P Bass Pickup Height

[Zoot H Rollo]

Try the old school way ,Two Nickles from the strings...

I have a dime.

 

[byacey]

I adjust by ear. Adjsuting both individual pole peices and each pup half individually. No reason to go by some books measurements. Normally for P pup basses Ive had the pole peices are raised a little higher on the E&A string side compared to the D&G string half. With pup slant being mainly with curve of fretboard Most P pups basses Ive owned have been with neck and bridge P pup set. Bridge pup set frequently has ended up with the bass side slightly higher for bridge pup and treble side slightly higher for neck half.

If all pickups were made with the same magnets, and everyone used the same strings, an exact measurement could be arrived at. Short of that, only a ballpark starting point makes sense, and then adjust by ear from there.

 

[JohnT80]

I’m thinking the 2 nickel spacing between pickup and bottom of string for the bass side, 1 nickel spacing under treble side is for UN FRETTED ballpark measuring…
And the fender recommended measurements for pickup height 7/64 (2.8mm) bass side and 5/64 (2mm) treble side to be set while fretted at the last fret.
Both seem like good starting points.

 

[kgbeast]

I’m thinking the 2 nickel spacing between pickup and bottom of string for the bass side, 1 nickel spacing under treble side is for UN FRETTED ballpark measuring…
And the fender recommended measurements for pickup height 7/64 (2.8mm) bass side and 5/64 (2mm) treble side to be set while fretted at the last fret.
Both seem like good starting points.

Note that Fender recommendations are for a certain strings set. Some strings are hotter than others and would develop a chorus tone or worble when the pickups too close. For some tone styles it is a desired thing for most it is not. Some strings are lower output that average and can be closer to the pickups which can be good for some players that like the pickups to be sort of ramp with covered poles pickups, especially if the pickups have curvy tops. So forget the "Fender recommends" set the height as it sounds best to you.