How to determine the correct hieght for pickups?

[olaff421]

I'm having some issues with my tone, and I'm wondering if it might be the hieght of my pickups. I've tried adjusting them, but I can't seem to find the sweetspot. I know if you get them too close to the strings the magnets will interfere with the vibrations of the strings, but I don't know how close I can put them without it doing it.

One of the problems I'm having is that my g-string has no bass to it. I have the treble cranked on my bass, but I like the tone I get on the rest of the strings like this.

[zazz]

whats the model of the bass?

[RobertUI]

Most manufacturers have a recommended height listed on their sites, I know that Fender does, as well as Ibanez. Personally I go from sound and feel, but I do know that some folks prefer making sure that it's TECHNICALLY accurate.

peace

[lovemybasses]

"usual" height for jazz pups(assuming thats what you got) is approx 0.5 mm or less distance between pup and strings for bridge and bit bigger for neck p-up.
personally, i hate when my fingers hits bridge p-up ! and i dig pretty heavy!
so i like to adjust my measures accordingly.

[perucci]

For Fenders, the pickup height "spec" is about 1-2 64ths more than the string-height "spec".

Bass Side <==> Treble Side
Vintage style 8/64" (3.6 mm) 6/64" (2.4 mm)
Noiseless™ Series 8/64" (3.6 mm) 6/64" (2.4 mm)
Standard "J" or "P" 7/64" (2.8 mm) 5/64" (2 mm)
Special Design Humbuckers 7/64" (2.8 mm) 5/64" (2 mm)

See the section on pickups at: http://www.fender.com/support/basses.php

Mine are close to "spec", but have a bigger than "spec" gap on the low-E side, which seems to give good string-to-string balance.

[perucci]

Originally Posted by lovemybasses

...
personally, i hate when my fingers hits bridge p-up !
...

Ditto! I leave mine close to spec, but those modern Fender MIM Jazz pickup pole pieces really "grab" my fingers (they stick-up on the A & D string)! I've adjusted by not plucking directly over the pickups (ouch!).

[olaff421]

I've seen the Fender site, but I didn't know if that would translate to the bass that I have. It's a Shecter Elite 5.

[51m0n]

Originally Posted by lovemybasses

"usual" height for jazz pups(assuming thats what you got) is approx 0.5 mm or less distance between pup and strings for bridge and bit bigger for neck p-up.
personally, i hate when my fingers hits bridge p-up ! and i dig pretty heavy!
so i like to adjust my measures accordingly.

Really!

That seems incredibly close to me...

[rap138]

could be 5 mm?