Fender Pickup Height Calculator & Specs Guide
Free Fender pickup height chart & calculator. Get the ideal pickup-to-string gap for Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jazzmaster, Jaguar and Precision Bass in mm or 64ths, plus a raise/lower recommendation from your current measurement.
🎸 Pickup Height Calculator
Get the ideal pickup-to-string gap for your guitar, then a recommendation off your current measurement.
📏 How to Measure Pickup Height
- Fret the string at the last (highest) fret
- Measure from the top of the pickup pole piece to the bottom of the string
- Record the bass side (low E) and treble side (high E) gaps
- Adjust the pickup-height screws in 1/4 turns, then re-check
Accessibility: A tuner or ruler works; a dedicated gap gauge is easier. Adjust one pickup at a time.
Set your Fender's pickups to the ideal gap — the tool below gives you the verified bass/treble target for your Strat, Tele, Jazzmaster, Jaguar or Precision Bass, then turns your current measurement into a concrete raise/lower adjustment.
Quick answer: Fender single-coil pickups typically sit around 2.0mm (5/64") bass / 1.6mm (4/64") treble at the bridge, with the neck pickup slightly higher. Wide pickups (Jazzmaster/Jaguar) and the P-Bass split-coil sit lower. Use the calculator below for your exact model and position.
Fender Pickup Height Chart (Starting Points)
These are starting specs for the most common Fenders, drawn from Fender's pickup-type tables and our model guides. The calculator above serves your exact model/position.
| Model | Pickup | Bass side | Treble side |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stratocaster | bridge | 2.0mm (5/64") | 1.6mm (4/64") |
| Stratocaster | middle | 2.4mm (3/32") | 2.0mm (5/64") |
| Stratocaster | neck | 2.4mm (3/32") | 2.0mm (5/64") |
| Telecaster | bridge | 2.0mm (5/64") | 1.6mm (4/64") |
| Telecaster | neck | 2.4mm (3/32") | 2.0mm (5/64") |
| Jazzmaster | bridge | 3.2mm (8/64") | 2.4mm (6/64") |
| Jazzmaster | neck | 3.2mm (8/64") | 2.4mm (6/64") |
| Jaguar | bridge | 2.0mm (5/64") | 1.6mm (4/64") |
| Precision Bass, vintage-style or Noiseless split-coil | split | 3.2mm (8/64") | 2.4mm (6/64") |
| Precision Bass, standard P split-coil | split | 2.8mm (7/64") | 2.0mm (5/64") |
Fender publishes its pickup references by pickup type rather than model name, so the Stratocaster, Telecaster and Jaguar rows above are position-based starting points mapped onto those type tables, and the Jazzmaster rows are community-standard starting points — no Jazzmaster-specific Fender row exists. The same applies to the Precision Bass: a vintage-style/Noiseless split-coil and a standard P pickup have different starting points, so identify the installed pickup before choosing a row. All values are measured with the outer strings held at the last fret. Note that Fender's older factory setup specs page lists the standard bass pickup row as 6/64" bass / 5/64" treble — where the two pages differ, this chart follows the bass-specific pickup-type table. The P-Bass pickup-height guide covers the full method and how to identify your pickup.
How to Set Fender Pickup Height
- Press the last fret down on the string so it rests on the fret
- Measure from the top of the pole piece to the bottom of the string with a string ruler
- Use the calculator to confirm the ideal bass/treble target for your model + position
- Turn the pickup height screws in tiny steps (roughly 0.5mm at a time) and re-measure
- Re-tune first — pickup height is always measured at playing tension
Strat tip: Fender Strat pickups are graduated — the bridge sits closest, the neck furthest. The middle pickup is usually slightly lower than the neck.
Jazzmaster/Jaguar tip: These have wider, flatter pickups that sit lower than Strat/Tele pickups — don't try to bring them as close to the strings as a Strat's.
P-Bass tip: The split-coil has a bass side (E-A strings) and treble side (D-G strings). Set each side by its own measurement.
Related Fender Setup Resources
- Fender Setup Specs Lookup — full factory specs (action, relief, pickup height) for your Fender model
- Stratocaster Pickup Height Adjustment — step-by-step for Strats
- Telecaster Pickup Height Adjustment — Tele bridge and neck pickups
- Jazzmaster Pickup Height Adjustment — JM-specific wide pickups
- Jaguar Pickup Height Adjustment — Jaguar-specific
- P-Bass Pickup Height Adjustment — bass-specific
- Guitar Setup Calculator — action + relief + pickup height in one snapshot
