Geezer where it sounds best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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