Bad pickup alignment on Indonesian S500 tribute

[Desdain]

So, I picked up this Indonesian made S500 tribute about a month ago after reading lots of good things about the tributes. However, after setting it up and getting familiar with it, I've noticed that the sound just isn't how most people describe it. Particularly the low end is lacking. It's plain to see that the pickup are not aligned to the strings very well and I'm certain that that's a big part of the problem. When measuring the spacing on the individual poles of the pickups, I noticed that they are all the same, which is strange considering the string geometry difference at the bridge and the neck.

https://goo.gl/photos/zNPQCUtKYNamsXjp9

I have tried adjusting the neck as suggested in this forum, but that didn't change anything.

Has anyone had any experience with this or know what G&L's official stance is? It seems to me to be a QA issue at the Indonesian factory.

Thanks!

[Fumble fingers]

almost looks like they got the neck and bridge pick up installed backwards in the wrong location .... does anybody else see that .... I think bridge should be the wider pick up poles , at work so I can't measure one of mine

[Desdain]

I thought the same, but all the pickups are identical physically. I thought this was kinda strange as well, as I would have thought the neck pickup should have been narrower than the bridge pickup, especially since the latter on is angled.

[Craig]

The string alignment while not perfect, looks to be okay, IMO.

Here's a starting post to check out: New Tribute S500 - a few issues.

You might want to adjust pickup heights and individual pole pieces to get the string balance to your liking.

Also, peruse the G&L Knowledgebase sub-forums, too.

Hope this helps.



PS Don't forget to register your guitar on our G&L Registry.