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Post subject: Fender Jazz pick up set-up
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 4:51 pm
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Hi all...noobie here..but have just brought home a new Fender Jazz (Mex) and noticed that the coil poles for the A & D strings are raised abt 3 mill above pickup casing on both bass and treble casings. E & G string coil poles are flush with pickup casing. Is this normal? I have read the set up guide for this bass on the Fender site and in manual..but just wanna confirm 'standard setup' out of the box for the pickups for this bass.. Appologies if this is dumb question!

Duey


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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz pick up set-up
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 5:44 pm
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That is normal. Fender changes pickup designs all the time. Even on some P-Basses the "A" poles were raised. The logic is that due to the radius of the neck the A & D strings are farther away from the pickup housing than the E or G strings so they made the poles a bit longer to compensate for the slightly increased distance. These poles being raised is intended to provide better string to string volume output balance....in theory anyway.

With a 9.5 inch or larger radius it doesn't seem to have as corrective an effect as on the 7.25 inch radius...and with a compressor of any ilk output imbalance from string to string becomes a total non-issue.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz pick up set-up
Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 9:16 pm
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Greetings Brother Dave, what is your preferred pickup height for your JazzBass, does the Fender guide - bass side 1/8" and treble side 3/32" give the optimum tone?

Thank you very much.
Bon


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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz pick up set-up
Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 5:11 am
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:idea: :arrow: A lot depends upon your stringset of choice, and how balanced the string-to-string tone & volume are to each other. I set my action according to the strings I am using to get things as even as possible by my ear, and the way I like them to my touch. I don't measure anything. And boy does this take a lot of time and close attention to detail to do the fine personal tweaking. I always start with a professional set-up by a well qualified & competent luthier and go from there. Only you can put your personal touch on your instrument. 8)

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One day they shall name a GREAT city after me, and they shall call it LINNINGRAD


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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz pick up set-up
Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 10:46 am
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(I sent a reply via PM to your inquiry there. Agree with Linnin! Stock setup measurements are meant to be done fast and dirty. I use my ears to judge sustain and a VU meter to measure output level. I do not use a ruler though! Copy of my reply to your PM follows:) As with all setup guide measurements you might find some variation works better for you, your instrument, your strings and your playing style. Beyond that, different strings in different gauges from the stock mediums/medium lights will change the optimum height also. Some strings are higher output which on the surface sounds good, but with high output strings if the output balance is off the balance issue becomes more obvious. Some pickups use Alnico V magnets which have a stronger magnetic force than Alnico IV while other Fender pickups, especially the Japanese and Mexican ones, use ceramic magnets which behave differently from Alnico. Currently Fender Alnico pickups are all Alnico V I think, but Fender has used Alnico IV and some Custom Shop instruments use Alnico IV to approximate the magnetic character of an aged Alnico V pickup. If the pickup is too close then the magnetic poles pull enough on the string that the pull will shorten sustain. If the pickups are too far away then you lose output.

Changing the mass of the string by using a larger or smaller gauge string changes the electromagnetic physics of a setup including pickup height and the standard setup measurements become less helpful. On top of that different string alloys and even platings or coatings have different magnetic properties also. For example if you are using nylon wrapped strings you can for sure throw the setup specs out the window. Even micro thin polymer coatings on some strings can change things by a couple of hairs.

One way to do it right is to start with it very WRONG. Set up each pickup individually of course. But first move both pickups farther away from the strings than seems sensible and carefully check the sustain on each string to get an idea of maximum sustain with minimal magnetic pull on the strings. Do that with each string open and fretted at the octave (12th Fret.) Spend a little more time getting a gauge in your head of the sustain when fretted at the 12th fret. Next, set the controls to solo one pickup, then begin raising the pickup getting a little closer and a little closer by raising it evenly while checking for sustain loss across all strings. When you start detecting sustain loss when fretted at the 12th fret but it sounds the same open then you are very close and just need to back the pickup away a tad from the string until the maximum amount of sustain returns when fretted. Next solo the other pickup and repeat. That is as close as you can possibly get, but it is probably not ideal yet because you have to balance the pickup height for the best possible string to string balance which means lowering one end or the other of each pickup. The balance step is often a compromise to get string to string balance as close as possible. You will never get string to string balance perfect but you can get it closer.

For doing accurate string to string balance adjustments it is better, faster and easier to use a VU meter instead of your ears. Cabinets and bass combo/head EQ can color certain notes making them sound louder than they actually are. A VU meter of some type is present on most mixers and all recording software so plug the bass into some device with a VU meter instead of a bass amp. FIRST, turn off any ALC/AVC/Compression in the mixer/recording audio input chain. SECOND, on an active instrument set the instrument's EQ to flat all around, while on a passive Jazz set the tone to full treble, which actually is flat in reality. On a Jazz you have to adjust one pickup at a time in this step too. Balance the string to string output as closely as possible by lowering the hotter end of the pickup until the output volume balances at least approximately across all 4 strings on the VU meter. Get it set and then move on to the other pickup. I strike the string open and compare that to the octave. Picks work better for the balancing step since finger pulls can vary a lot in attack while pick-strikes are easier to make uniform. While I hardly ever play bass with a pick I do always use a very thick pick during the output balancing step of a setup to get uniform strikes.

Once you get the string to string output balanced that is the optimum location! The optimum may not be anywhere close to Fender specs or could be in the ballpark of the stock setup specs. There are simply too many variables to say any one height is ideal in all cases. The Fender setup specs should be looked at as a general guideline for a fast and easy way to do it that should be somewhere in the ballpark with stock strings, but it is not the optimum for each and every instrument.

That's how I would do it, not with a ruler but with my ears and a VU meter.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz pick up set-up
Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 5:56 pm
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Thanks Brother Dave,
...very clear and impressive advice!
Bon


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