J bridge pickup looks crooked

[Stagelab]

From the looks of it the bridge pickup in this Squier I just picked up is crooked. The G string side (green line in pic 1) has a 5/64" larger gap from the edge of the pickup to the beginning of the bridge plate vs the E string side (blue line). The bridge itself looks like it's on straight though maybe it's slightly crooked, too. How can I verify that?

Anything I can do about this? I'm not equipped to do any additional routing and I wouldn't pay a tech to do this to a Squier.

The neck pickup seems straight relative to the edge of the fretboard.

You'll see in the pics the strings aren't all running through the center of the poles. Not a sound issue as much as an aesthetic one.

 

[Stagelab]

Update: distance between pickups is 3" along E string and along G string so I think the bridge is crooked, not the pickups. To realign the bridge, I'm guessing I'll have to fill in a screw hole or two (or more) and redrill holes in the right spots. Would the strings then run thru the center of the poles? Looks to me like even then the strings won't be centered.

A lot of the pickguard and control plate screws on this bass are crooked. I assume it's gonna be the same fix? Ie fill holes with wood filler and wood glue; then pinpoint the correct center points of each screw hole and mark the body; then drill new holes

 

[MIMike]

…Ie fill holes with wood filler and wood glue; then pinpoint the correct center points of each screw hole and mark the body; then drill new holes

When you fill holes to redrill, don't use wood filler, use wooden match sticks and wood glue instead. Most of the wood filler crumbles when you try to redrill.

 

[Funkinthetrunk]

This'll fix it

 

[Stylee Mousse]

This is the bass to practice plugging holes with small diameter dowel rods.

It's much neater than any of the stopgap methods. Add a new skill to your bass fixing arsenal!

 

[Murivan]

Have you tried to remove the bridge, check what's underneath and put that back on? You should check if the screws are "reasonably" perpendicular, and if they are all properly seated, as there might be the chance that one is pushing on the bridge in the wrong spot, tilting it.

 

[MartinB]

Would the strings then run thru the center of the poles? Looks to me like even then the strings won't be centered.

Are both pickups the same width? If so, then the bridge poles won't ever be perfectly centred - but it should still sound fine.

 

[FatOwlBass]

It looks like the strings line up with the pickups pretty well. You can plug 4 of the bridge mounting holes and leave the middle one. Put the bridge back on with just the middle screw. Measure so its straight and then use a piece of string on each of the outer strings from bridge to nut slot, to verify pole piece alignment. Mark the holes and drill for new screws. By keeping the center hole, you can pivot the bridge and properly align it.

 

[BobKos]

Unless OCD has you going crazy over it, I wouldn't mess with it. I'm sure the bass plays fine in its current state. After a few weeks of playing it you will forget all about it.

 

[sikamikanico]

+1. That's hard to see, so I'd try live with it. If anything, yeah, just re-attach the bridge and pay attention to what may be causing it, see if you can fix it in the process...

The proper fix would be dowels. Another alternative is to switch to a bridge with a different screw pattern and just start with fresh holes...

Edit: Actually, the string alignment suggests that perhaps the bridge is a smidge too narrow. Perhaps pickups are designed for 20 mm spacing, and the bridge for 19 mm. Thus a new bridge with wider (or adjustable) spacing might also address the string alignment issue. This is more visual than functional, tho the feel of different string spacing may work better or worse for you. Nevertheless, a new bridge might address a couple "issues" here.

 

[Captain Comet]

How is the intonation on each string? Is the note at the 12th fret an actual octave above the open string? The bass has been setup alright?

I have one bass here that the previous owner swapped the bridge with a different brand and just messed up bad. He installed it in a spot where there was no more adjustment left and there was no getting to a proper intonation. I moved the bridge to get adjustment range back and it fixed it. I'm not saying yours is that bad, but if you move the bridge the wrong way your amount of available range on the G may get really thin. You may want to start with that corner and move the bridge in more of an arc.

 

[dfp]

Looks within the margins of acceptable vis a vis string to magnet alignment. How well centered are the strings on the neck? I would not want to disturb that alignment just for a subtle aesthetic tweak for the magnet/string alignment.

 

[ctmullins]

I don't see a problem. It might be slightly crooked. But it won't have any effect on playability. Spend your time practicing instead.

 

[koppinjo]

This is the sort of thing that really bothers me - but unless it's preventing a good setup it really isn'ta big deal. It's when the bridge is not centered that I'd consider re-drilling, just because then strings can be too close to the edge and not line up over the poles as evenly (which may be mostly visual too depending on severity).

If you must fix it, as others have said, a squier is the bass for practicing on - I've done 3 fret-levelings and they were all on squires.

If it were me I'd probably try to exchange it for one with better alignment because I'd be nervous about the stability of re-drilled holes and resale because I tend to buy and sell a lot. But if you are dead set on keeping it, there are plenty of folks here who are happy to guide you through the process! Good luck whatever you decide!

 

[BassicJazzy]

I would not mess with this. Bridge is relatively straight, and being slightly off on the G string p'up poles will not affect sound. We used to have a saying in the management consulting world that went something like "close enough for government work." Well, this is certainly "close enough for a Fender."

 

[iiipopes]

I have nothing to support this opinion, but here it is anyway. When Leo developed the J-bass, his test mule probably had a P-neck with a then-standard 1.75 inch wide nut. P-basses at the time, and then later J-basses, had a bolt-stock bridge which among other attributes provided a way to adjust the string spacing slightly. Then when J-basses went into production with a typical 1.5 inch wide nut, in addition to being narrower over the neck, that narrowed the strings slightly over the pickups. That may cause the pickup poles to appear wider, offset, crooked, etc., however you describe it.

Now, the magnetic field of the double poles per string is wide enough it doesn't matter. From the picture, it appears the G string is centered between its two poles. So, the E string, with its greater mass interacting with the magnetic field of the pickup, doesn't matter.

If it really bothers the OP, there are two options: purchase a bridge with an adjustible string spacing, whether a vintage bolt-stock bridge or an aftermarket with grub screw laterally adjustable saddles, or simply cover it as @Funkinthetrunk posted. Essentially all after-market J-pickups follow the original Fender spacing, and it is not worth trying to re-rout the pickup placement; that only creates more problems than it solves. Added bonus: the extra weight of the cover may help with any neck dive the bass may have. I used both on a custom fanned fret PJ bass to get both the string spacing on neck narrower at the heel to accommodate my fretting hand, as well as helping with the neck dive, and actually hiding what I did with the custom bridge.

 

[Lava]

IMO. If it intonates and the strings line up on the neck correctly, I wouldn't touch it. If so, it seems like more trouble than it's worth. Pole position isn't relevant in that small of a situation.

 

[Thumpin6string]

Looks like to me like the bridge is off center and very slightly angled. Does it matter? Probably not. Should you fix it? That's up to you. Keep in mind that it's a Squier not a Fodera. Mass produced import basses have a lot looser quality control than a boutique builder does. Stuff sometimes slips by.

 

[FullumMusic]

Firstly, i'd say if it's not causing any setup, intonation, playability or tone issues, don't worry too much about it.

Secondly, don't measure the bridge pickup against the bridge.
Also, don't measure the neck pickup against the neck.
The bridge could be placed wrong. The wood on the neck could be filed slightly differently from side to side.

Measure both pickups from either the last fret, 12th fret, or the playing edge of the nut. Those are all immutable reference points. You can check that the pickups are aligned with each other by measuring between the two pickups as a sanity check too.

It's more likely that the bridge was placed slightly off than the route was routed off. Not impossible that the route is off. But, more likely the bridge is crooked.

The curve of the bottom edge of the pick-guard could add to the illusion that the pickup is crooked.

 

[mr80htz]

Buy a bridge where the saddles can move the string side to side. Fender sells one where the saddles are notched and you can move the string a little left or right. I like to have my G a bit closer to the D string and this bridge can help. Too many notches over and the saddle may get pulled too far from the adjacent saddle. The rollers are great as the saddles dont get pulled away from each other...like the one in the Pic below.