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Have you seen a perfectly aligned Fender?

Chrisk-K

Chrisk-K

Jan 20, 2010
6,012
7,258
Scottsdale, AZ
#1
I've owned many Fender basses and I've played many Fender basses. I don't think I've seen a perfectly aligned mass production Fender. Fingerboard dots are not centered at the mid point between the A & D strings. Pickup poles are misaligned with each string.

Slight misalignment doesn't bother me at all. I'm just curious if CS Fenders or boutique copies are well-aligned.
 
#2
My '08 MIA Jazz is perfectly aligned, as was the '78 P-bass I used to own. You may not have seen them, but I am quite sure they exist. And are you sure the dots not being centered is not an optical illusion because of the difference in thickness between the strings?
 
#6
Yeah the dots aren't supposed to line up IMHO, because the strings are different thicknesses. If the dots did line up with the strings, they would be skewed from the center of the neck towards the treble side. They are perfectly center, however because the A string is thicker, it appears that the dot is closer to it.

I'm pretty sure the dots are pre-drilled using a CNC machine, which all but guarantees that they are closer to center than any human could get.

As far as pole pieces, I have seen plenty of Fenders with good alignment and plenty with SLIGHTLY off pole pieces. I couldn't hear a volume/tone difference between the two.
 
#8
samtay6 said:
Yeah the dots aren't supposed to line up IMHO, because the strings are different thicknesses. If the dots did line up with the strings, they would be skewed from the center of the neck towards the treble side. They are perfectly center, however because the A string is thicker, it appears that the dot is closer to it.

I'm pretty sure the dots are pre-drilled using a CNC machine, which all but guarantees that they are closer to center than any human could get.

As far as pole pieces, I have seen plenty of Fenders with good alignment and plenty with SLIGHTLY off pole pieces. I couldn't hear a volume/tone difference between the two.
Click to expand...

As I said, that's what I think, the same reason the E string appears to be closer to the edge of the fretboard than the G. At least, that's my theory, and I'm sticking to it. :D
 
#9
C.Linton said:
As I said, that's what I think, the same reason the E string appears to be closer to the edge of the fretboard than the G. At least, that's my theory, and I'm sticking to it. :D
Click to expand...

Right. For true symmetry measure the distance from the edge of the fingerboard to the center of the E and G strings. Whatever the distance, it should be equal. Then the distance between the center of each string should be equal. Then hopefully the pickups are in the right spot.

Truly symmetrical Fenders are rare IME. A great instrument can come close but not be exact. For exact take a look on Sadowsky's website. :bassist:
 
#11
metron said:
Right. For true symmetry measure the distance from the edge of the fingerboard to the center of the E and G strings. Whatever the distance, it should be equal. Then the distance between the center of each string should be equal. Then hopefully the pickups are in the right spot.

Truly symmetrical Fenders are rare IME. A great instrument can come close but not be exact. For exact take a look on Sadowsky's website. :bassist:
Click to expand...

I'm going to tell a story on Roger. I was at NAMM in '08, and went to Roger's booth. We were talking about how much I like my Modern 5s, and he said, "I hope you don't mind me telling you this, but your soul patch isn't centered ... it's a little off to the right." My response was, "Well, at least it's not off to the left." He said he can't stand things not to be aligned and he checks every bass to make sure it's aligned perfectly. So I walked around NAMM self-conscious of my soul patch for the rest of the day, and trimmed a little off the right side as soon as I got home.
 
#13
Munjibunga said:
I'm going to tell a story on Roger. I was at NAMM in '08, and went to Roger's booth. We were talking about how much I like my Modern 5s, and he said, "I hope you don't mind me telling you this, but your soul patch isn't centered ... it's a little off to the right." My response was, "Well, at least it's not off to the left." He said he can't stand things not to be aligned and he checks every bass to make sure it's aligned perfectly. So I walked around NAMM self-conscious of my soul patch for the rest of the day, and trimmed a little off the right side as soon as I got home.
Click to expand...

Lesson learned. If Roger is staring at you, go find a mirror!
 
#14
Chrisk-K said:
I've owned many Fender basses and I've played many Fender basses. I don't think I've seen a perfectly aligned mass production Fender. Fingerboard dots are not centered at the mid point between the A & D strings. Pickup poles are misaligned with each string.

Slight misalignment doesn't bother me at all. I'm just curious if CS Fenders or boutique copies are well-aligned.
Click to expand...

Yes but as others have pointed out the different string size can skew your vision too.
 
#15
Munjibunga said:
I'm going to tell a story on Roger. I was at NAMM in '08, and went to Roger's booth. We were talking about how much I like my Modern 5s, and he said, "I hope you don't mind me telling you this, but your soul patch isn't centered ... it's a little off to the right." My response was, "Well, at least it's not off to the left." He said he can't stand things not to be aligned and he checks every bass to make sure it's aligned perfectly. So I walked around NAMM self-conscious of my soul patch for the rest of the day, and trimmed a little off the right side as soon as I got home.
Click to expand...

i have seen plenty of sawdowskys that were not aligned correctly.
 
#17
Munjibunga said:
I'm going to tell a story on Roger. I was at NAMM in '08, and went to Roger's booth. We were talking about how much I like my Modern 5s, and he said, "I hope you don't mind me telling you this, but your soul patch isn't centered ... it's a little off to the right." My response was, "Well, at least it's not off to the left." He said he can't stand things not to be aligned and he checks every bass to make sure it's aligned perfectly. So I walked around NAMM self-conscious of my soul patch for the rest of the day, and trimmed a little off the right side as soon as I got home.
Click to expand...

Wow I read all that as sour patch not soul patch.:)
 
#18
MIA or MIM Fenders are not usually well-aligned, and far too many of them cannot even be properly aligned, with components off-center in different directions...never mind the idiotic move to interference-fit neck pockets, which are (as Fender has pointed out to buyers for years) a bad idea for a number of good reasons, not the least of which being the neck can't be moved to adjust for correcting some -- but not all -- alignment problems, as it was originally designed to do. This is what happens when corporations listen to focus groups made up of technically-ignorant buyers. :rollno:

The ridiculous part of this is that MIA Fenders have made the pickup routes so oversize to compensate that you can just about roll a marble into the gap in some cases...but they still ship misaligned product. :rollno:

MIJ Fenders magically have no such problems as a rule, with tighter tolerances and routes. Funny, huh?

Alignment is a build quality bellwether. Bad alignment on product this expensive is a disgrace.
 

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