Can someone tell me if this is a problem?

[gonzorob]

I've had my Squier VM Pbass for awhile now, but have just noticed something odd.





Check out the angle. This is looking directly down at them while the bass is strapped on. I can get the pickups to raise and lower but they stay at this weird angle? Is this a problem?

If so is there a quick fix that I can take care of? I've never taken a bass apart but I am willing to learn.

Thanks

[mrkreuzschlitz]

take the pickups out and make sure they're not sitting on wires, thats happened to me before.

i honestly don't know if its a problem. it could be the foam is just sitting crooked or just a slanted pickup cavity.

[fretlessman71]

Originally Posted by gonzorob

I've had my Squier VM Pbass for awhile now, but have just noticed something odd.





Check out the angle. This is looking directly down at them while the bass is strapped on. I can get the pickups to raise and lower but they stay at this weird angle? Is this a problem?

If so is there a quick fix that I can take care of? I've never taken a bass apart but I am willing to learn.

Thanks

It's really only a problem if 1) you just can't stand the way it looks, 2) you're catching your hand on the corner of the pickup and it's driving you crazy, or 3) you play so hard you push the strings all the way down to the pickup and you're getting uneven string wear.

Yes, I dealt with #3 back in my youth.

Pickups can be annoying like that - leaning the wrong way and such - but taking them apart and making sure they're even on the inside usually helps. Don't pull too hard on the wires that lead to the control cavity, don't nick the copper wire that goes around the inside of the pickup bobbin (imagine a spool of thread, but it's flat and rectangular, and wound with copper wire - FRAGILE!), and you can do what you must to make it nice and flat.

HTH

[lowtide]

You can put rubber pads under them. Go for approximately 1/2" thick so you can lower them and have the pups setting securely by the pressure on the rubber bases.

[gonzorob]

Originally Posted by mrkreuzschlitz

take the pickups out and make sure they're not sitting on wires, thats happened to me before.

i honestly don't know if its a problem. it could be the foam is just sitting crooked or just a slanted pickup cavity.

Looks like its a combination of sitting on the wires (which they were) and the wonky pads they put under them.



Thanks to all for the guidance. I am contemplating putting different padding under them now.

[gonzorob]

I removed the above padding and cut up an old mouse pad for the new padding. Worked like a charm.

I am over my fear of getting into the guts of my guitar.

Thanks again!!

[doktorfeelgood]

Originally Posted by gonzorob

I removed the above padding and cut up an old mouse pad for the new padding. Worked like a charm.

I am over my fear of getting into the guts of my guitar.

Thanks again!!

Wow...I've been working on my own basses for 25 years and not once have I ever thought to use an old mouse pad for pickup height adjustment. Very cool idea. )-(