The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi, I'm looking for opinions.
What is the proper distance between the top of the pickup and the underside of the strings? Is it 3/16"? And, how close to the bridge should the center of the pickup magnets be?
I'm building a lap steel and its time to decide where (and how deep) the pickup should be mounted. Thank you, Don

I would suggest that you place the pickup as close to the bridge as possible, and make the height adjustable. I don't believe there is any one specific distance from the strings that is optimal for all pickups. The tonal qualities of the body of the guitar also vary. Making the height adjustable can help you get the sound you prefer from your project.

Thanks Larry. Don

As to pickup placement, the general rule of thumb is that the closer to the bridge, the brighter and thinner / weaker a pickup will sound. The "optimal" spot can vary depending on many things like pickup type, voice, design, magnets, and none the least is where you think it sounds best.

A good starting place is to go by other examples of instruments using your pickup. Or, if you want to play around with dialing it in to your taste, you can rig up a little jig to bridge / suspend the pickup upside down above the strings and move it around.

Distance from the strings depends a lot on pickup type. Humbuckers can be placed a lot closer to the strings than single coils can. If you are just using one pickup (compared to a pair ala stringmasters) I have heard that you should place the pickup inline with the string harmonic... But here is a complex discussion of nodes and pickup placement.

http://buildyourguitar.com/resources/lo ... /index.htm

I've had good results on the lap steels that I have built by setting the pickup about 3/16" under the strings.
The springs under the pickup legs allow you to adjust the height to experiment.
The center of my pickups are about 1" forward of the bridge.

It's been suggested that a good distance between strings and pickup is the thickness of two quarters.

what tom said!!

if you are building a new guitar. you have the sonic luxury of stringing it up and moving the pickup around under the strings until you find the right spot that you enjoy the sound of. i would never just rout out or make a fixed installation based on anything except listening first.