Squier Precision Bass pickup height adjustment, no spring under the pickup

[bdwgml@gMail.com]

 

I thought I would adjust my P-Bass pickups a little closer to the string. Right now the E string is about 1/8" away from the pickup while fretted at the 20th.

I wanted to adjust to 3/32", but when I unscrew the pickup it just flops out instead of springing out. I had to screw it back to it's original location so it wouldn't be sloppy.

Do I need to adjust the bridge height, or is there something I need to do behind the pickup guard?

I guess the other option is to just live with it, since we're only talking about a 32nd of an inch.

[DeepEnd]

I'm taking a stab in the dark here but my bass (which is a '95 and is not Squier) has foam under the pickups. If yours does too, then depending on the age of the bass the foam may have compressed over time to the point that the pickups won't go any higher. Fender specifies 7/64" (2.8 mm) on the bass side with the string fully depressed at the last fret and 5/64" (2 mm) on the treble side: http://www.fender.com/support/articles/bass-guitar-setup-guide/. If you can't achieve that, you may need to remove the pickup and make a shim to put under it or replace the foam.

[WRGKMC]

Yea you get no benifits from being too close to the strings besides the chance of the sound farting out on you when you dig in. I have Lace sensors in My Precision. They were in there when I bought it and you're supposed to be able to adjust them as close as you want.

Well, I must have had them too close at some point because the plastic cover got chewed up by the strings at some point. I wasnt the only one to play that bass over the years so it may have been my buddy slapping the strings into the pup that chewed it up. I use a more controlled hand on the strings and would have noticed the slap and corrrected it.

The Lace pups dont have much difference in tone close or farther away so I usually keep them anout 3~4mm contoured to the string radius. I tweak those settings when I'm plugged into my recording setup and can see the recording meter peak. I usually adjust them so each string gives simular peaks in volume so I get consistant note volumes.

I can do the same with a bass amp using a DB meter in front of the speaker. I dial up my EQ settings so everything is at 12:00 including the volume each string going up the necks and the strings across the neck and find the best pickup positions for the amp setup. The thin strings usually output less volume in both cases so turning the Bass EQ down can let you balance the mids and highs and then when you bring the bass EQ back up to normal, it is what it is.

I find this method usually works out OK. Its hard to tell what the actual output is using only your ears because allot of what comes from a bass amp is felt and not heard. If you're using a small practice amp its practically guaranteed to not have the right resonances for deep notes so trying to adjust pickups on an insufficiant amp is pretty useless. The minuite you plug into a real bass amp it can sound awful in comparison, so its best to just get what you can, even them up from the strings and just work with what you have.

Then if you do plug into something like an SVT and hear bad resonances from certain strings try to isonate the problem. Chances are the strings might be a good match for the bass and pickup type which has a bigger impact on string tone than pickup height does.

When I buy bass strings I attempt to find sets that give me even output across all strings from one end to the other. Lately I been using D'Addarrio lately. I dont play it as much as my Gretch short scale recording and the strings dont corride like others so they only die from being under tension. I quit using Roto Sound because they loose their tine in two weeks and start to stink from oxidation.

I put Labellas on my short string a few weeks ago. Thay are killer strings for getting even tones and they have just the right amount of flex if you're into bending notes. They dont have spots on the neck that are ovely stiff which harder materials seem to have. Boomers arent bad. They are good overall and have good tone with heavy use for about two months.

I like the Labella Deep talking strings when I was Playing in a Doors band through a Sunn amp. I could get those deep tones that worked well with a Hammond Organ. Those too are good for about 2 months playing out befir you started getting some sad notes. I'm super critical about having perfect intonation and setups that dont exhibit any sharp or flat notes.

Its as much a feel thing as an ear thing for me because the bass sets the groove with the drummer and everything else is built upon those notes. If the bass punches with the kick drum then it really doesnt matter what the pickup height is. If the bass isnt loud enough you just turn the volume up. You should get a bigger boost than adjusting pickups any day.

Adjusting the pickups has a little proxcimity effect when they get closer to the strings but the amps EQ should easily trump that by many times. If not install and active preamp/EQ system. I've installed many and they can liven up an otherwise bland sounding bass nicely. You dont need to spend big money on active pickups either.

I put one of these in a Peavey hass a few years ago and it kicked butt. http://artecsound.com/pickups/electronics/mt2.html

Imput one of these variable boosters in a Music Man bass and it doubled the basses output and added some nice presence.  http://artecsound.com/pickups/electronics/vtc.html Batteries will last a good year or more two. I left one plugged in for two weeks with the circuit active and it was still working when I tried it.