Help! Valentine or Silhouette? 1st EBMM purchase

[Gschrock313]

No, I'm pretty sure they've used the outside coils in both 2 and 4 positions, certainly for most the last 25 years. Was that the case back in '96? I can't say for sure, but tap on the pickup poles with a small screwdriver and you'll figure out what's what.

Silhouette

Ernie Ball Music Man's first production guitar! The body is dramatic in styling, compact in size, and made from premium quality alder beveled and contoured for balance and comfort. The combination of two DiMarzio virtual PAF humbuckers and custom wound DiMarzio single coil pickup yield a variety...

www.music-man.com

Scroll down the page and look for the "Controls" tab. By all means try rotating the pickups anyway, no magnet swap necessary if you are only rotating the pickups. If you can make it work without the pickup wires causing problems, give it a try!

Also try adjusting the pickup heights a little. Changing the balance between pickups in the in-between positions might make the difference you need.

Good catch! You saved me from some needless trouble. For some reason I was thinking otherwise, I’ll definitely explore the pickup height, they were set almost flush with the body when I received it and I’m thinking they’ll liven up and give me some wiggle room - thanks again!

 

[DrKev]

Good catch! You saved me from some needless trouble. For some reason I was thinking otherwise, I’ll definitely explore the pickup height, they were set almost flush with the body when I received it and I’m thinking they’ll liven up and give me some wiggle room - thanks again!

OK. The factory setup for these guitars is what I call the 6-5-4 setup. Measuring from the bottom of the open low E string to the pickup pole pieces...

Neck pickup 6/32" (4.75 mm)
Middle pickup 5/32" (4.0 mm)
Bridge pickup 4/32" (3.25 mm)

On the high E side go the same or a little closer.

Factory spec is not "best" (it's more about ensuring the guitars leave the factory the same setup) but it's a good place to start.