New Will Ray Z-coil pickup in my Z3

Hey all!
Following the advice from Gordon at UpFront Guitars (an awesome G&L dealer if anyone's in the market for a new one) and the archived posts from some of you here, I purchased and installed a Will Ray Z-coil pickup in the bridge of my ASAT Z3. I think it sounds great, but I did notice that I needed to raise the pickup a good bit closer to the strings to get the mojo flowing at its best. For those of you with Z-coil pickups, especially the Will Ray, did you notice that your pickup heights had to be a bit higher than usual?

nope

Don't recall either of mine needing to be set higher either. Keep on mind the Will Ray signature doesn't have them higher either

Yeah, after I got the guitar back from the shop, the pickups were all set at the same height but the neck pickup sounded louder, as I would expect from a Will Ray. The problem is that the Will Ray pickup was supposed to be installed in the bridge. I called the shop that did the work and they swear it was installed in the bridge, not the neck, but I'm still suspicious... And, save for taking out the pickups and testing them, I don't really have any way of knowing if there really was a goof. Ah well.

And, save for taking out the pickups and testing them, I don't really have any way of knowing if there really was a goof. Ah well.

Try testing it at the output jack with a multi-meter, one of the switch positions will have more resistance.
...or on the tabs of the pup selector if you open it up.

And, save for taking out the pickups and testing them, I don't really have any way of knowing if there really was a goof. Ah well.

Try testing it at the output jack with a multi-meter, one of the switch positions will have more resistance.
...or on the tabs of the pup selector if you open it up.

Also, see: Measuring Pickup DC-R
and List of pickups used in G&L guitars.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the suggestion! Just purchased a multi-meter off Amazon and will test the PUPs on Monday when it arrives.

I found that the WR bridge pickup needed to be closer to the strings than the standard bridge pickup. Is yours an older one by any chance? I had the Z coils further away than usual, and the bridge a fair bit closer than the neck, with the middle lowest of all. All at the same height wouldn't get the best out of it.

The pickups have different coloured leads - you should be able to just remove the control panel and look at the colour of the leads connected to the bridge position on the switch and then check against the lead coming from the pickup to see if its been done right.

I found that the WR bridge pickup needed to be closer to the strings than the standard bridge pickup. Is yours an older one by any chance? I had the Z coils further away than usual, and the bridge a fair bit closer than the neck, with the middle lowest of all. All at the same height wouldn't get the best out of it.

The pickups have different coloured leads - you should be able to just remove the control panel and look at the colour of the leads connected to the bridge position on the switch and then check against the lead coming from the pickup to see if its been done right.

Do you happen to know what colors the leads should be for their respective pickup position, or where I could find that info? Thanks for this suggestion!

This photo shows a red and black wire for the bridge.
I can't say for sure that that is typical.

This photo shows a red and black wire for the bridge.
I can't say for sure that that is typical.

Hmmm... the original pickup that's in my case (that was swapped out) has blue and green wire. I did use a multi-meter and, if I did it correctly, it does appear to show more resistance in the bridge than the neck and middle, so now I'm doubly confused. In any case, with a little tweaking of the bridge pickup height I got it sounding great and am happy with it. A little confused, but happy.

Thanks, all, for your help!

A thought- I wonder if it's a phase issue? Does the bridge position cancel hum?

A thought- I wonder if it's a phase issue? Does the bridge position cancel hum?

Yeah, all of the pickups cancel hum due to their z-coil design. No hum here.

This photo shows a red and black wire for the bridge.
I can't say for sure that that is typical.

Hmmm... the original pickup that's in my case (that was swapped out) has blue and green wire. I did use a multi-meter and, if I did it correctly, it does appear to show more resistance in the bridge than the neck and middle, so now I'm doubly confused. In any case, with a little tweaking of the bridge pickup height I got it sounding great and am happy with it. A little confused, but happy.

Thanks, all, for your help!

The bridge Z-coil leads should be blue and black.


Here's a photo showing the Will Ray Z-coil on the left next to a standard Z-coil:


Notice that the WR Z-coil bobbin is taller and it has 1400 extra windings than the standard Z-coil.
This results in a higher DC-R reading:


What is your DC-R reading on the replaced bridge pickup?

Thanks, Craig! My multi-meter says 4.88k for the neck and middle pickups and 7.57 for the Will Ray bridge. After tinkering with the pickup heights, I think I've found my happy place.

Just out of curiosity, what is the height of each pickup? Or, the height difference between bridge and others.

Thanks, Craig! My multi-meter says 4.88k for the neck and middle pickups and 7.57 for the Will Ray bridge. After tinkering with the pickup heights, I think I've found my happy place.

Glad I was able to help.

Please do post some photos.

Hey, Sam!
I don't have proper measuring equipment, so I can't say with certainty the exact numbers. The bridge is set the highest, then the neck is set a good bit lower than the bridge, and the middle is just slightly below that (I believe 3/16" from the strings, which is what I requested).

I'll try to get some pics up later today.

My bridge is closer to the strings than middle or neck , but that's mostly true for all of my guitars not just my Comanche with WR Pickup

Pics aren't great (my phone sucks), but here's the height and new pickup, installed. I'm liking it a lot now that I've got everything adjusted to where my ear says it should be.

Thumbnails (I *hate* Flickr and can't figure out an easier way or site to upload/ make photos available that doesn't get flagged, so this is as good as I can do without going insane):

Pics aren't great (my phone sucks), but here's the height and new pickup, installed. I'm liking it a lot now that I've got everything adjusted to where my ear says it should be.

Thumbnails (I *hate* Flickr and can't figure out an easier way or site to upload/ make photos available that doesn't get flagged, so this is as good as I can do without going insane):

Check out our tutorial on posting photos: Tutorial: Posting photos.

Hope this helps.