Paul S Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 (edited) A while back I bought a Hohner B2V that wasn't working properly by way of an introduction into the world of 5ers. Someone had converted it at some point from passive to active and I have now put it back to passive as I prefer passive basses. I now like everything about it apart from the tone, which hasn't changed a great deal going from active to passive, so I am considering changing the pickups to something better or, at least, more to my liking. It is currently sporting Duncan Designed EMG type pickups that are small! EMG35 sized, even though it is a 5er - it has very narrow string spacing. However, all the 5 string soapbars I look at are bigger! And yet these current ones work just fine. So this is the daft question - is a soapbar pickup capable of working equally well with a 4 string or 5 string bass? So if I bought, for example, an Aguilar DCB G3 4 string set, which are the same size as the EMG35 shells on my current pups, would they work? My guess is that they must do, otherwise it wouldn't work properly at the moment, but that comes from a position of not knowing anything Muchas gracias! Edited December 18, 2016 by Paul S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 I think if the emgs work, then those aguilar ones should too. They both have bar magnets, so should work about the same on a narrow spaced 5er. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 That is the exact answer I was hoping for! Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 Unlike the guitar where it nearly always means a P90 style design, "soapbar" pickups on a bass are any rectangular shape wider than a J-type pickup and can have pretty much anything lurking under the cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 A bit like 'lipstick' can have anything inside it, as I found out when I asked some while back! Yes, some notional reading around told me that. The Aguilars say they have ceramic bar magnets, which implies they should work across the whole width but, just to be sure, a bit earlier I shot off an email to the Aguilar tech people so they will hopefully be able to give me a definitive answer. They are not cheap to buy without absolute certainty they will do the job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 (edited) Heard back from the man at Aguilar [size=4]'[font=Calibri, sans-serif]The DCB G3 would be an excellent choice for your bass. You are correct that the G3 will be an exact fit. Since the bar magnet runs the entire length of the pickup, it will work fine'[/font] [font=Calibri, sans-serif]Perfect![/font][/size] Edited December 19, 2016 by Paul S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 Phew! Glad my guessy advice was bourn out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted December 20, 2016 Author Share Posted December 20, 2016 Well, you nudged me along a bit in the right direction! I've ordered a set now from GAK, out of stock currently but I'm in no hurry. £185 for a pair, which is some way cheaper than anywhere else. Mind you anywhere else could justifiably say that when they haven't got them they are also £185 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.