7 String Pickup Height Question

[razor7]

Hey guys, I've been more of a lurker on the forums then a poster. I have 2 ernie ball Petrucci's one 6-string and one 7-string. I've had them for about 7 or 8 years.

Now I love the 6 string but something has always bugged me about the 7 string. The bridge pickup on the 7 string sticks up a lot higher then the 6 string and because of this i cannot get the action low enough on the 7 string guitar without the strings almost sitting right on top of the bridge pickup or hitting the bridge pickup.

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on what I could do to get this straightened out. I've though about routing out the bridge pickup cavity to make it deeper but don't want ruin the finish on the guitar. And obviously it's out of warranty.

So any help/ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ProtoChicken]

What is your action at the 12th fret currently at and what height are you happy with?

Just kind of thinking out loud, but is it possible that either the bridge saddles or the bridge height itself is too low, while at the same time your neck has too much relief or even a slight upbow? If that were the case maybe you could lower the action by straightening the neck. Then you could raise the bridge saddles (obviously you'd have to maintain the correct radius) or even raise the bridge studs slightly.

I have the action on my 7 string slightly above 1/32 and have no issues with the strings being too close to the pickups.

Even though you are out of warranty it's probably worth it to shoot customer service an email.

 

[razor7]

Just as a comparison

my 6 string action at 12th fret is 1/32 of an inch. Bridge is even with body and saddles are not to high.

If i try to setup the 7 string this way the strings hit the bridge.

The 7 string action at the 12th fret is 1/16 of an inch. Bridge is sitting about 1/16 of an inch above the body and the saddles are the same height as the 6 string so there no problem with the saddle height. Also at this the string is sitting about 1/16 of an inch above the pickup.

My 6th string plays beautifully and i've tried to setup the 7 string exactly the same but no luck.

I appreciate the the thought of looking into the way it is setup. Helps to take care of simple issues like setup errors.

 

[the24thfret]

Highly suggest just sending an email to customer service. They'll help you out.