Most bass guitars feature an adjustment system of screws which can be tightened or loosening to raise or lower pickups, typically via springs. Tightening these screws will lower pickups while loosening will raise them.
Some brands of basses utilize foam underneath, in order to pressurize the pickups up. Over time, however, this cushion may begin to deflate and no longer provide adequate pressure.
Adjust the Strings
Though factory specs for pickups can provide you with a general idea, each bass guitar, string gauge and playing style require adjustments in order to find their optimal sound. This is especially true when it comes to pickup height: too low will force fretting the strings without incurring buzz; too high and you risk sacrificing some of their natural resonance and clarity.
If this is your first time adjusting bass pickups, loosen each saddle’s setscrew (Photos 15 and 16). Next use a pocket ruler or machinist’s rule to measure from the bottom of each string to its respective pole piece to determine its height – this will determine your saddle height on that string; adjust accordingly until it reaches manufacturer-spec factory specs before repeating this process on other strings.
An app designed to tune strings is also beneficial; this will enable you to set each string to its ideal pitch and keep your bass in tune as you adjust its pickups.
Most basses feature small adjustment screws at both the upper treble-side and lower bass-side corners of each pickup for fine-tuning the pickup height. You can easily do this using a medium Phillips-head screwdriver – clockwise to lower, counterclockwise to raise. When making any such adjustments it is wise to do them slowly and carefully as even small modifications to pickup height can have significant ramifications on overall bass response.
If the bridge saddles are too high, play the low E string at a higher fret (15th fret is an ideal place to begin). When playing this string at higher frets you should hear a “warbling” sound indicating that magnets are clashing against strings and making them go out of tune; adjust saddles until this noise goes away.
If your truss rod adjustment is too tight, the neck will be pulled down flat which will reduce neck relief and consequently lower your action. This should be easily identifiable if there is consistent fret buzz between any five frets up the neck. Loosen the nut by quarter turn before tuning your strings again to check neck action again.
Tighten the Pickups
Pickup height adjustment is one of the easiest and most beneficial adjustments you can make to a bass guitar, having an enormous effect on tone while being easy to do. Your goal should be to position the pickups so they are at just the right distance from strings: too low and you will experience quacky tones while too high will interfere with up-neck playing; there will likely be an optimum spot which differs for every guitar, pickup and player combination – you just have to find it!
Adjusting pickups is simple by turning the adjustment screws located beneath each pickup. Be sure to use a suitable screwdriver so as not to damage the finish on your bass when making changes – and try making these changes while in playing position so you can hear how each adjustment affects its tone.
Adjusting pickups involves gradual movements while listening carefully for any sound changes caused by each adjustment. You won’t likely get it perfect on the first try and may need to repeat this process multiple times until you are content with the result. Once complete, tighten the screws until they can no longer be turned as loose screws may fall off and make playing strings unwieldy or noisy.
Dependent upon the type of bass you own, there are various ways of setting its pickups. Some basses feature set screws for each pickup that are conveniently located in one spot on each pickup, allowing easy rotation; other basses use individual sets of screws per pickup that can be tightened or loosened to alter its sound; you may also be able to raise or lower pole pieces at the top of pickups to change overall sound of bass.
Tighten the Polepieces
As strings vibrate, they also cause the pole piece to move upward or downward in response. This adjustment allows strings to get closer to the pickup for maximum output; tightening its screw passes through a spring that tightens when tightening tightens to raise pole piece while simultaneously lowering pickup (a tightening will raise pole piece but lower pickup, vice versa). Each pickup contains two screws which can be adjusted this way; typically known as pole piece screws on a humbucker guitar they can be found by looking under its pickguard cover (honey guitar).
Adjusting pole pieces requires depressing the string at its last fret and measuring the distance from its bottom end to the head of the pole piece screw (on uncovered pickups). However, this should only serve as a general guideline; to determine how close or far your pole pieces should be set is best done through listening carefully to each string’s output.
Most bass pickups are typically calibrated so that G string output is highest, followed by E, B and finally A/D string outputs. This is due to most bass players using thicker gauge strings which require greater output from their pickups.
Typically speaking, the further away a string is from its respective pickup, the louder it will sound and the more aggressive its tone will become. On the other hand, being too close could hinder resonance between notes produced sound – or in extreme cases may prevent the string from vibrating out which leads to intonation problems and warbly tones in your playing.
So to prevent this from happening, start by lowering the pole pieces so that the strings are almost level with the pickups. From there, adjust each pole piece individually for more balanced string response or, as some prefer, slightly increase mids and treble by setting the treble side of a humbucker higher than its bass side for added mids and treble.
Tighten the Screws
If your pickups have become loose during setup or have shifted during the setup process, they must be tightened accordingly and likely need new strings so they remain oriented correctly (you don’t want your E-string and G-string to collide when playing).
Loose screws may allow the pickups to shift and produce different sounds, while they could also fall off into the pickup cavity and damage your guitar.
Reinstalling screws usually isn’t that difficult; just be wary not to exert too much force when doing so, as excessive force could splinter dowels and dent your guitar’s finish.
Most bass pickups are attached with screws that have either a phillips-head or slotted-head for adjustment purposes. Turning these clockwise will lower and counterclockwise will raise pickups – similarly, humbuckers can be adjusted on their mounting rings, although with Strat-style pickups it must be done carefully or they could end up dropping into the body of your guitar!
Some bass pickups feature individual pole pieces with adjustable screws with standard or slotted heads to enable fine-tuning string balance. Although not necessary to adjust overall pickup height, these may prove helpful in fine-tuning string balance.
Keep in mind when setting the pickup height that individual preferences may necessitate adjustments beyond recommended ranges. For instance, players who strike down instead of across will often need to raise their pickups slightly higher to prevent string collisions with magnets and avoid them sounding dull or muddy.
If your screws won’t stay tight, it could be down to springs or mounting hardware itself. Spring tension can wear down over time or they could have been improperly installed; either way it may be challenging for them to properly grip pickups and secure themselves properly in their slots. In such instances, new high-quality springs and mounting hardware might be in order.