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Protruding P-Bass Pickup Pole Pieces

Thuddy Waters

Thuddy Waters

Mar 20, 2015
824
1,222
Phoenix, AZ
#1
In the new American Standard P-Bass pickup, the pole pieces protrude from the pickup and are not flush like they used to be. Why do they make them like this now? What is the purpose of doing that? Is there a way to adjust the pole pieces to make them flush? I fingerpick directly over the pickup and I always lower the pickup about a quarter inch below the strings so my fingers do not hit the pickup. It's not really possible to do this with the pole pieces sticking out like this and I don't like the feel of my fingers striking the pole pieces.
 
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#2
Thuddy Waters said:
In the new American Standard P-Bass pickup, the pole pieces protrude from the pickup and are not flush like they used to be. Why do they make them like this now? What is the purpose of doing that? Is there a way to adjust the pole pieces to make them flush? I fingerpick directly over the pickup and I always lower the pickup about a quarter inch below the strings so my fingers do not hit the pickup. It's not really possible to do this with the pole pieces sticking out like this and I don't like the feel of my fingers striking the pole pieces.
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Easy fix:
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#5
Solid covers would put the pickups that much further away.

Some covers are thicker plastic than others as I discovered when I got my fralin P pickup; the fralin cover let the poles stick out too much, but when I stuck the pickup under the stock USA fender cover it was nice and flush.

You could also stuff thin shims under the cover beside the poles, just enough to get them level with the cover.
 
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#6
walterw said:
Solid covers would put the pickups that much further away.

Some covers are thicker plastic than others as I discovered when I got my fralin P pickup; the fralin cover let the poles stick out too much, but when I stuck the pickup under the stock USA fender cover it was nice and flush.

You could also stuff thin shims under the cover beside the poles, just enough to get them level with the cover.
Click to expand...
Shims are a good idea. Actually, now I'm thinking about swapping out the pickup for a Seymour Duncan SPB-3 that I've been sitting on for a while. Hopefully, it won't be too hard to do.
 
#7
My Lollars came with higher poles. I like their pup covers better than the Fender one so I used shims. The poles are now flush. Fwiw, while the AmStd poles have only been protruding since 2012 with the pup changeover, the AVRI (or "Original"/former 62RI) pup always had poles that protruded, but with a more extreme bevel than whatever it is they call what's in the post 2012 AmStd.
 
#18
I was getting ready to order a set of M&V pickups for my P bass. They come standard with raised pole pieces but you can order them with flush pole pieces. Like the OP my fingers drag over the raised pole pieces on my stock CS fender MIA pick ups. If order flush pole pieces am I giving up any tone, punch or volume? I would rather have flush pole pieces, but don't want to sacrifice the sound.
 
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#20
There are some rare cases where you might need to solder, but as they say in the instructions, "every effort is made to make EMG pickups a solderless installation."
 

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