Cure for a weak high E string?

[garybaldy]

No, effective setups vary. But the only possibilities are the weak e string is from it being shoddy acoustically, or too far away from the pickup. That's basically it barring some voodoo.

That definitely wasn't the case with my Fenix FAE8. It was a duff AZ pickup. A budget Ibanez pickup from an AF84e solved the problem.

[rpjazzguitar]

https://fendercustomersupport.micros...ticle/KA-01901

This links to Fender's instructions for setting up a Stratocaster.

I found it helpful for learning about setups. Most of it is applicable to other guitars, maybe with some adjustments to the numbers.

[Bobby Timmons]

That definitely wasn't the case with my Fenix FAE8. It was a duff AZ pickup. A budget Ibanez pickup from an AF84e solved the problem.

How did you determine that it was the pickup itself that was the problem?

[garybaldy]

How did you determine that it was the pickup itself that was the problem?

Just decided to experiment with a cheap pickup and it worked. I didn't have to change anything else.

[Bobby Timmons]

I see. Makes me wonder what it was. Did the height end up different, the eq of the pickup fixed it, something with the mag or magnetism. I wouldn't think a custom shop Duncan would be defective or inadequate some way. My first instinct is it's the height since the op said he can't adjust that.

[garybaldy]

I see. Makes me wonder what it was. Did the height end up different, the eq of the pickup fixed it, something with the mag or magnetism. I wouldn't think a custom shop Duncan would be defective or inadequate some way. My first instinct is it's the height since the op said he can't adjust that.

No height change. The guitar has always had a great action the neck is excellent. I've always had a really low action. It couldn't be lowered. Prior to removing the AZ I tried numerous strings, even bronze! The bronze were fine for acoustic playing!
I still have the AZ. I could test it on something else but don't really feel inclined to do so. Both my other two ATs with neck mounts are the Loar LH700 (retro fitted by prev owner) and an Aria FA71 (like Jim Mullens) but they are both good. I'd feel bad selling the AZ.

[Bobby Timmons]

I see. I meant the pup height.

[garybaldy]

I see. I meant the pup height.

In appearance there was no change but as both pups don't have pole screws I suppose the slugs could generally be deeper into the AZ cover but that would affect all strings.

[Bobby Timmons]

That's why I'm saying I don't really think it's voodoo - meaning some weird fault in the pup itself. Pups don't disfavor certain strings, it's only the distance from the string to pole, and the mass of the string. You can compensate for the smaller strings being naturally quieter by setting the treble side of the pickup closer. Since the op said he doesn't have the ability to tune each side of the pup height, I think that's the cause.

[Jimmy Mack]

Well, general rules apply, usually. And then there are the exceptions.

I bought a Danelectro 7 string guitar. You'd think that the p/ups they used on this model would accommodate 7 strings, right? Wrong. The 1st string was very quiet. No adjustments except for height. No good. Reverse the p/up? No good.
I had a custom made "lipstick" p/up made. Better but not much. No one would make a wider "Lipstick" tube for a p/up to reach 7 strings because I obviously needed wider magnets too.

I bought a beautiful Guild X170 with the Guild h/bers. The 1st string's sound on the bridge p/up just didn't cut it - it didn't match the other 5 strings. It was weak and thin. Not so on the neck p/up. I suspected the pickup. No amount of adjusting or changing strings fixed the problem.
Changed it to 57 Classic, and that took care of that - no more wimpy E string!

On an expensive Gibson arch top, the famous p/ups it came with really favored a small mid range parameter, which just hampered the response of the guitar (the other strings and frequencies). Blanketing to my ears. No amount of adjusting would change the effect I was hearing. As soon as I changed the p/ups, the guitar came alive, and I got very useable and pleasant tones no matter where I set the controls.

I'm no stranger to changing pots and p/ups in order to improve the tone of a guitar. In the case of my L5, I was hesitant to mess with it, but...I knew what a great L5 CES should sound like. If I couldn't have that great L5 sound, why own it?

[Herbie]

I have wonderful guitar built by Ed Shaefer that sounds and feels just right. Acoustically it is balanced across the strings, but amplified the high E string is noticeably weak.
(…)

Lots of great advice here!

I have one more: take the guitar to Ed Shaefer and ask him to fix it. Most luthiers have lifetime guarantee for their instruments and most of them want to keep their customers satisfied. And this case might just make his future guitars even better.

I got my weak E string better by turning the Mid eq louder from my amp. But YMMV.

Good luck!

[JCat]

Thanks everyone for their comments; I haven't had time to make any adjustments but will this weekend.

Is there such a thing as One Proper Setup? Seems like different folks have different criteria.

I think it's fair to say that it depends on your level (and that you may want a second opinion from another player). Some things are indeed subjective (some people play slide, some like custom gauge string sets, some use alternate tunings etc and those factors will have to be accounted for when setting up a guitar), but there are many areas that could pass (or fail) an objective assessment. If the individual player (you) is able to appreciate it or not is another question.

People dream up all kind of superficial reasons why a guitar performs or not and we (amateurs as well as pros) tend to listen with our eyes. The list of common excuses is longer than the list of recommended setup activities, still the professional tech must draw a line when time is money.

The novice don't know what a good guitar is supposed to sound and feel like, but he can tell when fingers hurt and when strings are buzzing. He typically finds that the guitar won't stay in tune (in which case he blames the tuners). The novice perspective of QC is limited to various aspects of finish and he tends to believe in "tonewood".

-What if some things that make a guitar great can't be discerned with the naked eye? And what if those things require even more work than building and painting the frame? Why should manufacturers and techs spend time on areas that the average customer is not skilled enough to appreciate?

-Seeing is believing; -What if it's easier to convince the buyer that performance is an aspect of "tonewood", MOP and grain?

-What is a factory setup? What if the major difference between a cheap and an expensive guitar is that the latter performs on some level out of the box?

-What if there are cheap guitars that perform great out of the box and expensive guitars that are more or less unplayable? What if a brand new guitar is a half-finished product? Then who is supposed to finish the job?

-What if more and more guitars are sold on-line (mail-order)? Then who's going to help you?

[JazzNote]

I notice that the earliest string in a set to lose it's life which always results in sounding thin, is the high E, then the B. In the lifespan of a full set i replace the high E about 3 times if not more. Each time i do this, i feel the sound of it to have got "thicker" than it was before.

[teeps]

If I had purchased an ill performing custom built guitar I would likely ask the builder for advice first.

[SoftwareGuy]

New pickguard + new pickup with adjustable pole pieces?

AKA

I think considering a different pickup may be in order. As has been discussed, some pickups allow for individual balancing of the strings. You may not want to rely on a specific string or pick to get a good sound.

It may be the current pickup just has an uneven balance, for what ever reason.

[bluejaybill]

I think considering a different pickup may be in order. As has been discussed, some pickups allow for individual balancing of the strings. You may not want to rely on a specific string or pick to get a good sound.

It may be the current pickup just has an uneven balance, for what ever reason.

If the guitar has a good balance acoustically, this could be the ticket, and it's not an uncommon problem on arch tops.

It took me three pickups to get the right balance on my most recent archtop. IMHO, you have to have adjustability that works well in order to achieve balance on many arch tops.

[JazzDaddyD]

It is a smooth top pickup, no pole pieces to adjust. And not normally sideways. I am thinking about swapping out the pickup- the guitar sounds terrific acoustically. I wish there were a floating pickup mounting system that allowed for some adjustment.

[JazzNote]

It is a smooth top pickup, no pole pieces to adjust. And not normally sideways. I am thinking about swapping out the pickup- the guitar sounds terrific acoustically. I wish there were a floating pickup mounting system that allowed for some adjustment.

For maximum adjustability chose a 12pole version. They come for neck mount or side mount (on pickguard).
https://www.armstrongmusic.co.uk/cdn...-99583600.jpg?

[bluejaybill]

It is a smooth top pickup, no pole pieces to adjust. And not normally sideways. I am thinking about swapping out the pickup- the guitar sounds terrific acoustically. I wish there were a floating pickup mounting system that allowed for some adjustment.

Jazznote beat me to it, the Armstrong 12 pole solved my string unbalance problem. Sounds nice and full as well.

[garybaldy]

Jazznote beat me to it, the Armstrong 12 pole solved my string unbalance problem. Sounds nice and full as well.

Which pole screws did you have to adjust and which way?
I found with my Loar, which has a retro fitted mini humbucker with screws, that I had to reduce the volume level of the top 2 high strings by lowering the screws - particularly the b.

[rpjazzguitar]

One question that occurs to me.

Did the guitar leave his shop with a weak E string when the guitar was brand new?

If not, what changed?

[sgosnell]

Which pole screws did you have to adjust and which way?
I found with my Loar, which has a retro fitted mini humbucker with screws, that I had to reduce the volume level of the top 2 high strings by lowering the screws - particularly the b.

The question wasn't addressed to me, but why let that stop me from jumping in? IME, the polepieces need to be adjusted more or less as follows to make the strings sound balanced to me. The degree may change with different strings and pickups, but as a general rule...

The polepiece under the G string needs to be the highest, if it's wound. I don't have a lot of experience with unwound G strings, but if it's plain, it generally needs to be the lowest, because of the different core diameters. The B needs to be the lowest, and the plain E higher, but not as high as the G. The bass E can be about as low as the B, with the A and D progressively a little higher toward the G. With steel wound strings, the core diameters make less difference because the windings are strongly affected by the magnetic fields. Nickel, Monel, and brass/bronze wound strings are progressively more affected by the core diameters, the brass/bronze by much more. The type of strings, both the winding material and the lack of it, affect the needed adjustment heights. The distance of the pickup body from the strings also has a definite effect, as does any slant of the pickup, putting one end higher than the other. In short, I couldn't tell you the exact polepiece adjustments that would work on any given guitar without knowing the strings, the pickup model and height, and how your ear hears different frequencies. All I can say with confidence is what I prefer, using the guitars, pickups, and strings that I have. And that can change from time to time. I keep a small screwdriver handy, and tweak polepieces every now and then.

[bluejaybill]

Which pole screws did you have to adjust and which way?
I found with my Loar, which has a retro fitted mini humbucker with screws, that I had to reduce the volume level of the top 2 high strings by lowering the screws - particularly the b.

Totally right, down on the first two, up on 3 and up a bit less on 4.

The advantage on the 12 pole is you can lower both poles for a more dramatic change, which is often necessary on the third string if wound. It worked a lot better than on my previous Johnnie Smith type pickup.

[JazzNote]

Which pole screws did you have to adjust and which way?
I found with my Loar, which has a retro fitted mini humbucker with screws, that I had to reduce the volume level of the top 2 high strings by lowering the screws - particularly the b.

It will of course depend on the guitar and the strings used. When fitting a new PU i usually try to balance the volume of the individual strings as well as possible at home, then take it to a rehearsal and have a screwdriver ready on the musicstand for further adjustment. I experimented setting the levels with a DAW, recording each string and adjusting it until the tones "looked" even, but came to the conclusion that relying on my ears would give a more practical result.

The first foto shows a 12 pole which i currently have installed on a 2013 LeGrand, the second foto shows a 12 pole which i used for a while on a 1998 LeGrand which sounds quite different from the 2013.

[garybaldy]

So generally speaking it seems the high strings need to be tamed (not boosted) whatever the pickup. This suggests there is a problem with the OP's pickup.