Bridge v neck variation how much do you like?

[scorchio65]

I must say that persevering with altering pickup height is a worthwhile but patient pursuit.

Having had a set of Nailbombs (A5) in my PRS SE SC for months I was a little disappointed with a few things (tone, aggression) and especially how little difference there was between the bridge and neck although balance was ok.

After reading some excellent posts and watching a Jason Lollar vid, I have been fiddling with the old screwdriver and I am delighted to have dialled in and 'corrected' all of the above.

I like quite a big difference in warmth and attack between my neck and bridge with a very slight boost in favour of the bridge. My PRS has a 3-way selector 1 vol and 1 tone so I try and cover a wide tonal range.

I have read and seen some players who don't like too much change when switching between. Although entirely personal, how do others set their tonal differences and levels?

P.S. My thanks to those who have posted on pickup height on these brilliant forums. I have learnt so much and my Nbombs are now everything I wanted and have read.

[Twinfan]

I like my pickups the same as you.  Some guitars of mine haven't been touched from factory spec as they're spot on (CS Tele), one took a little while to get right and hasn't been changed since (Pearly LP), and one changes all the time (Modern Eagle).

They're fickle things sometimes aren't they???

[Philly Q]

I like "simple" - everything on "10" or "0" and never mind the inbetween stuff.

So yes, I like a lot of variation between the neck and bridge pickups.  Bridge - bright(ish) and crunchy, neck - the warmer the better.  But not too much difference in volume.

The Cold Sweat set is great if you like that kind of contrast.

[Emperoff]

I like some balance, but with a different flavour. I'm not much into calibrated sets as I prefer different voicings for neck & bridge.

Also, as I usually play straight through the amp with no effects I hate combos like the EMG 81-85 (81 very bright, 85 very dark), as they sound totally unbalanced to me when switching pickups.

[ericsabbath]

I had the same impression with the nailbomb set

the neck pickup felt like a thinner, brighter and more scooped bridge nailbomb, instead of an actual neck sound

the cold sweat has a much wider variation, and it's still well matched

I just finished installing an aftermath/mule set (in the same guitar where the nailbombs and the cold sweats were installed) 20 minutes ago, but couldn't play it loud yet
the mule is almost clean through distortion and the aftermath sounds A LOT smoother than I expected (which is a great thing!)

[Fourth Feline]

I tend to like only a subtle variation 'twixt neck and bridge - and most often , I am using both together.  My current usage is Chord Melody / Smooth Jazz ;  but I would be the same with Blues e.t.c.  Tone wise, I like to keep things fairly simple, just dialing in / out between about 8-10 on the tone pots only.  With this relatively sedate Jazzy stuff, it tends to be 'set and forget' at the outset , relative to the room/amp. Not surprisingly, I have always bought B.K.P matched sets.

I  tend to think of my usage of the bridge and neck sounds in vocal terms ;  in that ( for me ) they are clearly meant to be the same voice, but with a different inflection for different songs, or parts thereof.   With this sort of mellow stuff, this 'less is more' approach draws the ear in better - leaving the listener to explore the structure, without being 'jolted' by stark contrasts.  

[38thBeatle]

I am constantly switching between pickups. Adds variety and can really make a difference on certain songs. I must admit that I am not consistent but that is  the whole point for me. I decide on the night depending upon the venue. I stick to more or less the same guitar for a specific song and depending which one I use, I like to utilise the full range of tones available if appropriate.

[gwEm]

its funny, the neck pickup is something to which my taste has changed 180 degrees since i started playing.

i used to like warmer, mellow neck pickups, setup for less drive than the bridge.

then i realised, although this is great for playing at home, there is no cut with this kind of tone when soloing in a live environment in a dense mix. there was two moments when i took out a les paul deluxe with a mini humbucker neck, and an SSS strat and thought "wow, usable neck tone"

anyway, since then I much prefer bright neck pickups, almost as bright as the bridge.. and with more a bit more drive, its a great setup for leads, and it cuts so well. it still sounds like a neck pickup anyway, because of the position of the pickup. in the neck position i'm using strat coils, mini hbs and i'm experimenting again with parallel wired fullsize humbuckers.

just my thoughts!