So I recently purchased a MIM Geddy Lee Jazz Bass that I am liking so far. The "e" and "a" strings are not aligned with the poles on the pickups though. The g and d strings align correctly centered between the two pole pieces for their respective strings. The a string is sitting over the inner most pole piece for its string and the e string Is sitting on the inner most edge of the inner most pole piece for its string. I wonder if perhaps the neck should be seated again? I will attach a pic, although it is tough to hold the camera with no variance side to side and it is dimly lit.
That's normal. Re-aligning the neck will make no difference. All my P and J basses the poles never line up exactly with all four strings. As long as all strings sound balanced don't worry about it!
I agree with Liv3rman...you can loosen the screws and shift the neck if you wish, as it won't hurt anything (standard stuff for Fender necks), but perfect alignment over the pickup poles isn't needed. If it sounds good, it is good.
What everyone else said. If you loosen the strings, back off the neck screws a bit, and move the neck counterclockwise you should be able to line them up perfectly. It's a pretty quick operation, and if it bugs you, it's more than worth the time. Good luck.
If you get the D and G poles lined up, then the E and A will be out. The pickups are slightly too wide in my experience.
Before shifting the neck, see if the E and G are equidistant from the fretboard edges. Don't those have a BAII bridge with multiple string grooves so you can adjust spacing?
Men has only one string groove per saddle, but I have seen some with multiple grooves. The g and the e strings are NOT equal distances from the edge of the fretboard, although there is adequate distance on either side. Both my MIM Precision and my Squier VM '77 have equidistant spacing on e and g strings and are lined up to their pickup poles much better. Having said that, I did have to make some serious adjustments to the truss rod on the GED to get it within Fender Spec. And you you likely know, the truss rod nut is at the neck heel, so the neck has bee off a few times already.
