optimum pickup heights for J-Bass

[koshikas]

I have J-Bass copy (fret-less) that I think is not having its pickup setup correctly. I'm beginner in bass and got little to no idea on what to do. this is a cheap beginner bass, so I'm assuming it's having ceramic j-style pickups. I'm hoping to get good output because when I dig too much, I end up rattling the strings on the board. otherwise the lows are pretty tight the way things are with good mids. the pickups are bit far from the strings (7mm from g-string 10mm from E). I know that unlike how guitars are setup/amped, basses should be setup for as much headroom as u can afford

so what are it suggestions

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[koshikas]

Re: optimum pickup heights for J-Bass

neck relief is ok, i'll admit that string action is little low considering how some bassists have it higher, but i dont think i can play it for long duration unless I have it as low as i do now, and it does not rattle unless i pluck beyond certain threshold which is decent except when i get sunk in the mix. i know from my meddling with guitars that the closer the pickups are to strings, the thumpier lows I can get.

since this is a fretless bass, i'm intending to keep the natural booming notes vibe it has right now. i'm worried that the too closer the pickups get, that vibe will be lost due to compression. BTW I'm total rookie when it comes to basses, so spare no advice. Is it normal to have passive pickups upclose to strings on basses configured for vintage vibe?

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: optimum pickup heights for J-Bass

For my tastes, on fretless bass, blooming would be preferrable to booming.

A certain amount of fingerboard buzz is unavoidable. (Some would say, desirable.) If you need to lay into your strings to get a decent signal, the pickups can afford to come up a fair distance. I would begin by adjusting the bridge position pickup. When this sounds strong and wiry, move on to the neck position pickup. Raise the neck position pickup until the sound of the blended pickups regain their "honk".

 

[koshikas]

Re: optimum pickup heights for J-Bass

my bad, bloomin notes would be preferable indeed :banghead:

ur advice seems well-founded because i use both pickups at around the same volumes, to get that 'honk' which I like very much. so to reiterate, i have to adjust (raise) the bridge pickup first (assuming that the neck pickup should be dialed off whilst doing this). then when i get strong sounds to my taste. then i will move onto adjusting the neck pickup (after dialing the same volume level on the neck pickup pot as the bridge pickup volume pot level) to get the balanced honk.

i tried raising the pickups in between posts but seem to have run-out of tubes (length-wise) used to suspend pickups, off to get some.

@Funkfingers :yourock:

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: optimum pickup heights for J-Bass

Measured from the top of the plastic cover to the underside edge of string, a typical reading might be;
Neck PU: G = 7/32", E = 8/32"
Bridge PU: G = 6/32", E = 7/32"

Start from these figures and tweak until you are happy.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: optimum pickup heights for J-Bass

I usually just raise them until the strings hit the poles when slapping the low E and popping the G, then back it off a little bit, which I think ends up being a tad lower at the neck than what funkfingers recommends and a tad higher at the bridge.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: optimum pickup heights for J-Bass

funkfingers recommends

... reading the exact wording of his previous post.

Start from ... and tweak.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: optimum pickup heights for J-Bass

No harm in suggesting a direction to tweak is there?