String alignment over pickup poles

[soundfan75]

I have a Fender '62 AVRI Jazz Bass, and replaced the bridge with a Hipshot Vintage bridge. The single groove in the saddles aligns the string at a perfect 0.750 inches, and it has grooves in the base plate the keep the saddles straight. The issue is that the strings are not aligned over the pickup poles. As you can see in the picture the D strings is right, but the rest are not, particularly the E.

I guess with the old threaded rod saddles I had uneven spacing to center the strings between the poles. Is this common among jazz bass construction? Is there significant sound difference due to the string alignment between the poles?

 

[coughiefiend]

Your old bridge probably had a wider spacing than what you've got now. If you like the narrower spacing, then play it, you probably won't notice much difference in the way of sound/tone. That said, you could have MUCH wider spacing based on how far the strings are from the edge of the neck. It really comes down to taste.

BTW... what made you swap the bridge?

 

[walterw]

the whole idea with the original was to spread the strings out to line up with the polepieces; this held the saddles in against each other so everything stayed solid and didn't move or rattle.

 

[JustForSport]

If that's a concern- what happened here:

 

[soundfan75]

BTW... what made you swap the bridge?

Well, long story short, I liked the idea of easy string replacement , with higher quality, mass and accuracy of the new bridge over the vintage style. The neck seemed to move a lot when I first purchased this bass, but now I don't seem to need to adjust the truss rod so much.

Now I wonder if this bridge is really an upgrade at all? I think it should be relatively easy in this price range to produce components, that maintain string spacing and alignment over the pickups. While originally wanting this bass for its vintage-ness, I have come to appreciate a few of the modern refinements.

 

[David Jayne]

It doesn't matter. Really.

 

[JustForSport]

There've been a few posts regarding Schaller 2000 (I think) bridges, which are variable width, and solid construction, altho I think they are not top-load.
Could solve the alignment issue, tho.

 

[walterw]

If that's a concern- what happened here:

how so? the strings are all right between the magnets, just like they were meant to be.

 

[soundfan75]

What I can't figure out is that shifting the bridge left or right wouldn't solve the issue, it seems the string spacing needs to be wider (closer to 20 mm) in order to align with the poles. If the bridge saddles with single groove, which have been is use for many years, puts the strings exactly where they are designed to be, and the neck is straight, then is the pickup pole spacing too wide? Are 70's jazz basses like this?

 

[walterw]

What I can't figure out is that shifting the bridge left or right wouldn't solve the issue, it seems the string spacing needs to be wider (closer to 20 mm) in order to align with the poles. If the bridge saddles with single groove, which have been is use for many years, puts the strings exactly where they are designed to be, and the neck is straight, then is the pickup pole spacing too wide? Are 70's jazz basses like this?

yep! the single groove was a CBS idea and a downgrade from the original threaded-rod saddles, and never did line up with jazz pickup magnets, which indeed want wider than .75" spacing.

mexi jazz basses are like this too.

 

[SurferJoe46]

The magnetic aperture is pretty wide on most pups, so it may be much to do over little.

Perception is as perception wants to be, and changing a bridge (in my mind a silly thing to do) without all the technical aspects considered usually turns out to be a less than happy situation most times.

In the end I somewhat seriously believe that any alignment problems would likely be more cosmetic than audible.... up to a point!

 

[walterw]

+1 to both; i do think i hear a difference when the strings line up right between the magnet pairs, a little softening of the initial attack, but i like my pickups close and i hit fairly hard with a pick. for more gentle playing and especially if the pickups are further away, the difference is pretty negligible.

still, were this bass given to me the first thing i'd do is put the original bridge back on! (or at least order the hipshot that has the wider than .75" spacing for it)

 

[Lownote38]

I would put the original bridge back on which allows you to adjust the spacing with the threaded barrel type saddles.

 

[soundfan75]

Yep, after looking at example after example online, I see the misalignment was perfectly normal on 70's jazz basses. I put the original bridge back on tonight and everything looks and feels just fine. Thanks all.