Advice on a jazz with misaligned bridge pickup rout

[mikegatward]

So I picked up a reasonably priced !996 USA Fender Jazz

Good condition,  lovely colour, nice neck, low action, plays nice. It has string through body bridge.

But... I could see the pole pieces weren’t lining up right and after a bit of fettling it’s clear that the bridge pickup (specifically the rout for the pickup) is not quite where it should be.

I do have the option to send it back to the seller who I think is a genuine guy who just never noticed or worried about it.

But I do like the bass, my worry is that I won’t recover my outlay if I sell as I would feel compelled to disclose the issue.

So advice would be welcome on whether I should send it back or keep it. And also what does the issue do to the value as I might see if the guy will renegotiate and do a part refund.

Pics below with a steel rule against the pickups showing how much ‘out’ it is

 

Thanks in advance 

 

 

[Doctor J]

There's something not quite right about the scratchplate either, sharp right angles on the bridge side of the neck pickup route, rounded on the neck side. It doesn't fit the control plate either and, even though there are no screws it does seem to be lined up with the holes underneath. Did you replace the scratchplate or did it come like that?

The bridge saddles have been changed too, possibly to allow the G string to be moved the far right of centre. I'd pop the scratchplate and see if there are additional holes where the neck pickup has been moved around. It's odd that the pickup route could be so badly askew, given that kind of thing is all done by CNC. Either way, it's the kind of thing which would annoy me every time I looked at it.

Looking at the third pic, you could loosen the neck screws and move the headstock more to the treble side which would do a better job of centring the strings on the neck and bringing it more in line with the bridge pickup. I'm speculating that the neck pickup has been moved, if I recall correcly, these basses have an oversized route so there's lots of scope to move the neck pickup around.

I suspect whoever put the scratchplate on moved the neck pickup to the bass side to accommodate that crap scratchplate, hence these misalignments

What I would do is:

1. remove the strings and scratchplate and see if the neck pickup has been moved.

2. run a straight edge from the end of the neck to the bridge pickup,  checking the gap to both sides of the bridge, seeing if the bridge pickup really is badly aligned

3. loosen the neck screws and re-align the neck so the strings are centred on the neck, this will definitely help with alignment over the bridge pickup

4. get an OEM scratchplate and relocate the neck pickup where it should be - the neck pickup is the one thing which is not in a fixed position here, don't use it to base alignment on

Is this it?

Edited January 31, 2021 by Doctor J

[PaulThePlug]

Did you buy or pay for a 'that 'll do'?

If in doubt, send it back... and soonish.

otherwise there will always be the nag in the back of ya head

and carry on looking...

[Beedster]

I've seen worse alignment so if it plays and sounds OK I personally would be OK with it, assuming that is I had checked what the underside of the pickguard is hiding first! I suspect @Doctor J is right and, strange as it seems, someone might have messed with alignment to fit the pickguard, it's an easy fix if so however  

[mikegatward]

@Doctor J  @Beedster Apparently the last owner changed the original pickguard but didn’t move the neck pickup at all (he’s sending it to me) - there’s only one set of holes in there. The original pickguard will confirm when it drops through the letter box

I think it’s the bridge pickup rout that’s not been done exactly where it should be and if so, there’s little to be done to remedy 

 

@PaulThePlug - you make a fair point. I paid £750 which although not overboard should warrant a bass with everything in a straight line. If I end up paying £600 or £650 then maybe the niggle will fade. Dunno, jury is out 

[Doctor J]

Unscrew the neck pickup and use the ruler from the neck by the bridge pickup and see how it aligns to the bridge anyway. The neck isn't on straight, the strings are not centred on the neck. Centre the strings on the bridge then the strings on the neck and see how eveyrthing lines up without the scratchplate and neck pickup. It'll be better, for sure. It's a Fender, there is room for adjustment there.

[mikegatward]

11 hours ago, Doctor J said:

Unscrew the neck pickup and use the ruler from the neck by the bridge pickup and see how it aligns to the bridge anyway. The neck isn't on straight, the strings are not centred on the neck. Centre the strings on the bridge then the strings on the neck and see how eveyrthing lines up without the scratchplate and neck pickup. It'll be better, for sure. It's a Fender, there is room for adjustment there.

Thanks @Doctor J - gonna take it to my local guy on Wednesday and then make a decision

[Machines]

Are you sure it's a genuine body ?

[mikegatward]

1 hour ago, Machines said:

Are you sure it's a genuine body ?

Here’s a pic of the neck pocket and the neck

[Machines]

1 hour ago, mikegatward said:

Here’s a pic of the neck pocket and the neck

 

 

I don't know enough about MIA Fenders to verify, but it doesn't look like a knock off.

[NancyJohnson]

Just off topic, we used to own the same sofa.  Tetrad Eastwood.

As you were.

[mikegatward]

1 hour ago, NancyJohnson said:

Just off topic, we used to own the same sofa.  Tetrad Eastwood.

As you were.

Got 2 of them, bought them 2nd hand 10 years back so they owe us nothing.

Goona get Tetrad Oskar leather sofas when we move 😊

[shoulderpet]

On 31/01/2021 at 20:11, PaulThePlug said:

Did you buy or pay for a 'that 'll do'?

If in doubt, send it back... and soonish.

otherwise there will always be the nag in the back of ya head

and carry on looking...

Yep, I've always gone by the rule of if it is bugging me enough to mention it then it will probably always bug me and I should probably return it 

[fretmeister]

Put a covered pickup in and you won't notice it any more?

 

[Skybone]

6 hours ago, fretmeister said:

Put a covered pickup in and you won't notice it any more?

 

This.

Assuming that you've plugged it in and it sounds fine, it's not an issue.

[Stub Mandrel]

[Doctor J]

Disguise the problem? Nah. Explore the ability to sort it, not hide it.

[NickA]

The only use I can think of for those ashtrays is to hide badly aligned pickups.  What WERE they for? Screening against radio frequency interference maybe?  Might help a bit in that respect.

Anyway, I shouldn't stress over it, it won't change the sound and that poorly fitting pick guard is perhaps a bigger issue.

[Stub Mandrel]

1 minute ago, NickA said:

What WERE they for?

Originally for a foam mute

[acidbass]

String to pole piece alignment is such a bug bear for me.  Why can't manufacturers just get it right in the modern world of CNC machines?  The bridge and neck pickups on a Jazz are different sizes so surely this can be addressed/standardised - obviously with slight differences for 60s and 70s spacing.

[mikegatward]

Thanks all for the input - as always, basschatters are happy to share their experiences an opinions.

Much as I like the bass, its going back tomorrow. I could end up putting a lot of pennies into making it nearly right but it would still bug me.

A good learning experience if nothing else 😀

[PaulThePlug]

Makes sense... good luck with ya Jazz quest.

[mikegatward]

56 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said:

Makes sense... good luck with ya Jazz quest.

Already closing in on a couple, a 2012 and a 2015, neither have spent much time outside their case

 

Edited February 3, 2021 by mikegatward

[Reggaebass]

Sounds good Mike, I’m pretty sure sometime in 2012 they upgraded their jazzes, and were fitted with the custom shop 60s pickups 

[TrevorG]

On 02/02/2021 at 22:49, Doctor J said:

Disguise the problem? Nah. Explore the ability to sort it, not hide it.

Are we still talking about the settee(sorry... couldn't resist)?