hitting the pickup.

[Asa Samuel]

ok, not sure if this would go in here or in the pickup section, so feel free to move it if its wrong.

basically i have just moved from a jazz to a P

i find that when i pluck the D and G string my fingers hit the pickup after they have plucked the string.

does this matter for any reason?

sound, pickup quality ect. ect.

any response would be appreciated.

[JimmyM]

You might get a little bit of a thump and it might discolor the polepieces after a couple years, but there's generally not any negative effects other than that.

[Asa Samuel]

ok, thanks, oh and just so you know i havnt put it through an amp yet so havnt found out it if makes any sound difference on that as if you have seen some of my other threads you would know my girlfriend has it untill wednesdaybut, thanks for the reply ^^

[Jumpno]

i dont think it alters the sound that much, i dont have that problam with my bass cus my pickups are uber low.

[BellBottomBlues]

It depends on how hard you hit the pickup. Generally something hitting it all the time isn't too good.

I had the same problem myself. As a die hard Precision player, I always had a hard time adjusting to the bridge pickup, which is where I usually pluck the strings. Whenever I tried to play one in a store, I found it uncomfortable to keep hitting the bridge pickup. This what always made me steer clear of Jazz basses.

However, recently, my friend lent me his 70s RI Jazz bass (Pretty sure it was MIJ) to do a setup and install the pickup and bridge covers. Well, since it was there, I had to play it. Took a bit of getting used to, but eventually I was playing it no problem without hitting the pickup. When I installed the covers, it was also a problem solved scenario because it forces you to play only in certain pickup free areas.

Hitting the pickup is a bit of a technique problem, youre hitting the farthest strings at an angle and you need to correct it. Im not very good at explaining how to correct it, but Im sure one of the old hands here could.

[Asa Samuel]

sorry, forgot to mention its a p/j and i've tried playing on the bridge pickup but its a bit to close to the bridge and i find the strings are harder to pluck.
i really like the tension inbetween the two pickups but i need a sturdy place to put my thumb and there is nothing there and the corner of the scratchplate is too far away.

[Juniorkimbrough]

I do the same thing when playing my P's. My '76 P has wear on the D and G side of the pickup where people have played it and done the same thing.