Please help me set pickup height on P-Bass

[Balkan]

With many thanks to those who advised me on the purchase, I recently acquired a 1972 Fender P-Bass (will post pics soon). I love it (my only complaint being that I can't string it with both flats and roundwounds simultaneously!) , but to my ear the E-string is a little weaker than the others. I'm not 100% sure however, and it's possible I've just grown used to my MM Sting Ray which has thinner, brighter high notes and also lets me boost the bass really high.

Thanks again to this board, I've become comfortable setting up my own basses, which is such a liberating thing, but I've never messed with pickup height. So . . . is there a scientific way to figure this out? Do I just measure height to strings, or is there some good way of actually measure the volume to see whether some strings are louder than others?

With more experience, I'm sure I could do it by ear, by I'm not there yet.

[unclekebm]

congrats on your new purchase,
keep in mind right hand position and volume knob position change the tone quite a bit on P's
i carefully adjust my amps low end, not too much, and my E is deep, loud and clear, even through 15" speakers.

for P/U heigth: press the strings down at the last fret and measure,
from the top of the pole to the bottom of the string,
3.5mm bass side / 2.5mm treble side, these are just starting points...
i raised my bass side slightly, maybe a 3mm distance, for a more balanced volume
don't get the P/U too close or (in my case) the string doesn't seem to "breathe" if that makes sense,

your ear is very important...
cheers

[Balkan]

Thanks!

How does hand position affect the sound more on Ps than other basses?

Also, how does the volume knob (as opposed to tone) change the sound?

[62bass]

I just adjust the height going by sound. It's not rocket science. Just make sure when doing it you're playing through an amp that you know the sound of and don't use extreme bass or treble boost. The aforementioned set up measurements work for getting it within a ballpark figure.

As far as hand position, etc.--fool around with it and listen. You'll find out some worthwhile things yourself, which is much better than going by the opinions of others. Trust your ears even if you are new at it.

[Balkan]

Originally Posted by 62bass

I just adjust the height going by sound. It's not rocket science. Just make sure when doing it you're playing through an amp that you know the sound of and don't use extreme bass or treble boost. The aforementioned set up measurements work for getting it within a ballpark figure.

As far as hand position, etc.--fool around with it and listen. You'll find out some worthwhile things yourself, which is much better than going by the opinions of others. Trust your ears even if you are new at it.

Thanks! As to the hand position, I've actually been playing for 20+ years, but I'm new to the P-Bass (although my first bass was the short-scale Fender Bullet). I've always just played fingerstyle with thumb on the pickup, pick with hand resting on the bridge, and slap at the bottom of the neck. I do know that moving your hand changes the tone, but I was intrigued by the suggestion that P-basses are somehow more pronounced in this regard. And I've never used the volume knob to adjust anything but volume.

[unclekebm]

i thought i would add, i re-measured my '62 RI, i actually ended up with,
both P/U's at about 2.5mm...like 62bass said my figures where "ballpark" (basically a place to start) and in most cases i find that i end up raising my P/U's from there.
in the end, trust your ear not the measurement.

on my '62 RI the vol full on seems to add kind of a "grit" and when i back it off slightly it seems to soften up a little and get "rounder" sounding, of course that's my ear, you may hear differently, tone knob is obvious...

right hand position, again like 62bass said, "fool around with it and listen"
i don't know if P's respond any more than other basses to hand position, but they do have a very organic feel to them...

cheers

[Balkan]

Thanks so much to both of your for the tips!