Will string spacing adjustment affect the pickups?

[tongue hairdo]

Thanks for any help. After some serious thought, I'd like to finally pull the trigger on a 4 string, Fender Ultra Jazz Bass. I unfortunately don't have large hands, and 19 mm string spacing is just too much for me. What I'd like to do, is replace the bridge with a Schaller 3D-4 bass bridge, or something similar ( Hipshot type A, Kickass), to get the spacing down to 16mm or 15.5mm. The question becomes, will the narrower spacing adjustment affect the pickups output? The pictures on the Fender site have the strings running nearly perfect in between the pole pieces. Will a 3mm adjustment, +/-, cause pickup problems? The adjustments would be to the A,D,and G strings, which would put the strings still nearly over a pole piece. Is my worry justified, or will everything workout in the magnetic field? Thanks again for any help.

 

[A9X]

Use pickups with blade magnets like some of the Nordstrands. Typical J construction types will mostly work fine though.

 

[RSBBass]

You shouldn't have a problem. The magnetic field of a pickup is much bigger than the distance between strings.

 

[Jefenator]

Your left hand will still have to reach across a neck that will still be (and now look) too wide.
If you haven't already, you might want to investigate some 32" or 30" scale basses which often also have narrower spacing.
Good luck in your quest.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

Your left hand will still have to reach across a neck that will still be (and now look) too wide.
If you haven't already, you might want to investigate some 32" or 30" scale basses which often also have narrower spacing.
Good luck in your quest.

I was going to suggest a 30" scale with 17mm spacing as well.

And in my experience I learned that if the strings don't line up as intended the sound can suffer. I put a SD quarter pounder pup in my Musicmaster and the E always sounded muddy. I didn't know any better at the time. Lesson learned.

Now I have Nordstrand custom 17mm pup in there and with no other changes the clarity all the notes is improved, especially the E string.

Just my experience and opinion, I dont profess to be any kind of expert.

 

[MrLenny1]

Interesting point there OP.
I got a 32" scale axe last year and string spacing
is 19-20 mm approx. Too wide for my right hand fingers
as my main axes are 17.5 mm.
It has a P bass PU.
Hmm, guess I'll try the Hipshot and see.

 

[AboutSweetSue]

Nah, it’ll be fine.

 

[Flaked Beans]

I don't think so unless your strings are waay off of the center of the pole pieces. Consider me as a dumb person, If I'm wrong, though

 

[arbiterusa]

I don’t think you’d have pickup issues (although you might, I’d prefer blades if I took suck a step) so much as a REALLY weird looking bass with a neck that’s far too wide for your string spacing.

 

[Killing Floor]

Strings don’t have to be directly over the poles. But blades is a good idea if you’re able.

 

[Fernando Costa]

I've had a lot of new basses where the alignment of the strings with the pickup poles wasn't perfect. I think 2 or 3 mm won't make a difference to the sound. If you change the height of the pickups and notice the difference in volume and timbre then it's ok. If all strings are at the same volume and timbre is ok.

 

[knight of ni]

I unfortunately don't have large hands, and 19 mm string spacing is just too much for me.

Unless you have physical problems with your fretting hand, string spacing is not a problem for a 4 string. You may prefer 17-18 mm but there is no reason to get as low as 15.5 or 16 mm IMO.

 

[sikamikanico]

I too am picky about my string spacing, but I recently discovered I’m fine in the 18-20mm range (but not narrower). This widens my options a lot. So, I’d suggest trying 19mm for a couple weeks, see if you can get used to it. Adjust your technique, positions etc…

if that doesn’t work, I’d get a Hipshot A bridge with 16.5mm spacing. That’s the narrowest spacing I could find (Kickass and Schaller don’t go as narrow). Then experiment with it to find a balance between comfort and sound. Because string spacing can become an issue with pickups (the string spacing difference compounds across strings!), I’d consider going narrower in increments, start at maybe 17 or 17.5mm.

Also, I’d do adjustments proportionally, from the middle out. It sounds like you’d leave the E string in place, which would make alignment issues much worse b the time you got to the G string. Adjusting all strings inwards would mean A and D strings would move a bit, and E and G strings a bit more.

If pickup/pole alignment sounds off where you end up, then yeah, blade pickups. Or, I’d first consider the Bill Lawrence/Wilde J45 pickup - it has pole pieces, but more of them than most pickups, so they act like a blade…

 

[chris_b]

I would get a bass you feel comfortable playing from the start and not pick one that doesn't feel comfortable and then have to change it around. What happens if your new bridge doesn't work?

IMO you need a narrow bridge and neck. Maybe even a short scale bass.

 

[Zooberwerx]

You shouldn't have a problem. The magnetic field of a pickup is much bigger than the distance between strings.

That was my understanding. The polepieces provide a "unified" magnetic field as opposed to the misconception that each produces a narrow upwardly focused "beam", so to speak. Varied slug strength, staggered polepiece height, and pickup > string gap, etc. have a more profound influence and we haven't even begun to address pickup type & construction elements. Haven't seen one for a while but a couple techs used the cellophane pack w/ ferrous grain to demonstrate the actual fields within a soapbar.

Riis

 

[mongo2]

I've checked P and J dual pole bass pickups using EMG magnetic field viewing tape and found the magnetic field is a contiguous strip along the length of the pickup at recommended pickup to string distances.

Single coil precision bass style pickups show a more discrete magnetic field per pole compared to the dual pole pickup. My SWAG is that discrete magnetic field might be the reason for reports of speaker damage possibly originating with the vibration of the string during a strong attack with the pickup closer to the strings causing the string to move in and out of the magnetic field therefore causing the e-field in the pickup coil to at least partially collapse and then re-establish rapidly.

When I use dual blade pickups it's for their humbucking properties rather than for string spacing considerations.

 

[frankie5string]

Are you wearing your bass relatively high dangling your hand over the bass body by your wrist? If you just shift your arm forward slightly so your fingers curl a bit you should have no problem with 19mm spacing.

Otherwise you have some wiggle-room over those pole pieces. The string can be over the poles or between the poles and you'll still be fine.

I don't see a point moving to a shorter scale instrument if it's your plucking hand (and moving across the strings) that's giving you problems. It sounds like it's more of a technique refinement issue.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

You will not have a problem

 

[frankie5string]

One thing I would add, though is that if you move your strings such that they're sitting overtop of pole-pieces, I recommend you put a piece of electrical tape across the top of the pickup. If you accidentally smash the string against that raised bare pole-piece, you'll get a fairly unattractive "clack" transient. The electrical tape will provide a contact barrier between the pole and the string. Don't use any metallic-type tape - just plain plastic electrical tape.

 

[furym]

As a side note, I have a 2020 late model Jazz Ultra and the strings are not perfectly aligned over/between the pole pieces. I thought it was a manufacturing issue like wrong sized pickups but others I have seen at shops are the same way. It does not affect the output that I can tell.
NBD: Fender American Ultra Jazz