[BluesJam]

I prefer DiMarzio true single coil pickups, from my experience 5mm bass side and 4mm treble side works for me.  I use linked paper clips to check magnet strength from the poles on the string.  Paper clips are very helpful in gauging pickup magnetism upon the string.

[greenlion]

How exactly does that work, and what do you find out by doing it?

[BluesJam]

Lay your guitar down on a flat surface.  Link 2 steel paper clips together.  You hold one end the other paper clip will dangle freely.  When you get into the vicinity of the pickup, the loose paper clip will react to the magnetic field.  From there, you will see and feel the force of the magnetic field.  If the field is too strong/or weak, you can adjust your pickup accordingly.  The paper clip test will let you feel the magnetic pull, which simulates what the magnetic forces made upon the string.  I prefer to have less magnetic force so the strings ring out and sustain more.

[buddroyce]

It varies between pickups for me really. I really should measure it sometime.

[Strangeman86]

Same here. It depends on the guitar and the pickups. I just adjust to taste

[HarlowTheFish]

I tend to keep humbuckers and single-coils alike pretty far from the strings because I generally have decently hot pickups and pretty big strings. It helps tame the output a little, and seems (to me) to open the midrange a bit, tame the low end, and keep the treble from getting harsh when picking hard (I use pretty thick picks and the chirp on the attack is sometimes). My Kiesel has the both humbuckers decked flat (treble side about 1/16" higher to balance the strings), as does my Ormsby, but the Strandberg has the stock setup for now which I found pretty good (about 1/2" from the strings on the neck and middle on the bass side, 5/8" on the treble side; and 3/4" on the bridge humbucker bass side, 3/8" on the treble).

[darkbluemurder]

Same here. It depends on the guitar and the pickups. I just adjust to taste

+1.

What I listen for is

1) low end: on the bridge I set it below the bass strings so that the low end is just enough so that the punch comes in but not as much so that it masks the midrange and make the low notes disappear. On the neck i set it low enough to remove the mud.

2) high end: on the bridge I set the treble side as high as possible until it either gets too close to touch or the tone becomes brittle - then I back it off a bit. Same on the neck pickup.

The results are slightly different on each guitar. I never measure.

Cheers Stephan

[BluesJam]

That’s interesting.  I base my final setup on the parameters of the magnetic pull. A5 rods can be very strong.  I loose some output but I get a sweet tone and lots of sustain.  The difference in huge.  Also, it gives me lots of space and dynamics to pick over the pickups poles.  It adds some percussiveness to my rhythm playing.  I find it annoying when the pickup height interferes with my playing, and a thought of it is sometimes distracting.

[DarthPhineas]

It varies between pickups for me really. I really should measure it sometime.

This

Same here. It depends on the guitar and the pickups. I just adjust to taste

And this

[Guitar74]

I don't measure. I adjust where each pickup sounds the best, check for level volume, and then make a compromise between sound/volume level. Like others, it differs with each pickup for me.