Pup slightly out of alignment. Should i be worried?

[dave_bass5]

So, tonight i noticed a large gap at the end of the neck pup on my new MIA Jazz. I figured it was the cheap pickguard as its a slightly different shape to the stock one.
So i put the stock one back on and its better but then i noticed the pole pieces on the neck pup dont seem to be in the right place.

The bass sounds good and its not something that ive noticed when playing so im not sure if i should try and move the pup, leave it as it is or try and send it back.

It kind of defeats the idea of having adjustable string spacing if i cant really use it, although im happy with the way its set up at the moment.

It seems like a simple job of moving the pup down by a few mm. There is ample space to get it in the new position without any routing, and there is a big enough gap in the pickguard to not have to get that cut out.

Pretty poor QC though, combined with the fret gaps ive already posted about this bass has more issues than my Squier, albeit minor ones.

Comments?

[attachment=55375:IMG_2114.JPG]

[attachment=55376:Fri_23_J...010_2089.jpg]

[Musicman20]

Hmm

I've seen this on Laklands. These Fenders have the adjustable bridge to allow you to tweak it. I'm not sure what I'd do in this position. The D seems odd...maybe it's the angle...hmmm.

Can you contact the store?

[Musicman20]

Can you switch the string position on the d up a groove?

[AndyTravis]

If it doesn't sound 'WRONG', i don't really see the problem?

Go and look at another 10 Fender Jazzes, and see what you find.

[Mr. Foxen]

How well aligned are the strings against the neck? A screw loosening and a tug in the appropriate direction, then tightening, and sort all sorts of alignment fun.

[dave_bass5]

Thanks for the replies.
I guess I'm just a liitle bit annoyed tha at this price point they couldn't even get this right.
The strings seem fine on the neck. It's the neck pup itself that sitting a bit too far up on the body. I checked my CVJ and that's perfect. Now there is a gap in the pickguard at the bottom of the pup so if I was to move it there wouldn't be a need to alter the pickguard at all.

But yes, it sounds fine. I'm not sure if not having the strings over the pole pieces will effect the volume or tone as I've not had this problem before.

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='910827' date='Jul 30 2010, 11:49 PM']The bass sounds good and its not something that ive noticed when playing[/quote]
Given the above, you just need to ask yourself if a minor cosmetic issue bothers you enough to take it back. And that will be your answer!

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='910949' date='Jul 31 2010, 09:00 AM']Given the above, you just need to ask yourself if a minor cosmetic issue bothers you enough to take it back. And that will be your answer![/quote]

Thanks. If it is just that then I guess I can live with it. As long as it's not going to effect the tone then I guess it's not a big deal.

[JTUK]

What ball park money are we talking about..?

Little things like that and the way they can't be bothered to route the pup so the bass could be used without the PG, would get to me.

If we are talking about a cheaper pacific rim option, then ok but I can't see any reason why a flag-ship model can't get these annoying bugs sorted...

[lozbass]

I think Andy has a good point - I'd check out some other Fenders (and copies). I've seen this a lot on Fender clones and Fenders themselves - even slight misalignment on very expensive boutique Js. I have to admit that it would irritate me too. However, if the bass plays well and sounds good, I'd try to ignore it (you might even forget about it in a few months - it's happened to me with minor irks)

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='AndyTravis' post='910849' date='Jul 31 2010, 12:30 AM']If it doesn't sound 'WRONG', i don't really see the problem?

Go and look at another 10 Fender Jazzes, and see what you find.[/quote]

Well the only other Fender ive got is a Squier and thats perfect. As was my HW1 and My Lakland DJ5.

Ive had a look through the Jazz bass megathread on TB and none seem to be as bad as this.


I know what your getting though. It does indeed sound fine at the moment and maybe i should leave it, but at £960 i shouldn't really have to

I did email the shop last night to see what they say. Getting it changed is going to be a gamble and i could end up with a bass that has a major issue.

[Musicman20]

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='910999' date='Jul 31 2010, 10:20 AM']Well the only other Fender ive got is a Squier and thats perfect. As was my HW1 and My Lakland DJ5.

Ive had a look through the Jazz bass megathread on TB and none seem to be as bad as this.


I know what your getting though. It does indeed sound fine at the moment and maybe i should leave it, but at £960 i shouldn't really have to

I did email the shop last night to see what they say. Getting it changed is going to be a gamble and i could end up with a bass that has a major issue.[/quote]

If its quite far out, then yep, contact the shop and send the photos. I checked my Jazz and it seems pretty much 99% spot on. What seems odd on your photos is the fact the a string is in line..?!

[Musicman20]

I just checked your other photo.

Am I correct in thinking if you move the strings on the saddles it will take the string positioning on the other (bridge) pup quite far out?

I have seen it on a Warwick this bad before....hmm.

I would ring them Dave and see where you stand.

Here is a pic I found:

[url="http://www.drumcityguitarland.com/drumcitygl/stores/1/Fender-USA-American-Standard-Jazz-Bass-Rosewood-3-Color-Sunburst-4-String-Electric-Bass-P1459C146.aspx"]http://www.drumcityguitarland.com/drumcity...-P1459C146.aspx[/url]

Notice you will NEVER seem to get it literally 100% accurate...there will always be one going slightly (and it should only be slightly) higher or lower than it ideally should be for perfection sake.

Here is a 5 that is nigh on perfection:

[url="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.doctorbass.net/imagftp/imagAux1_Cuerpo%2520fender.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.doctorbass.net/en/producto.asp%3Fid%3D1000171996%26idfam%3D&usg=__2a9ltSPwOj4jRqJLnPj3PsQ-rE8=&h=399&w=600&sz=50&hl=en&start=176&tbnid=8HlXLwpmB_uryM:&tbnh=153&tbnw=205&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfender%2Bjazz%2B2008%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1671%26bih%3D952%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C3240&um=1&itbs=1&ei=zvdTTJSzGZm60gSptcCDAw&iact=rc&dur=412&page=5&ndsp=44&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:176&tx=61&ty=59&biw=1671&bih=952"]http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http...671&bih=952[/url]

Ive even seen EBMM basses with it ever so slightly off.

It depends on how far it is off in the flesh so to speak, as I can only see from the 2 pics you have posted. Again, any doubt Dave just contact the store as its still extremely new.

Edited July 31, 2010 by Musicman20

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='911046' date='Jul 31 2010, 11:04 AM']If its quite far out, then yep, contact the shop and send the photos. I checked my Jazz and it seems pretty much 99% spot on. What seems odd on your photos is the fact the a string is in line..?![/quote]

Ill wait and see what the shop says. I sent the photo last night but not sure if they are open over the weekend so it might be a few days.
If they can sort it by moving the pup then im happy for them to do that. I can live without it for a week.

Im not sure im seeing the A string in line though. It seems to go over opposite pole pieces.

Edited July 31, 2010 by dave_bass5

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='911049' date='Jul 31 2010, 11:08 AM']I just checked your other photo.

Am I correct in thinking if you move the strings on the saddles it will take the string positioning on the other (bridge) pup quite far out?

I have seen it on a Warwick this bad before....hmm.

I would ring them Dave and see where you stand.[/quote]

Yeah. At the moment the string to string spacing is ideal. I would rather not have to change it. As you can see, its fine over the bridge pup.
I can understnad that you cant always get the strings dead centre, and i wouldnt expect it but the neck pup should be centred with the bridge pup. As its slightly shorter, both ends should be inside the length of the bridge pup but the top end of the neck pup is higher.

Poor workmandship no doubt but its a hard one, especially if it doenst seem to affect the tone.

Edited July 31, 2010 by dave_bass5

[Musicman20]

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='911066' date='Jul 31 2010, 11:17 AM']Yeah. At the moment the string to string spacing is ideal. I would rather not have to change it. As you can see, its fine over the bridge pup.
I can understnad that you cant always get the strings dead centre, and i wouldnt expect it but the neck pup should be centred with the bridge pup. As its slightly shorter, both ends should be inside the length of the bridge pup but the top end of the neck pup is higher.

Poor workmandship no doubt but its a hard one, especially if it doenst seem to affect the tone.[/quote]

I know what you mean.

I just checked mine (and I was lucky to get three Fenders like this) and the strings seem to line up pretty damn well. It is worth noting the pickguard on mine has little room, if any, for the pickup to be moved. Its pretty damn tight.

Again, I can understand your frustration. I hope they can do something to put it right.

I know im QC mad, and this has led to very difficult purchases as nothing in the bass/guitar world is ever perfect, but what I do now on Fenders is check the lot...eg neck pocket first, then pickup positioning, then I plug them in, and lastly the overall finish and paintwork etc. When I picked up my two maple necked basses, I was very happy to get such good QC. The rosewood one was a gamble as the store would have charged me for a return, but by heck its really really good!

[dave_bass5]

Thats the thing, if they were all like it i might not worry too much but as its definitely wrong i would like, well, piece of mind i guess.

Ill see what the shop says first. It its going to be too much hassle i might see if i can do it myself at

Ill just need to fill the original holes in and re drill some new ones. Im sure i can handle that.

This hasn't tainted my love of this bass, i just know its something that will bug me for a while. I also think it might effect resale value but thats way down the line (yeah yeah, we all say that).

[LawrenceH]

WTF is going on with that routing?? I thought the MIAs had proper pickup-sized cavities -and then that random hole as well? My Mexi Classic 70s has that (but at the least the pup cavities are the right size) but I'd assumed the MIAs were better in this respect, not worse. That's annoying.

[dave_bass5]

Yeah, its not good is it. Even my HW1 didnt have any of that and looked good without a pickguard.

[stevie]

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='910949' date='Jul 31 2010, 09:00 AM']Given the above, you just need to ask yourself if a minor cosmetic issue bothers you enough to take it back. And that will be your answer![/quote]
It would do my head in every time I picked it up :-) Anyway, if I'd paid a grand I wouldn't accept sloppy workmanship, even if it did sound OK.

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='stevie' post='911214' date='Jul 31 2010, 01:47 PM']It would do my head in every time I picked it up :-) Anyway, if I'd paid a grand I wouldn't accept sloppy workmanship, even if it did sound OK.[/quote]

Yeah, its starting to get like that.

Just a quick update.
I've got the pup in a better position. I just took the screws out, re positioned the pup and re screwed, letting the screws make the new holes. And they were far enough away from the originals that they didn't need filling.
The only issue is that while my black pickguard fits, the cut outs where the screws go need a fit of filing down because as soon as I rest my thumb on the pup it pushes it down but the tight fit stops it from springing back up evenly. A bit of a pain but I can probably sort it out.

Im still waiting on the shop to get back to me so im going to leave it all as it came for now.

This is how it looked before i put the original PG back on. I much prefer the black PG anyway.

[attachment=55447:IMG_2128.JPG]

[Musicman20]

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='912068' date='Aug 1 2010, 05:54 PM']Yeah, its starting to get like that.

Just a quick update.
I've got the pup in a better position. I just took the screws out, re positioned the pup and re screwed, letting the screws make the new holes. And they were far enough away from the originals that they didn't need filling.
The only issue is that while my black pickguard fits, the cut outs where the screws go need a fit of filing down because as soon as I rest my thumb on the pup it pushes it down but the tight fit stops it from springing back up evenly. A bit of a pain but I can probably sort it out.

Im still waiting on the shop to get back to me so im going to leave it all as it came for now.

This is how it looked before i put the original PG back on. I much prefer the black PG anyway.

[attachment=55447:IMG_2128.JPG][/quote]

Now that's more like it and similar to mine.

Shocked it wasn't qc'd. Are Fender letting things slip again?

[chris_b]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='910841' date='Jul 31 2010, 12:22 AM']....I've seen this on Laklands....[/quote]
How many Laklands have you seen which have this problem?

[Musicman20]

[quote name='chris_b' post='912123' date='Aug 1 2010, 06:54 PM']How many Laklands have you seen which have this problem?[/quote]

Two so far, one a DJ5 early this year and recently a JO4. Really bad pickup cutouts on the guards as well. So far I've tried to buy 5 Laklands and sent them all back.

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='912091' date='Aug 1 2010, 06:21 PM']Now that's more like it and similar to mine.

Shocked it wasn't qc'd. Are Fender letting things slip again?[/quote]

Yeah, happy with that. I just need to work on the pickguard now.
At the moment it's back to how it was and I really can't hear a difference, but
I still want to see what the shop says as well. If they can't help I'll get the file out. It won't look too elegant but I do want the black one on.

Edited August 2, 2010 by dave_bass5