pickup height cause clipping=?

[steelhead2]

ok short story here my pal and i plugged in my 2 basses and i felt one could use some work on the pickup height `definatly' and the other one `most likley' so i did that this weekend and addes some strings in there,when i played the J my amp began to clip or shut down,sometimes for nearly a minute,no smoke popping nothing just,well,,nothing(while you wonder WTHeck was happening,),,then last night late i ran out with my P and the same thing happened(so i'm figuring she's a goner),,today i plugged in my guitar at the same settings and it worked fine,,i didn't measure the height of the pickups but neither instrument looks out of the ordinary(and i'm not hearing the string fluttterrrrrrwhirrrrrr)

amp is an old TNT 100 a rugged workhorse for sure(yeah i know for those pros out there she's a turd but she lives in an autobody repair facility under a vynyl cover,,wanna bring your G/K down for a month to live in the dust and overspray?=i doubt it,,so for me it's fine,buddys stop by plug in and watch me work or we'll hook two instruments in witch is the first part of the story>last weekend when we plugged in both my basses we hardly played the two together or loud at all,i've ran a keyboard and all sorts of pedals thru this old girl,never a problem,handy to have around/hate to see it melt down

anyway it's driving me nuts(moreso than usual) won't be able to plug in till tonight(bass),,yes i posted on the Peavey forum so ban me or this thread(crossposting and all that),anybody!?

[scottbass]

pickup height cause clipping=?

Never in my many years of experience. Assuming that the strings don't hit the pickup when you're really wailing away, it will not be the cause of clipping when none existed before. Something else has changed.

[MAMMOTHvolume]

sounds like its a problem with the amp

[MAMMOTHvolume]

Originally Posted by scottbass

pickup height cause clipping=?

Never in my many years of experience. Assuming that the strings don't hit the pickup when you're really wailing away, it will not be the cause of clipping when none existed before. Something else has changed.

you can get pick up distortion if you have them to close to the strings

[Mikebass6]

It's possible that the pickup height could add to a clipping situation, but with two different basses doing the same thing, it's probably the amp. Personally, I don't have a problem with TNT amps, but when they decide to go, that's it for the old solid state. So I guess you could try to lower your pickups some more, but your tone might get a little thin. There are amp repair places all over, but to repair it might cost as much as a newer one anyway.

[scottbass]

Set the pickup height at roughly 7/64" using a ruler. That distance should not cause distortion. If your amp is still clipping...well, it's the amp, not the bass.

[stflbn]

Easy way to know... plug the basses into a different amp.

[steelhead2]

scary stuff when it just goes silent,i've looked at guitars at GCenter that higher pickups,at least on my J

obviously the TNT was(IS) a starter amp but sheeshe! nice starter!,,nice to have an amp like that for uh? 66-69 bucks,(i know the manager of a hock shop/paint all his classic cars) so he said=`ah we'll take a third off'=66 or 69 bucks(now think back on what YOU paid for those 6x9 speakers for your car when you were a kid(i'm old),it's been like a freebie,thought i'd keep it around just out of convenience,oh well,thanks for the replys! just emailing a customer here i'll plug in and do an update/ measure my pickup hieght and all that(tonight!)=work work work,it's monday!(yeah i'm the boss,manager,crew,grunt,gofer=all of it)

[steelhead2]

hey! is there a link about your `Tele' there that bass always gives me GAS,like i need more

that looks pretty special man=love it!

[steelhead2]

i plugged in my lowly Squier by Fender J and dimed er out,all knobs at 9 on the lowly TNT,man!,what CAN i say?=the amp held(and i sure love the HOWNK! of the J=wow!)

then i wandered out with my P thru my wife's insistent intent on cleaning up every nook and cranny in the house(couldn't possibly be cabin fever could it?,but i had to get the looks/BS and all that since i was supposed to be working) i think i could use a new wife that appreciates someone who PLAYS(but that's another thread i'll apply later)

cranked all knobs wide open and=nothing!,nothing died,man,must be the same gremlin that inhabited the wife's fuel pump on her car,going to have to roll that thing back away from the shop,,?

i will state that it's quite convenient to have an amp close by so that when you get a chance you can tune,tweak or just crank it up and let loose,the old TNT fits the bill fer sure,yes i'd love a lot of things when talking amps but the old`paper fuzz' is good,,,real good,let's hope she holds thru the winter anyway(some pedals truly help the old girl out and when talking `garage band',,,,i have it cornered