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Kevsy71

Member
Joined
May 18, 2012
Messages
19
HI all -

in the EBMM 'How do I set up my Music Man bass' instructions, it states: "If you have a single pickup bass set the pickup height to 6/32" from the plastic pickup cover to the bottom of the G string. Adjust the bass side of the pickup to be level with the pickguard." .

So does that mean the sloped edge of the pickup cover (with the screw heads) should be level with the pickguard - or rather that the flat cover of the pickup (the poles) should be level with the pickguard? :confused:

Many thanks!
 

Kevsy71

Member
Joined
May 18, 2012
Messages
19
Thanks MrM - I've asked and will post the response when I get it. Cheers!
 

adouglas

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Aug 12, 2005
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5,592
Location
On the tail end of the bell curve in Connecticut
I've always taken it to mean the tilt of pickup, not its height... the bass side has two screws so it's possible to slope the pickup so that one coil is farther from the strings than the other. My understanding is that you're not supposed to angle it like that.

When I say "angle" I mean having the pickup canted forward or aft, not side-to-side.

If you think about it, making the pickup "level with the pickguard" in the way you describe makes it impossible to set the poles 6/32" from the strings unless you also futz with the string height... and that's set by reference to the frets BEFORE you adjust pickup height.

Interested to hear what CS has to say about this.
 

WillyD

Ernie Ball, Inc.
Joined
Apr 7, 2010
Messages
610
Location
San Luis Obispo, CA
HI all -

in the EBMM 'How do I set up my Music Man bass' instructions, it states: "If you have a single pickup bass set the pickup height to 6/32" from the plastic pickup cover to the bottom of the G string. Adjust the bass side of the pickup to be level with the pickguard." .

So does that mean the sloped edge of the pickup cover (with the screw heads) should be level with the pickguard - or rather that the flat cover of the pickup (the poles) should be level with the pickguard? :confused:

Many thanks!

hello! level referring to the angle of the pick up, it should not be tilted. If it were level with the pickguard the height would be extremely low, it should be 6/32" on both sides but not tilted.
 

Kevsy71

Member
Joined
May 18, 2012
Messages
19
Great, much thanks for the help chaps!

Adjust the bass side of the pickup to be level with the pickguard."

...so level means 'parallel with', not 'flush with', in this context. Cheers!
 
Last edited:

tunaman4u2

Well-known member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
1,013
Location
Boston
I have mine tilted... I like it that way I have the poles in the middle a tad higher than the ones closer to the bridge & neck. Not by much... but it does change things a tad.
 

drTStingray

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 25, 2007
Messages
1,833
Location
Kent, United Kingdom
Congrats! You did answer correctly, but unfortunately we do not offer bobbleheads at this time.
Yes!

Love the response!!!

Minor hijack - can you give the height for the neck H pick up setting on a Bongo - owing to the relative power and more powerful magnetic material (neodimium) compared with a Stingray, I've always set mine slightly lower than quoted - curious to know the right answer.
 

WillyD

Ernie Ball, Inc.
Joined
Apr 7, 2010
Messages
610
Location
San Luis Obispo, CA
Love the response!!!

Minor hijack - can you give the height for the neck H pick up setting on a Bongo - owing to the relative power and more powerful magnetic material (neodimium) compared with a Stingray, I've always set mine slightly lower than quoted - curious to know the right answer.

The official spec for H neck pick up height is 8/32. However, in the case of a 5 or 6 string bass the power of the magnets can impede intonation adjustments and you might need to go a bit lower to 9/32.
 
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