Is this odd (Fender MIM j-bass)?

[JayGunn]

Here's a pic of my MIM bass taken from directly above, no angle or parallax. This is a totally stock bass about 3 years old. The pickups fit into the pick guard.

Note how the neck pickup is misaligned, by almost 1/4". Are they all like that? Is there a reason for it? I'm not complaining about the sound, but from a workmanship point of view I'd be really embarased if I miscut the pick guard and misaligned the pickup this badly...

So, does your MIM Jazz bass look like this?

 

[your idol]

wrong bridge maybe?

 

[your idol]

nevermind i see that whole pikup is really skewed..wow thats crap!

 

[Kuchar]

Mine is similiar. They put the bridge on crooked :\

 

[heliotropic]

How well is the neck aligned? Occasionally on my American Series Jazz I have to give the neck a little nudge and tighten up the screws.

 

[ShavedHippie]

Mine looks like this. I think it's because they used two bridge pickups (they're supposed to be different sizes). Measure them and see if they're the same.

 

[arjune]

I believe it's because the neck pickup is the same size as the bridge pickup in MIM models, instead of about a 1/4" smaller, like most any other jazz bass.

 

[your idol]

Mine is similiar. They put the bridge on crooked :\

no the pickup is off kilter to the point that they should be embarassed

 

[ShavedHippie]

I believe it's because the neck pickup is the same size as the bridge pickup in MIM models, instead of about a 1/4" smaller, like most any other jazz bass.

I think they may have fixed this on newer MIM's.

 

[TMBTC]

I have the same bass... an 06....mine is fine

 

[JayGunn]

<<I believe it's because the neck pickup is the same size as the bridge pickup in MIM models, instead of about a 1/4" smaller, like most any other jazz bass.>>

Measuring from the outside of the top magnet to the outside of the bottom magnet, the neck pickup is 1/8" narrower than the bridge p'up. So it's not a problem of using the wrong parts. Bizarre to me that the hole in the pickguard forces the pickup into the misalignment.

Thanks for your replies. At least I know I'm not crazy--at least about this being weird.

 

[Kuchar]

no the pickup is off kilter to the point that they should be embarassed

Sorry, what I meant was they screwed mine up similarly. My bridge is crooked causing my strings not to match the pole pieces. Damn MIM Fenders. It doesn't really affect the sound of my bass though, it just really bugs me.

 

[your idol]

yeah i gotta say for a $500 bass its just a shame to know that they just dont care enough to have correct equipment, placement and proper quality control. while im sure its not killing the sound its just sloppy

 

[Tim1]

I have owned many jazz basses over the past 35 years and this misalignment of strings over the polepieces has occurred in several of them (and all my basses have been USA models). However, it has never affected the sound in anyway that I could detect as they have all sounded evenly balanced across the strings. I noticed it on the very first jazz I bought in the seventies, so have always been aware of it when it has occurred since. That said, I have just checked my recently acquired Custom Shop 64 jazz and the alignment is perfect.

 

[Jim Roseberry]

If OP has the time/inclination, why not breat out a couple of screw-drivers and see if there's enough play to re-align the pickup?

 

[Osprey]

The strings on my MIA P don't run down the middle of the dots on the pickups, but everything else lines up from the nut to the string-through holes. If it were a hand-built bass I'd have assumed someone placed it wrong under the drill, but with a bass where this basic stuff comes from a machine I've always just assumed that's how it is and maybe there's a reason. The bass plays fine, of course.