Seen a similar thread but needed a bit more info. I'm interested in trying out the Garrison 4 finger picking technique and have been thinking of putting a ramp on my basses. Obviously before I do this I need to set my pickup height and after watching Gary Willis' setup vids I had a go at getting the pickups really close to the strings. I have 3 basses I want to try this with: MM Stingray 5 with Seymour Duncans, Fender Marcus J with Dimarzio Ultra J's and Ibanez SR1000 with EMG's.
The Dimarzio's on the Fender are going to be a problem because I had to lower them considerably to stop an overloading problem when I slap. There was a kind of annoying bang/thud to the sound. Don't know if that's a pickup problem right there but it did disappear as I dropped the height.
The Musicman pickup got close to the strings but when I pick I get a bang from my fingers hitting the pole pieces. Dropped them a bit and they are OK. Would like them higher though.
The Ibanez is fine but I can't get them as high as I'd like because the strings touch the pickup when I play the G string 23rd and 24th frets. Rarely play there but I guess it's a sign that the pickups are too high.
I have seen many people complaining about the sound problems you can get from high pickups, the pole piece banging and the magnetic muting problems. With all these problems, why and how does Gary Willis get away with his pickup's being so high? I do love the feel on my Ibanez since I increased the pickup height and I'd like a little more. I've had to pack them underneath with lots of foam to do this. Are there any adjustable pickup covers I can get that move independent of the pole pieces so I can just raise them as high as I want without the sound/magnet issues? Has anyone found any other solutions to this problem?
Aside from the 4 finger thing, I like having something close under the strings anyway. Since I've done it on the Ibanez I can tell my hand is under less stress in general. I have had a few tendon problems in my picking hand before and I think this might help a lot.
Cheers
Mark
The Dimarzio's on the Fender are going to be a problem because I had to lower them considerably to stop an overloading problem when I slap. There was a kind of annoying bang/thud to the sound. Don't know if that's a pickup problem right there but it did disappear as I dropped the height.
The Musicman pickup got close to the strings but when I pick I get a bang from my fingers hitting the pole pieces. Dropped them a bit and they are OK. Would like them higher though.
The Ibanez is fine but I can't get them as high as I'd like because the strings touch the pickup when I play the G string 23rd and 24th frets. Rarely play there but I guess it's a sign that the pickups are too high.
I have seen many people complaining about the sound problems you can get from high pickups, the pole piece banging and the magnetic muting problems. With all these problems, why and how does Gary Willis get away with his pickup's being so high? I do love the feel on my Ibanez since I increased the pickup height and I'd like a little more. I've had to pack them underneath with lots of foam to do this. Are there any adjustable pickup covers I can get that move independent of the pole pieces so I can just raise them as high as I want without the sound/magnet issues? Has anyone found any other solutions to this problem?
Aside from the 4 finger thing, I like having something close under the strings anyway. Since I've done it on the Ibanez I can tell my hand is under less stress in general. I have had a few tendon problems in my picking hand before and I think this might help a lot.
Cheers
Mark
