Why Do Fender P Basses Come with the Pickup Staggered?

[Hi-End Basses]

Why do Fender P Basses come with the pup staggered (slightly lower by the E string and the G string) I've looked at other companies, where the Pup is installed completely level. Is the pup supposed to be staggered like that for optimal sound?

 

[ahc]

It's done to follow the radius of the neck thereby allowing the pickup to be adjusted to give equal volume for all the strings.

Some soapbars are radiused for the same reason.

 

[Hi-End Basses]

So if mine are the same height on both sides, exactly level, the E and G may be louder?

It's done to follow the radius of the neck thereby allowing the pickup to be adjusted to give equal volume for all the strings.

Some soapbars are radiused for the same reason.

 

[ahc]

So if mine are the same height on both sides, exactly level, the E and G may be louder?

They might be. Only your ears or an audio measuring tool can tell.

 

[ahc]

If you've got a P you can go to Fender's support page and see all the recommended specs for a setup including pickup height. These are good starting points but you may still want to refine them. Up to your External Audio Recovery System (EARS).

 

[Son of Wobble]

Those two pickups were actually NOT intended to be staggered.

But story has it that a factory worker at the original 1950's Fender, Ensenada plant
named "El Borracho" was so cockeyed-drunk when he installed the first such humbuckers
that the tradition stuck. El Borracho's drunken gait also explains the colloquial, "staggered pole pieces."

 

[petrus61]

They're intended to be adjusted however you want them. Most come staggered from the factory because they're mass produced...not because they're necessarily supposed to be that way.

 

[Son of Wobble]

They're intended to be adjusted however you want them. Most come staggered from the factory because they're mass produced...not because they're necessarily supposed to be that way.

Yeah, well, there's that.


Seriously, OP, you can use the feature to adjust pickup level relative to the individual string to suit your own taste. It's pretty useful, since a small adjustment can have a dramatic effect on, say, the boom of the E string. With a fixed, non-adjustable pickup, you
have no such ability to dial in the sound of each string.

 

[ahc]

Oh yeah... Some jazz bass pups have higher pole pieces for the A and D strings for the same reason I mentioned.

 

[Son of Wobble]

Oh yeah... Some jazz bass pups have higher pole pieces for the A and D strings for the same reason I mentioned.

There is a raised "A" pole on the pickups for the '57 AVRI Precision. Gets mixed reviews, with a number of players saying the raised poll catches on the string. Mine is no problem and I have a VERY low setup.

 

[Lowendtech]

It's because the P bass has so much punch.
I'd stagger a bit too if I got hit with that all the time.



I'll show myself out now....no need to call security.

 

[Hi-End Basses]

That's

They're intended to be adjusted however you want them. Most come staggered from the factory because they're mass produced...not because they're necessarily supposed to be that way.

Good to know. Because I have two MIA P's, one more staggered than the other.

 

[Hi-End Basses]

Those two pickups were actually NOT intended to be staggered.

But story has it that a factory worker at the original 1950's Fender, Ensenada plant
named "El Borracho" was so cockeyed-drunk when he installed the first such humbuckers
that the tradition stuck. El Borracho's drunken gait also explains the colloquial, "staggered pole pieces."

Serious?

 

[Son of Wobble]

Serious?

Swear on my mother's grave, may lightening hit my father's wheelchair.

 

[petrus61]

There is a raised "A" pole on the pickups for the '57 AVRI Precision. Gets mixed reviews, with a number of players saying the raised poll catches on the string. Mine is no problem and I have a VERY low setup.

Woe unto he whose raised pole gets caught in a wobbling string.

 

[Hi-End Basses]

Yeah, well, there's that.


Seriously, OP, you can use the feature to adjust pickup level relative to the individual string to suit your own taste. It's pretty useful, since a small adjustment can have a dramatic effect on, say, the boom of the E string. With a fixed, non-adjustable pickup, you
have no such ability to dial in the sound of each string.

Never looked at it that way.

 

[Wfrance3]

And then there is the reverse P.

There's the volley, you guys take care of the "set"

 

[Son of Wobble]

Never looked at it that way.

You'll see a lot of post around here complain of "unbalanced volume" from string to string.
The solutions proffered for this issue are either to try a different or more "balanced" set of strings, or else to raise/lower
the pickup under the offending string.

If the pickup is too close to the string, it can sound blurry or even distorted. If the pickup is too low, the sound might be slightly weak.
As with bridge saddles or truss rods, a little tweak can make a huge difference, both sonically and in terms of feel.

With the aforementioned 57 AVRI, I almost sold the bass because I thought it's 1.75" neck unplayable. But my issue turned out
to be with the high action. It took awhile, but I eventually got the setup so low that the bass plays itself. Continual fussy tweaking of the pickup height will likewise reveal your own personal sweet spot, which varies because we all have different ears, different sonic goals, and most of all, different amps with different EQs.

 

[Son of Wobble]

And then there is the reverse P.

There's the volley, you guys take care of the "set"

Sure, make some other guy do the heavy lifting.

 

[Son of Wobble]

There's the volley, you guys take care of the "set"

This guy, "El Borracho".....