How important to you is it that your pickups all match in volume?

jerryjg

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wELL, iVE SPENT ALOT OF TIME AND EFFORT, NOT ONLY FINDING THE RIGHT SOUNDING PICKUPS FOR MY (Sorry caps) assemblies, but also finding pickups that match each other in volume, which finding both the right sound AND volume match is a real pain in the arse sometimes.
I do have one recent assembly project that I am considering having a Humbucker which does not match up very well with the two single coils I would like to use.
Namely, a Walnut Warmoth Strat with a Duncan PAtb-3 humbucker bridge at about 10K, and two Yngwie Malmsteen DiMarzio single coil hum canceling middle and necks which are very modern stratty bell sounding pickups- which really isnt a vintage tone per-se, but sounds great none the less.
I really am dead set on the PATB-3 in the bridge, so if anything I'll change out the two singles for a DiMarzio Chopper middle.
(The  DiMaz "Chopper" is a genius middle pickup in many H-S-S Configs! )and Duncan Hot rails bridge.
 
It's real important to me that they are the same volume.  I switch back and forth in the same song and I don't want a volume drop.

`course, you could always just get fancy with your vol knob tweaking.
 
i worry about tone much more than volume. i feel like for the most part problems with mismatching output levels can be fixed by changing the pickup's height.
 
You know, my guitar has a neck HB and a bridge tele pup, and I adjusted each one's height until I loved the sound. Each sound (neck, both, bridge) is unique, and the difference in volume is negligible. The neck position has a creamier, quicker overdrive, the middle has the most rounded sound, and the bridge is.. a tele.
 
And I forgot to add that the height was adjusted on my pickups with no heed to volume, only tone.
 
I think it depends on your playing style.  I like them to be closely balanced so switching between them changes the tone not the volume.  However, there are those that ignore the volume knob and puposely have them unbalanced so one could be used for lead and the other for rhythm.  There is no right or wrong, only preference.  If there was one set way to do anything, we'd all being playing the same guitar, the same amp, and the same song.
 
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