Pickup angle on Axis SS

[jtmarin]

Hi All,

I just bought a MM Axis SS and I've got to say, awesome instrument !
Probably the best and most versatile I've ever played.
Something worries me a little bit though.
When I got the guitar from the shop the setup was a bit weird. Action was great etc but some strings sounded a bit dull acoustically and the bridge pickup had a lot of angle, much closer to the high strings.

I proceeded to change the strings with a set of 10-46 which I thought was what was on, only to realise that the current strings seemed like a mixture of light gauge on the high strings and higher gauge on low strings.

Re adjusted truss and setup the guitar, and dullness was gone. Also re-adjusted the bridge pickup to be parallel again as I thought it was weird.
But I soon realised that my high strings sounded much much fainter than the low ones !
So I put the high angle back in and it sounded good again.

Is this normal ? It sounds good again but it looks very weird to me, never had to do that on any guitar. and the bridge pickup is now very close to the high strings, and at its lowest for the low strings ( that was the original setup ).
Neck pickup is parallel and it sounds pretty balanced.

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks !

 

[ivanmihaljevic]

Can you post a picture of it?

BTW. Welcome to the forum!

 

[jtmarin]

Thanks ! I don't have a picture here, will try to post one tonight but the angle is pretty steep.

 

[Brian G]

On Strats, f'rinstance, it's fairly common to have the treble side of the pickup higher than the bass. I've also found I had to do this with the last humbucker guitar I had, in order to get lower output / less mud on the bass strings, yet have good output from the treble strings.

Depends, of course, on how extreme the angle is.

Brian

 

[jtmarin]

Of course a picture will say more but I find it quite extreme.
Any idea what might be the cause ?

 

[jtmarin]

Yes it is a Super sport. Pickup height is definitely adjustable, I think it is on the Axis they are not.

 

[ivanmihaljevic]

Yes it is a Super sport. Pickup height is definitely adjustable, I think it is on the Axis they are not.

Did you buy it new or used?

 

[jtmarin]

new - supposedly if the seller was honest. I bought it off ebay.
It was mint so I would think it is the case

 

[Larry]

My Axis the pickups are direct mounted and sit flat... If I remember correctly the last ASS I played the pickups sat flat as well.

 

[fsmith]

I've never seen an Axis or Super Sport that had adjustable pickups. If yours are, then someone has modified it somehow. If I'm not mistaken, I think that even the old Sports that had a pickguard had direct mounted pickups.

How are you able to adjust, are there springs under the pickups?

 

[jtmarin]

I haven't looked below the pickup but just turning the mounting screws adjusts the height on either side. Doesn't look like there are springs though seen from the top ?? I'll post pictures when I'm back home

 

[jtmarin]

Alright lads, I think the problem is solved.
I unmounted the pickup, to find out that the "adjustment" was the wire from the neck pup that was in a bad place and was acting as spring being compressed when the screws were tightened.
I've put it all back correctly and the pickup is now directly mounted as meant to be, interestingly it still does have a slight angle towards the high, I guess it's been routed this way.

As for the faint sound on the high strings... I was playing my valve amp at a volume much quieter than it is meant to be ( damn neighbours ) and I guess the highs just didn't get through. That's too bad that I used that to do my setup really.

So it's fair to stay I've been wasting your time Sorry about that.
I'm glad I've found this forum though thanks to you guys for being so responsive !

I think you've deserved a little picture after all this

 

[Sweat]

Hey glad it got resolved quickly and nice ASS love the color and great combo with your amp, welcome aboard and stick around, just beware of G.A.S

 

[jtmarin]

Thanks !

I'm afraid that's too late for GAS... although fortunately I don't like stompboxes and effects and I've bought this amp to be my only one, it's so versatile I don't feel the need for anything else.
So I'm left with just guitars
Actually I've started building guitars and it gets even worse - and not much less expensive - but at least it takes more time so it slows things down a bit.

 

[fsmith]

Sweet guitar, I'm glad you found the problem. Oh yeah and welcome to the forum. Stick around, it's a cool place to hang.

 

[jtmarin]

wow you seem to have a nice collection !
How does the P90 version compare with the humbuckers ?
Can you get jazzy tones with a bit of tone rolled back ? And some twang with the bridge pup ?

 

[ivanmihaljevic]

Thanks !

I'm afraid that's too late for GAS... although fortunately I don't like stompboxes and effects and I've bought this amp to be my only one, it's so versatile I don't feel the need for anything else.
So I'm left with just guitars
Actually I've started building guitars and it gets even worse - and not much less expensive - but at least it takes more time so it slows things down a bit.

It's never too late for GAS believe me. There's always something that you really want to have and that you "really need"

 

[Eilif]

Nice amp.

 

[jtmarin]

It's never too late for GAS believe me. There's always something that you really want to have and that you "really need"

Oh yeah, by "too late" I meant "I'm already infected"

 

[fsmith]

wow you seem to have a nice collection !
How does the P90 version compare with the humbuckers ?
Can you get jazzy tones with a bit of tone rolled back ? And some twang with the bridge pup ?

I haven't had the MM90 guitar long enough to really get to know it yet, but it cleans up really well. It is very responsive when you roll back the volume or tone. But it can growl if needed.