Sanding pickup polepieces

If you sanded the pole enough to make it shorter, it would get so hot as to ruin the pickup. I wouldn't do it. Also, Alnico is VERY hard, and takes quite a bit of effort to grind.

 

brittle, too; good chance of it crumbling.

are you sure the string radius is right? the usual problem is just the opposite, that the outside strings are too hot.

the fix is the same in either case; back the pickup away from the strings a bit more, to lessen the differences between one string and the next, evening out the outputs.

 

Also, the strings never match the fingerboard radius at the bridge end. Usually the low strings are higher. So try adjusting the string hight and then angle the pickup.

 

I have seen some J pickups where the windings are not directly around the polepieces, so that you can tap them in slightly. I believe the Am Std Js of the 1990s are like that. But really would you hear the difference in a band situation? easier to lower and play with pickup heights like said before.

 

yeah, all the fender american standard pickups have poles insulated from the windings in a molded bobbin; you could push them right out of the pickup without hurting anything.

 

You might be able to soften the wax/glue and move the slide the offending pole pieces up or down as needed...

 

You could also contact Nordstrand and ask them for advice? I think Maurillio or Mauricio works for them and he is here on TB.

 

oh, what you could also do is put little metal discs on top of the polepieces in order to extend the field up, and bring the other polepieces up to the level of the tall one, see link below

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/music-man-stingray-w-weak-g-string-687843/index2.html#post9619311

 

That's not what I meant. All bridges with adjustable saddles can match the fingerboard radius. But that radius is for your left hand comfort, and has nothing to do with an idea setup.

In a normal setup you raise the bass strings higher than the treble strings because they forum a wider arc when they vibrate. If you keep them as low as the treble strings they can choke when you hit them hard.

Likewise, you lower the pickups under the bass strings because they are louder.

 

Speaking ojn

 

What I meant to type was...

Speaking of the topic of pole pieces, could a standard dark grey exposed pole be painted gold to match other hardware without affecting the performance of the pups?

iJazz - When the phone rang I dropped the iPod and it all went to hell after that.

 

Yes

 

the question is whether said paint would last more than a month of gigs before flaking off, and also just what sort of gold paint would look like plated gold hardware and not like tacky gold-colored paint.

 

I contacted Nordstrand about this a few months back and he said to push the pole in to level it out, don't try sanding or filing.

 

It occurred to me that gold leaf with some clear lacquer might have some hope of looking good and holding up.

iJazz - Obsessing over detail planning for my project.