Pickup volume discrepancy on old Jazzmasters

[lnwt]

I have a '63 Fender Jazzmaster that I love.

I was brave enough to inspect pickups and adjust the height only when I first got the guitar.

I adjusted to my preferred tone of each of the pickups but that resulted in the neck being very noticeably louder than the bridge.

I rarely play live, so figured this didn't really matter a great deal. But I always wonder if I should risk stripping old scree heads and potential shrunken pickguard challenges to restore the balance. Does anyone contend with the same issue? Or have a preference for imbalance?

What's the correct relative output or height for each pickup, anyway?

[JSett]

Usually the sweet spot I've found is the neck pickup screwed down so the top face is basically level with the guard and the bridge one about 1/4" from the strings - and then adjusted to taste from there. It depends if you have a shim in the pocket too, and how big.

If you use the correct screwdriver you should be fine to not risk stripping anything. If you're super worried then undo one at a time and scrape it on a candle or something to use wax as a lubricant, then wind back in.

[Guitarman555]

I would not be worry to move the pickups, you can strip the pickguard at the spots where it touches pickup cover screw plastic holders. You will get the space for pickup to flow freely through the pick guard. There is usual issue: even if you increase the height of your bridge pick up on maximum that the screws let you, you will probably have to lower down the height of neck pickup to get on the volume balance.