jazz bass pickup height

[ahpook]

i've had a tinker with the neck pickup on my jazz bass, and the only way i can seem to stop the e-string from being much louder that the other strings is to really angle the pickup.

is this normal ? the rake of the pickup is a lot more than i've seen on pictures of other jazz basses.

/ponders/

[7string]

Do you know what the measurement is from the top if the pickup to the bottom of the string on both sides? Measure this with the E and G strings held down at the last fret.

[ahpook]

i'd say 6mm E-side and 2mm G-side.

allowing for my atrocious eyesight.

seems mad to me.

[7string]

6mm is a 1/4", so I'd say that's fine.

The E string on the neck pickup has to be lower because the polepiece can suck the string downwards and create some weird sounds. If you hear anything funny then take the pickup down a little bit more.

[ahpook]

[quote name='7string' post='591844' date='Sep 7 2009, 01:22 AM']6mm is a 1/4", so I'd say that's fine.

The E string on the neck pickup has to be lower because the polepiece can suck the string downwards and create some weird sounds. If you hear anything funny then take the pickup down a little bit more.[/quote]

thanks - glad to know it's not too far beyong normal.

when i first got my musicman sabre the neck pickup was [i]very[/i] close to the strings...it gave all kinds of weird overtones.

but then those pickups are big !

[Tinman]

Looking at the Fender site - it reckons a maximum of 3.6mm under the E string. I guess it's a matter of taste though and as 7string says, if you hear weird overtones then take it down some more.

[mrcrow]

[quote name='ahpook' post='591751' date='Sep 6 2009, 10:29 PM']i've had a tinker with the neck pickup on my jazz bass, and the only way i can seem to stop the e-string from being much louder that the other strings is to really angle the pickup.

is this normal ? the rake of the pickup is a lot more than i've seen on pictures of other jazz basses.

/ponders/[/quote]

hi mark...that is the drawback of the jazz as opposed to the split P
setting string heights

most jazz pups are set flattish with some tilt...not excessive...mine werent

the recommended distance is 1/8" with the E fretted on the last...highest fret

that should work...iirc and the G is set at slightly smaller...just under 1/8"

best of luck old chap...cant think of anything else

cheers
geof

[Chest Rockwell]

old bump, but I've noticed this on my Geddy, if the 'bass' is turned up, or a little extra distortion (Big Muff), hitting the E (tuned to C#) is much louder than the A (...F#). Only really noticed this when I really hit the strings or I've up'd the 'bass' a little. In practice we tend to not go full out so haven't really noticed it before.

So tweaking the pickup height might be the solution. Obvious I guess, but if I check my heights (im in work now), and they're okay... what then? play nicer?

[Bankai]

On mine the pickup poles are flush with the pickup body on the E and G strings (normal on A and D). I thought they were all like this or has mine had something done?