string height for all frets

[newbe]

Its been some time since I have posted a question.
I have now built my strat guitar and am now fitting a locking nut I have made and this locking nut has taken me a long time to make.
What I not sure is the typical height of the strings from fret 1, 6,12 and 24 and the height of the pickups from the strings.
Many thanks

[newey]

Jul 7, 2022 13:51:42 GMT -5 newbe said:

What I not sure is the typical height of the strings from fret 1, 6,12 and 24 and the height of the pickups from the strings.

String height, within certain parameters, is a matter of personal preference, and pickup height is largely the same. Lower the action and you make the guitar easier to fret, but you get more fret buzzing. Raise the action and the guitar will sound more "open" and sustain better. But the heavy-metal shredder crowd puts up with the fret noise for the low action, and the fret noise doesn't matter much once you "crunch up" the sound with a bunch of gain, pedals, etc.

Same with pickup height- move 'em closer and you get more output, but the tone won't be as clean. But go too close and you'll get so-called "wolf tones" (read: "nasty sounding") or you'll bottom out the strings on the pole pieces.

As a baseline set-up, however, if you fret the highest fret, set your pickups for about 2mm distance from string to the pole piece on the high E and about 1.8mm on the bass side. The action, measured at the 12th fret, should be about 2.4mm (fretboard to string) on the high end and about 1.6mm on the low end. This will vary, however, depending on your fretboard radius. If your neck is straight and the frets level, then the height at the rest of the frets should fall in line accordingly.

There are dozens of YouTube videos you can consult on set-up, done by people who are a whole lot better at it than I am.

[gckelloch]

Jul 8, 2022 8:12:15 GMT -5 newey said:

Jul 7, 2022 13:51:42 GMT -5 newbe said:

What I not sure is the typical height of the strings from fret 1, 6,12 and 24 and the height of the pickups from the strings.

String height, within certain parameters, is a matter of personal preference, and pickup height is largely the same. Lower the action and you make the guitar easier to fret, but you get more fret buzzing. Raise the action and the guitar will sound more "open" and sustain better. But the heavy-metal shredder crowd puts up with the fret noise for the low action, and the fret noise doesn't matter much once you "crunch up" the sound with a bunch of gain, pedals, etc.

Same with pickup height- move 'em closer and you get more output, but the tone won't be as clean. But go too close and you'll get so-called "wolf tones" (read: "nasty sounding") or you'll bottom out the strings on the pole pieces.

As a baseline set-up, however, if you fret the highest fret, set your pickups for about 2mm distance from string to the pole piece on the high E and about 1.8mm on the bass side. The action, measured at the 12th fret, should be about 2.4mm (fretboard to string) on the high end and about 1.6mm on the low end. This will vary, however, depending on your fretboard radius. If your neck is straight and the frets level, then the height at the rest of the frets should fall in line accordingly.

There are dozens of YouTube videos you can consult on set-up, done by people who are a whole lot better at it than I am.

It is all personal preference (within reason). I respectfully disagree about those action and pickup heights on the lowest string. I measure action with the first fret depressed because the nut can be substantially higher than the fret to fret height. ~2mm seems like a good average for both the 12th fret action with the first fret depressed (but I set it a bit lower), as well as for the pickup pole/blade height with the highest fret depressed for the high E. However, luthier action recommendations stipulate the low E string being a bit higher than the high E. I'd try ~3mm to start, but it depends very much on the scale length, relief, fall-away, string gauge, and guitar resonance characteristics as to how much buzz will occur. More guitar resonance drains more string energy -- why Jazz guitars often can have such low action.

As for low string pickup height: thick wound strings produce more output than thin plain strings. You might start with ~4mm on the low E and raise it a bit if needed. A weaker magnetic field will allow for closer settings b4 string pull affects the string vibrations too much, but the attack can become too strong even with a weak magnetic field as the string transient vs sustain gets proportionally louder as the coil is raised closer to the string. That's something to listen for. You'll be able to hear the string output balance with a very clean and tonally balanced amp sound or via the DI signal with headphones. I always use headphones now to set up my pickups, and I turn it up loud enough to overpower the acoustic string sound coming off the guitar.

[cynical1]

If I understand your question, this should help:

If not, let me know...

As far as the nut is concerned, this about all it cares about.  String height at other locations, pickup height and does the pinky ring go on the left or right hand are subject to opinion and conjecture.  It varies from player to player and style to style. If you have a guitar you really like, measure it and replicate it.

HTC1