Jazz bass pickup installation help

[timwooltorton]

I'm putting together a 2010 american standard fender jazz bass with parts that I have brought separately and I'm not sure about whether I just put the pickups straight in or if I have to put something underneath them, can anybody help me out?

[Vincent P]

Some players like to copper shield the inside cavities before dropping the pickups in. You may wish to consider this.

[timwooltorton]

Thanks! Do you need to put anything underneath them to elevate them do you know?

[funkyebk]

Usually there are strips of neoprene foam under each pickup to raise the height and give the screws something to work against.
I've seen some basses where springs are used on each screw between the wood and the pickup for the same purpose, but those can feel "bouncy" if you anchor your thumb on the pickup.

Something like this is common on older Fenders... not sure about current... http://compare.ebay.com/like/3102897...=263602_309572

[timwooltorton]

Thanks! That's what I needed to know, I think I might even have some of those pads with the brass strip from and old bass and I never knew what they did exactly! Thanks again guys

[littlepope]

What that was as I researched it is an early attempt at shielding by Fender.
Today we (consumers) do copper shielding tape and other things.

[funkyebk]

LittlePope is right... the copper shielding kit from StewMac is about half the cost of a set of Fender brass plates with the foam... and for shielding, properly installed copper foil might be (edit: is...) better, but you're still going to need to put something between the wood and the pickup to raise the height.

For my 85' MIJ 62RI Jazz that I just gave a 50,000 mile checkup I shielded all the cavities with copper foil shielding kit from StewMac, and dropped the brass plates back in beneath the pickups... I didn't go "full stewmac" and replace the pickup leads with the coaxial wire (included in the Jazz bass wiring kit, which I also bought for the replacement pots) Might be a belt and suspenders solution to some... I just wanted to keep the brass plates to keep things "original" The end result though? Perfect. Dead quiet.

[funkyebk]

I mentioned earlier that the Neoprene foam and metal springs are used for pickup height adjustment screws, but I also thought I'd heard that some folks used surgical tubing in place of springs... didn't know if I had just imagined that or actually seen it... apparently it is an option as well.

StewMac Surgical Tubing for Pickups