FENDER HMV BRIDGE - SADDLE GROOVES

[Baker69]

I just got my Fender 2008 American Standard Series Jazz Bass so it has the new HMV Bridge.

I noticed that on the D and A Strings the Strings were perfectly in-line with the pole pieces on both pickups however the G and E Strings were off-centre.

The HMV Bridge has grooves in it and it has been supplied set up so that the G and E strings have been fitted on the very inner Groove.

Is this standard practice? Should it have been set up so that the strings go directly over the centre of the pickup pole pieces as with the D and E Strings?

[Baker69]

Nobody noticed this then?

Oh well, Fender must have just set mine up wrong then.

[walterw]

it's a trivial matter to put the string in whatever groove you want.

i usually have to struggle to get all 4 strings to line up with the poles and to be evenly spaced from each other. often i have to remove the saddles and swap them around until i find the right arrangement of "coarse" and "fine" saddles to do the trick.

[Poppy]

FENDER HMV BRIDGE - SADDLE GROOVES

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just put the HMV bridge on my 2006 Fender American Deluxe Jazz and for the strings to be exactly centered, the 'E' and 'A' strings are in the far-right groove of the saddle, and the 'D' and 'G' strings are on the left-most groove.

[Rocky McDougall]

I have always been more concerned with where the string was in relation the the edge of the neck and then spaced the two inner strings at the same spacing. I don't like the outer strings too close to the edge.

[Surly]

I just make the spacing even, like Rocky says I suppose. The sound is even as well, so I never had any issues.

[seansbrew]

Does the string spacing feel right? As mentioned before, this is a trivial matter. Don't get caught up in the little details; after all, it is a Fender (I just got an Amer. Jazz 09 for my b'day last week ).
None of the the strings ever ever ever line up perfectly with the poles ( or at least on all the Fenders I have owned).
I do not believe you would not be able to tell the difference in sound by switching the string to a different groove. So long as the strings don't feel like they are to close to the edge i suppose.

[walterw]

well, i think there is something to be said for having the strings line up with the magnet pairs on vintage-style jazz basses. it makes for a more even attack string to string, especially if you tap up the center 4 poles 1/16" or so to follow the string radius. (it's ok to do this on american standard jazz pickups because the magnets are insulated from the coil wire by the bobbin--you could push them right out of the pickup without hurting it--but don't try it on a vintage or vintage-style pickup!) obviously, the american deluxe jazz pickups don't need this trick.

i've had to go as far as moving the pickups a little by filling and redrilling the pickup screw holes, and even moving the bridge a little by filling and redrilling those screw-holes, but when all 4 strings are right in between the magnets where they belong, the bass just sounds better and more even.

[elBandito]

Unless you show some empirical evidence, this is all in your head.

Originally Posted by walterw

but when all 4 strings are right in between the magnets where they belong, the bass just sounds better and more even.

[Baker69]

To me it looks like Fender have set it up so that the strings are equally spaced, which unfortunately means that the 2 outer strings do not fall directly between the pole magnets.

I don't think this will affect the sound at all, ok if the string was way off the poles then yes.

It must be the design of the HMV Bridge, on my P Bass with the older type Bridge there is only one (central) groove on each Saddle and the strings are all exactly lined up between the pickup poles. Perhaps the HMV Bridge is wider?

[walterw]

Originally Posted by walterw

but when all 4 strings are right in between the magnets where they belong, the bass just sounds better and more even.

Originally Posted by elBandito

Unless you show some empirical evidence, this is all in your head.

so leo designed it that way for no reason at all, huh?

the story is that the first p-bass pickup, with the single magnets right under each string, had too much of an initial voltage spike for the feeble speakers in amps of the early '50s. the re-designed p-bass had the double poles with the string in between each pair so that the initial "hit" would be slightly reduced while the full "swing" of the string would still be captured by the magnets.

yes, modern amps have no trouble taking all sorts of abuse, but the vintage fender "tone recipe" calls for bass strings surrounded by magnet pairs.

[elBandito]

Sounds nice in theory. Where is the scientific proof? That's why I asked for empirical evidence.

[walterw]

Originally Posted by elBandito

Sounds nice in theory. Where is the scientific proof? That's why I asked for empirical evidence.

sure, it's not a night-and-day difference, but the physics of it is pretty obvious. what exactly are you looking for "proof" of?

hell, if we're going to play that game, i haven't seen any "scientific proof" that you're not a yeti

[elBandito]

I don't doubt that there is a difference, but how much? The difference is negligible and most luthiers/manufacturers don't bother to fit the strings between pole pieces. As long as it makes you happy.

[walterw]

Originally Posted by elBandito

...most budget/low end manufacturers don't bother to fit the strings between pole pieces...

fixed it for you.