Fender Am/Se Jazz Bass Pup Height

[Vince a]

Would some of you please let me know what your pickup adjustment is for the E string, as measured from the body of the bass to the bottom of the E string . . . I know, it's not the way it is done - I'm curious! Mine are both 13/32, or a tad over 3/8 inch.

Why? Well, I've been playing bass for about a year (guitar for 40 +), and I cannot seem to get rid of the volume of the E string as compared to the other three strings . . . it's nearly twice as loud.

Info:
Bass - Fender Am/SE JB
Pickups: (back to stock, after trying, GFS Pro Alnico, Bartoloni, Seymour duncan) - I like the stock Fenders better!
Strings: D'Addario Chromes flats - 45-100
Amp: Eden NC-210
Pre Amp: Tech 21 SansAmp RBI

Playing style: 3 fingers, sometimes 4

I play up near the base of the neck, about an inch back, anchoring my thumb on a home made ramp.

We have our own studio, and we record each session . . . and my E string is really dominant when we listen to the CD after practice.

Thanks,
Vince

[broadcaster]

Ironically Vince, I had an 2002 black AS Fender Jazz that had the very same issue - strong E string. That was the reason I ended up selling it, too much bottom on the E, not balanced with the other strings. I tried lowering the pup, changing strings and all that stuff, but it remained dominant on the big fella. The top strings where too quiet. Very nice bass otherwise.

This won't help you but, I now own a 60's Classic Fender J. It is balanced and big sounding on all strings. Nice meaty neck with vintage frets and a bigger radius. It loves to funk with flats or 7150's.

I hope you can get your bass sorted out and fixed without having to sell and re-purchase another like I did.

[4mal]

Yep dropping the pickup, a more balanced pickup set or one with adjustable pole pieces' maybe ? Strings for sure - but how'z about cutting down the bass on your channel strip. I tend to cut below 200 pretty agressively and then boost in the 300 range to make up for the lost energy. What I'm trying to achieve - and generally do - is to free up space for the kick. It's odd but there is a whole lot of bass energy to be had in that mid rangey area when recording. It is not a tone I would be happy with live, but on tape it works well in the band context.

You might also think about moving your picking hand back a bit. Up by the neck, you're in pretty rich territory harmonically - and that isn't always the best place to be when recording.

I'm pretty high on Lawrence at the moment. Administratively - they are kind of a train wreck but the pickups are awfully good - and the price is way reasonable given the quality of the pickup. They are real well balanced.

[Vince a]

Thanks guys . . . every little bit helps . . . I just may start to use the fretless PB more for recording . . . but I'll try playing over the bridge pup a little more, maybe go back to roundwound strings . . . . . . . nah!

[rdchapman]

Vince, I find that along with the bass, the room and how you record the bass and other instruments can make a huge difference in listening to playback. Do you listen in the same room you record in? That can make an imbalanced sound worse. Also I find if I can DI the bass to record and get as much of it out of the room (and small rooms are worse IMHO), the better I do and the flatter the bass sounds in terms of string to string response in the recording. Try to isolate the bass cab as much as possible or record the Bass Di with nothing else to see if the bass or the room is the issue.
Richard

[4mal]

I take my pre straight to the recorder and use headphones. I have a couple of great DI's to work with for going straight in but I find it easier to dial in a sound with the pre before hitting the board. The day I walk in and find a pristine B-15 with an RE-20 or Neuman on it - you can bet I'll give that a shot! As it is I'm sticking with what works fast.

I have done some pretty cool tracks at home using my Princeton Reverb and a combination of different mic's but it is really labor intensive to get it setup. If the band is paying for the studio time, I just want to get my tracks down as efficiently as possible and save the dough for guitars, vocals and drums.