Does this bother anyone else?

[Guest MoJo]

This is my SBMM SUB Ray 5. I know that it probably makes very little difference, if any, to how this bass sounds or the balance between strings, but from an aesthetic point of view, it really grinds my gears if the strings don’t sit perfectly in line with the pole pieces on the pickups. I’ve read that there is a form of OCD that relates to symmetry and order so maybe I have a mild form of that condition. Anyone else

[Trueno]

Funnily, that doesn't bother me at all. I get very picky about all kinds of stuff... but not that.

[ead]

I hear you bud.

[Silvia Bluejay]

Ugh. That kind of misalignment tends to be one of the first things I notice in basses. I'm sure it makes no difference to the sound, but I'm happier when I can't see the pickup poles under the cover, so I don't know about it! 😉

[ead]

That's how I prefer to deal with it Ms B

[Guest MoJo]

6 minutes ago, ead said:

That's how I prefer to deal with it Ms B

Me too. I have been known to change the pickup covers (if possible) for a plain cover without pole piece holes

[songofthewind]

Huh! It sure bothers me big time, but not as much as the outside strings looking out of alignment with the fingerboard edges! Now that is surely criminal! I mean, come on.

[Guest MoJo]

2 minutes ago, songofthewind said:

Huh! It sure bothers me big time, but not as much as the outside strings looking out of alignment with the fingerboard edges! Now that is surely criminal! I mean, come on.

Arrrgghhh, yeah. I hate that

[Newfoundfreedom]

50 minutes ago, MoJo said:

This is my SBMM SUB Ray 5. I know that it probably makes very little difference, if any, to how this bass sounds or the balance between strings, but from an aesthetic point of view, it really grinds my gears if the strings don’t sit perfectly in line with the pole pieces on the pickups. I’ve read that there is a form of OCD that relates to symmetry and order so maybe I have a mild form of that condition. Anyone else

Just move your head to the right a bit. 

[chris_b]

What does the bass sound like?

[Guest MoJo]

27 minutes ago, chris_b said:

What does the bass sound like?

Sounds very similar to a Stingray to my ears

[chris_b]

25 minutes ago, MoJo said:

Sounds very similar to a Stingray to my ears

I wouldn't worry then.

[miles'tone]

Yep I'm with you. 

Have you tried loosening the neck bolts a bit and nudging the neck towards the left a tad? I find this usually does the trick. Just a smidge should make the D string line up dead centre. Tighten back up.

The others should fall in symmetrically then. Remember to judge the others by their strings centre line afterwards though of course! 

Edited January 30, 2020 by miles'tone

[miles'tone]

Another thought.. 

Before moving the neck a smidge (they can be knocked out of whack during transit/shipping), try squeezing the bridge saddles tight together so that the string spacing is uniform. It's possible there's been a bit of movement there too. 

[miles'tone]

9 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I’m not sure what the bridges are like on the SUB’s, but if they’re anything like a standard MM, then there shouldn’t be much play if the saddle posts are doing their job. Might be worth a try though. 

They're free floating like on a Fender if you know what I mean, mounted on a large MM shaped backplate. 

I just checked my own Fender after I posted the above and my saddles were out too! Squeezed them back together with a click and they're all 19mm again. God knows how long they'd been like that for.. 

Edited January 30, 2020 by miles'tone
I shouldn't attempt spelling before morning coffee

[Guest MoJo]

I had the same ‘eeewwww’ reaction to the Peavey Zodiac DE that I owned

[miles'tone]

Last one.. 

Mojo's Zodiac pic just reminded me that as your's is a 5 string, check that the D string is aligned up the middle of the dots on the fingerboard. If they're not then that's a great tell regarding needing to bump the neck. 

That Peavey looks good at the dots so the misalignment at the pickups is just the way it was made I reckon. 

 

[Bigwan]

Doesn't annoy me as much as the middle string of a 5er not aligning properly with the dots on the fretboard...

[Guest MoJo]

7 minutes ago, Bigwan said:

Doesn't annoy me as much as the middle string of a 5er not aligning properly with the dots on the fretboard...

That too. I’m glad that I’m not alone

[Guest MoJo]

42 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I’m not sure what the bridges are like on the SUB’s, but if they’re anything like a standard MM, then there shouldn’t be much play if the saddle posts are doing their job. Might be worth a try though. 

You’re right

[Guest MoJo]

23 minutes ago, miles'tone said:

Last one.. 

Mojo's Zodiac pic just reminded me that as your's is a 5 string, check that the D string is aligned up the middle of the dots on the fingerboard. If they're not then that's a great tell regarding needing to bump the neck. 

Looks like I’ll be slackening off the strings and the neck screws tonight and trying to shift the neck over a tadge

[NikNik]

I've seen worse.

 

Incidentally, I had a similar issue with a RIC Horseshoe replacement I fitted to one of my Grecos. I used the original pup surround holes but when I looked at the magnets they were out of alignment so I had to fill and re-drill new holes. The E one seems to still be out of alignment but nowhere near as bad as it used to be. The main issue I have is the pole-piece height. The A and (especially) the D are discernibly louder than the G, and the E is the weakest of the lot. I can't tap the magnets through so going to have to buy magnet discs to bump up the E and G.

Edited January 30, 2020 by NikNik

[DanOwens]

10 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Just move your head to the right a bit. 

I just headbutted my colleague. Thanks m8

[Beedster]

I’ve seen far worse

[A.G.E.N.T.E.]

1 hour ago, MoJo said:

You’re right

Is your intonation correct? Never had one of those basses but the sadles look very close to the end of the screws. I guess you could correct this misalignment if the sadles were closer to the base of the bridge. But this only makes sense if intonation is not OK.