Ideal space between pup and string on a StingRay...?

[matski]

Dear fellow BCers,

Has anyone by any chance been tweaking the gap between pup and strings on a SR4 and found the optimum distance?

I've spent ages searching around the interweb and can't find any info anywhere.

Any handy hints would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Tait]

i always assumed on any pickup the ideal distance is as close as you can get without making a clicking sound because your string is hitting the pickup when you play?

[budget bassist]

check out the EBMM/musicman site, visit the FAQ, tells you the specs for the factory setup inc pickup height. Though it is fairly straightforward, high enough that you have some good gain but not so high that the magnets affect the strings and so that you have an even response accross all the strings, ie suck it and see

EDIT: [url="http://www.music-man.com/faq/music-man-basses/could-you-tell-me-music-mans-stingray-factory-settings-for-relief-string-height-and-pickup-height.html"]here [/url]it is

Edited December 6, 2009 by budget bassist

[OutToPlayJazz]

My piezo Stingray has the variable height polepieces, so I go for 3-4mm in the middle where the highest polepieces are under the D & A strings. Basically as close as you can get without the sound distorting.

Before I got a chance to play with the setup on my two Rays, I always thought that they were seriously lacking in output. That was because all of the ones I played had the pickups screwed right down for some reason!

Here's Rob Green's guide to pickup height...

PICKUP HEIGHT :

The distance from the pickup to the string makes a big difference. I normally set the bridge pickup to about 4-5mm and the neck pickup to about 6-7mm. This varies from model to model as some basses have pickups which have been made to take the extra string movement above the neck pickup into account. The closer the pickup is to the string the greater the output but this goes up exponentially so if you make the gap half as much the output can be up to ten times not just twice.

[matski]

Thanks for the info, gents!

[Al Heeley]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='675691' date='Dec 6 2009, 01:58 PM']My piezo Stingray has the variable height polepieces..[/quote]
I have a piezo stingray bought from a forum member but I never new the pickup poles were independantly adjustable - looks like a standard MM humbucker to me. How do you adjust them? Do you have to take the pickguard and pups off to access ?

[ahpook]

[quote name='budget bassist' post='675686' date='Dec 6 2009, 01:53 PM']...but not so high that the magnets affect the strings...[/quote]

plus the one.

my sabre had the front pickup set very high when i got it and the sound was very much affected by the proximity of the pickups to the strings.

MM's sure have a lot of pull from those treetrunks of polepieces !!

[TPJ]

[quote name='ahpook' post='676567' date='Dec 7 2009, 11:47 AM']MM's sure have a lot of pull from those treetrunks of polepieces !![/quote]

+1.

I've lowered mine because it was choking the G string a bit. Now it's nice and even but with less output.