Neck Pickup Output

bobcat · Post by **bobcat** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 5:22 pm

Okay, everywhere I read, people say that the output on their neck pickup is always more than that of their bridge pickup. I see it all the time. I've got a two-year-old 4003 on which I have tried several different types and brands of strings, and no matter what I do with the controls or the amp or my effects pedals or the strings or my playing style, the neck pickup has maybe 3/4 the output of the bridge pickup. Is this a normal occurrence, for the neck pickup to have lower output? I really think raising the neck pickup a bit would help, but you can't really raise it, as it's not adjustable as far as I know.

Oh, also, on a side note, I hit the poles on my pickups a lot (I'm a very hard player because it gets me that sound I want), and somewhere I read something about putting a strip of electric tape on the top of the pickup. Would that damage the pickup or reduce the output? Would it do anything?

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 6:52 pm

on a 4003 the bridge pickup can be louder than the neck pickup because it has a larger magnet ... to get rid of the sound of the strings hitting the pickup pole pieces lower the pickups and use a compressor ... you can also put a dab of silicon calk on there ...

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 2:55 am

Well, Robert, the explanation for the hotter bridge pickup is simple: construction of the current 4003 treble pickup is basically the same as it was back in the '80s and '70s when a treble-pass, or bass-cut capacitor, was installed in line therewith, which made outputs from both the neck and the bridge pickups more or less matched. RIC ceased fitting said capacitor about 20 years ago, but never revised the treble pickup design, hence the output mismatch.

rickaddict · Post by **rickaddict** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 3:39 am

Robert-

If your bridge pickup is way louder than the neck, and you are popping the strings off the pole pieces, it sounds like your bridge pickup is too high. I like to set mine so that the pole pieces are just about even with the side edge on the pickup surround. But that's on my Ricks that don't have the string cutout on the pickup surround. Yours should have the string cutout.

Anyways...I'd try lowering the pickup a little.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 8:42 am

I like the treble pickup louder than the bass pickup, I only use the neck for added bottom, I get most of my sound from the bridge pickup, I back off the neck volume a little to get that edge. Realistically a 4001 was originally just a 4000 with an added neck pickup for more bottom and that's how I approach it.