Quick question about pickup height

Not sure what your reference point is when you say just above the body. I assume you mean the pickup surround?? If so then you have to consider that Gibson Historics from the Custom shop  (57, 58, 59, and Joe B Inspired etc etc)  have much higher pickup surrounds than the production Les Paul Std. My JB pickups are more or less flush with the surround but only have 2 - 3mm string gap (eyeball measurement).  At first I thought they were too close (go that close with a strat and you get all kinds of problems with intonation etc) but I got used to it now.

My thoughts anyway.... Hope this helps.

Pete

I adjust my pickup heights if they need more brightness or are too bright sounding.  Also if I'm using the amp distortion with a booster pedal and I feel that I'm having to fight it too much, I'll slightly raise the height.  It helps the leads flow more smoothly.  It's all about personal preference.  I can't tell you how many pickups/guitars this has saved for me!

Sure thing dude!  I basically go about the whole thing by first playing the guitar clean and with a lead tone to see if I'm able to get enough sustain.  I play with a medium/higher action string setup so I need the sustain to come from the pickups and their height.  Okay so once I find the height of the pickups that offers the best sustain, I'll fine tune for EQ.  If the lowend is too mushy or when I rest my palms on the bridge area the strings come too close to touching I'll lower the bass side slightly.  I test lowend usually on the Low E and A strings by picking them open first, then fretted somewhere down the neck.  For the high E and B strings I determine if they are too bright and if they are I will back them down slightly.  You don't want to lower them too much or you'll kill the sustain.  This is mainly for humbuckers but single coils can be more tricky.  I usually lay the guitar in my lap with the amps fairly loud so I can hear the differences, and just strike the open strings.  I just use a screwdriver to adjust while I hit open strings to get the best tone for my ears.

        -Justin