Comanche Pickup Heights???

[digitalox]

Are there any general recommendations for the height of Z pickups on the comanche? Would they be similar to an S-S-S strat?

Thanks
Scott

[Elwood]

Scott,
Have you seen this?

BoogieBill's epic Comanche post of wisdom

Elwood

[digitalox]

Thanks, yes I've seen that one. Lots of great info.
I've messed with mine quite a bit and was wondering if there was a starting. There must be some starting point that the factory sets them to when they ship eh? Or is it completely random?


Thanks
Scott

[louis cyfer]

set the bridge pup to where you get the best tone to your ear, and then balance the other 2 in volume to the bridge pup. there is no real starting point, since people's taste differ. i like mine further from the strings, others like it a lot closer. you gotta figure out yours.

[Craig]

See this post: What should the pickup height setting be?,
which is located in the G&L Knowledgebase:G&L Tech Tips sub-forum.

Hope this helps.

[digitalox]

I will try those, thanks guys!

[NickHorne]

I initially found the settings for my Will Ray Asat (3 Z-coils) bewildering, not least because it had had an abused childhood which include the original back pup being replaced (ultimately restored thanks to goodwill and kindness at G&L) and all the pup heights strangely messed with.
I don't know whether it's an issue for you, but I have always found string-to-string volume balance to be a big issue for me, probably because I generally fingerpick with bare thumb and fingers. The huge loudness of plain G's has always driven me nuts, and been difficult or impossible to get under control with many guitars.
But the Z-coils are the first pups that have let me totally solve this.
For what it's worth, my starting points are:

Gently wind in the individual poles all the way.
Raise B2 pole a very small amount (less than 1/2 mm).
Raise E1 pole slightly more than the B2 (about the same again).
Raise A5 pole a little from fully in, and D4 a bit more (imagine some strat poles).
I reduce these "stagger" settings progressively from pup to pup, with the neck set as above, the middle a little flatter, and the bridge unit flatter still (I'm setting relative, proportional spacing differences, not absolute distances).

Fretting at the last fret, set pups so that E1 is 1.5mm from pole, and E6 is 3mm. It can be better for some styles to raise the bridge pup just a little higher than this.
Play scale from G on 6th string, up to the 3rd string and back, playing calmly and evenly. Adjust bass-end height screw, and possibly A5 and D4 poles, until this is even in volume all through. I leave the E6 and G3 poles screwed in.
E1 and B2 should now balance in, perhaps with some very small further pole / treble-end height adjustment, without needing to upset the bottom end.
I like a really positively-speaking E1, and I think I may have raised the top pole a tad more (though stopping short of such a close setting that the top of the fingerboard is noticeably over-loud because of the string-pole separation reducing disproportionately).

You could of course now experiment with overall pup heights; you'll probably find that maintaining string-to-string balance will need the "staggers" increased (raised poles raised more) when pups are moved further away.

If I didn't suffer from loud G's, I imagine I would probably leave the B pole all the way in, and just raise the E1 a tiny bit from fully-in.

I should add that I seldom open the treble tone all the way up on the guitar. This is unlike my experience of Fenders, where I tend to leave it wide open. But i really like the range that I have on tap with the Z's, all up and down the control.

Also, my WR has a 12" fingerboard. If your Comanche is curvier, you would need to adapt a little accordingly.

It took me a while to connect with the Z's, but I absolutely love 'em now!

[helle-man]

I initially found the settings for my Will Ray Asat (3 Z-coils) bewildering....
It took me a while to connect with the Z's, but I absolutely love 'em now! :luv:

Z coils are strange animals. They're not single coils, and they're not humbuckers. They require a different approach sometimes.

I personally set the PU's on ALL my guitars, including Z coils, as close to the strings as possible to get maximum volume. Then I play a little bit and lower any PU's that are popping or hitting the pole pieces. I know, I know - it's old school but that's the way I am.

I also rarely adjust the individual pole pieces under each string. It may sound weird, but to my ears when I bend strings, the act of bending will shift the string away from a raised pole piece and slightly decrease that string's volume. The higher you've raised the pole piece, the more pronounced the volume difference.

Instead I leave them all flush with the PU, and will use a little compression to compensate for any small volume differences. That's why you'll always find a compressor in my pedalboard.

My 2¢
WR

[digitalox]

Thanks for the very detailed tips Nick! I have lots to try now.

I was initially disappointed with the comanche when I first got it. I had serious buyer's remorse. I didn't realize it was going to be a 2009 model ( got it on sale at amazon ). Also, the setup was poor and the neck was chunky and not what I was used to. To make a long story short I warmed up to it after a bit and now it is my main axe. I love it. And yes, those tone knobs are great, it has so many sounds to explore and not a bad one to be found. One of my favorites to turn them both all the way down and its gets a bit of a "wah" sound. Love that.

Scott

[NickHorne]

I'm really glad you're liking yours too; I think it's just a great pickup design.
My WR is my absolute favourite by several miles. Unless I need something really obscure and specific, like a Danelectro for slide, the WR does everything I want, really well. It has made me a massive G&L fan, and I think it has improved me as a player (just in the nick of time before I got too old to learn any new tricks).