Strings hitting the p/u pole pieces on Starfire

planetguy · Jun 8, 2016

Ok, i've got a '67 SF II that i love but i have a problem w the strings hitting the pole pieces of the neck p/u when i dig in.

i'm a long time FENDER player but mostly i do play w a light touch on my 34" basses and i seriously lighten my touch even more on the SF! but still....

i do use lighter strings....40 to 95 on my 34" basses and a 45 - 105 set on the SF. i even went so far as to remove the stock wooden piece that the p/u sits on and replaced it w a thinner shim.

and still...there's that god awful sound of the strings hitting the pole pieces every now and then!

ideas? advice? salutations????

Happy Face · Jun 8, 2016

Have you checked the height of the pole pieces? Unlike many pickups, you can lower them.

Otherwise, not sure what to suggest.

mavuser · Jun 8, 2016

try to raise the bridge a little. most SF basses ive seen are not low-action instruments. seen one or 2 exceptions, in those cases the string did touch the pickup sometimes. just raise the bridge a little bit. with those light gauge strings you should be able to work with it, playability wise. even if action increases a little. you may not even notice a difference or even like it better. not gonna hurt the tone that is for sure!

mellowgerman · Jun 9, 2016

if the pole pieces can't be lowered more, try removing the trim/mounting ring

planetguy · Jun 13, 2016

Happy Face said:
Have you checked the height of the pole pieces? Unlike many pickups, you can lower them.

Otherwise, not sure what to suggest.

yeah, still a problem with 'em perfectly flush!

mavuser said:
try to raise the bridge a little. most SF basses ive seen are not low-action instruments. seen one or 2 exceptions, in those cases the string did touch the pickup sometimes. just raise the bridge a little bit. with those light gauge strings you should be able to work with it, playability wise. even if action increases a little. you may not even notice a difference or even like it better. not gonna hurt the tone that is for sure!

it's not stoopid low action now, not like my P or other basses...but i AM a weenie when it comes to string gauge and action. I don't like to work ANY harder than i need to!

mellowgerman said:
if the pole pieces can't be lowered more, try removing the trim/mounting ring

HMMMM. I hadn't thought of that 'cos i thought that mounting ring was necessary! gonna have to try that, thanks!

and thanks for the help and replies, guys.

lungimsam · Jun 14, 2016

You can sand that pup ring, too, to lower the pup a little. That fixed the prob I had on my NS Starfire.

planetguy · Jun 15, 2016

lungimsam said:
You can sand that pup ring, too, to lower the pup a little. That fixed the prob I had on my NS Starfire.

thanks lungimsam, but...

planetguy said:
i even went so far as to remove the stock wooden piece that the p/u sits on and replaced it w a thinner shim.

and still...there's that god awful sound of the strings hitting the pole pieces every now and then!

mgod · Jun 21, 2016

That's feature, not a bug.

edwin · Jun 21, 2016

mavuser said:
try to raise the bridge a little. most SF basses ive seen are not low-action instruments. seen one or 2 exceptions, in those cases the string did touch the pickup sometimes. just raise the bridge a little bit. with those light gauge strings you should be able to work with it, playability wise. even if action increases a little. you may not even notice a difference or even like it better. not gonna hurt the tone that is for sure!

My Starfire has very nice low action! Some of the best playability of any bass I've had. Low action, no buzzing, and very smooth all around the neck. I like to experiment with putting more relief in the neck, which is interesting. Still low action by the nut but it gets higher up by the 12th fret so I can really dig into chordal stuff there.

mavuser · Jun 21, 2016

edwin said:
My Starfire has very nice low action! Some of the best playability of any bass I've had. Low action, no buzzing, and very smooth all around the neck. I like to experiment with putting more relief in the neck, which is interesting. Still low action by the nut but it gets higher up by the 12th fret so I can really dig into chordal stuff there.

yes, I concurr with that, was mainly referring to the upper frets, and also in comparisson to other/Fender basses, that can sometimes have super low action, but I am no professional (as u are). The SFs I own are all set up real nice, but I like the bridge high, and do not mind higher action (a little) at the higher frets. i think if anything it sounds better with a little extra clearance higher up the neck. not sure why!

Ive seen some Guild basses with the bridge all the way down on the body, so my initial post was more to say raise the bridge than raise the action. no complaints here!

edwin · Jun 21, 2016

mgod said:
That's feature, not a bug.

Hah!

Strings hitting the p/u pole pieces on Starfire

planetguy

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Happy Face

Justified Ancient of MuMu

mavuser

Enlightened Member

mellowgerman

Senior Member

planetguy

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lungimsam

Senior Member

planetguy

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mgod

Gone But Not Forgotten

edwin

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mavuser

Enlightened Member

edwin

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