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WHy do 6ers almost always have soapbars?


ThomBassmonkey
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[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1041194' date='Nov 29 2010, 02:28 PM']Just did a search on 6 string MM pickups and could only find one, I never really see any 6ers with J pups either, they all seem to be soapbars.

How come? :)

Thom[/quote]

Probably because thats the easiest design option - look at the way J or P type pups are used and you'll see that using them on a 6 string would need a radical redesign...

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[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1041194' date='Nov 29 2010, 02:28 PM']Just did a search on 6 string MM pickups and could only find one, I never really see any 6ers with J pups either, they all seem to be soapbars.

How come? :)

Thom[/quote]


Thom, they are out there - but yes, the 'soapbar' casing for a pickup is much easier and cheaper to manufacture - as it is possible to put different configurations inside the same shaped casing. (So, a 'soapbar' doesn't have a particular tone as such). For example - EMG do J pickups, they are just in the same shell as say a P style, or dual rails. - It also makes it easier for us suffering from G.A.S to swap out completely different types of pickups, if they are all in a similar shell! One day I could have a P bass pup, the next a musicman sounding pickup - but with the EMGs, they just slot right in and I don't even need a soldering iron :)

If you are specifically looking for a six string MM pup, then I recommend either Seymour Duncan or Delano off the top of my head as just two companies who manufacture such a beast!

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I was thinking about this earlier,

I'd love a 6 string with a single MM style humbucker (Bongo, or JM2 anybody?)

Or two Fat humbuckers (Warwick $$ or Bongo)

I guess, soapbars like discussed (and Dood Rightly said!) easy casing design/ convienient and also Soapbars them selves (at least i have always found) to be very versitile pickups,

and like all basses can be used how ever, From jazz to pop to metal,

Look at Bill Buddah Dickins and other jazz artists (though he has a 7 more often! just the first name to mind) to the bassists from Los Lonely boys and Alien Ant farm to John Myung of Dream Theater and Ryan whatsisname from Mudvyane :)

Edited by AttitudeCastle
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[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1041604' date='Nov 29 2010, 08:33 PM']So if soapbars are used because they can contain any kind of pickup, why aren't they used more on 4 and 5 strings?

Also, how are you supposed to know what pups are contained inside the soapbar case if they could potentially be a J or bucker?[/quote]

Using a soapbar on a 4 string is a more expensive option given the vast number of P and J type pups that are available to a manufacturer who is trying to create an instrument on a budget that people recognise.

Not really studied in depth what pups are on 5 string basses - mine has a pair of Bartolini soapbars that came as standard and work just fine.
You can get P & J type pups for a 5 string but, as there is a more limited market for them, I would have guessed that most manufacturers would go for soapbars from a cost and ease of fitting perspective.

You don't really need to know what's inside the soapbar - different brands have different characteristics and you (or the instrument manufacturer) just select the ones most suitable for the purpose.
I guess it's a bit like you don't need to know how your telly works to be able to enjoy it! :)

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5 strings seem to be mostly soapbars, but there are enough other ones that they're avoidable, unlike 6ers where the vast majority are soapbars.

I suppose I don't need to know what's happening inside, but it's not really like the difference betwen two buckers where they sound similar. To use your TV comparison, it's more like if it's LCD or Plasma, you'd probably want to know before you bought it which it was. :)

I just have a thing against soapbars, that's what made me wonder. With my rig and my fingers, they always sound a little flatter than MM pups and miss the sparkle of Js. I've only got limited experience with them with this rig so I'm not throwing all soapbars out of the window yet, but I do gravitate to other stuff. I'd love a Bongo 6, but for the difference between a 5 and 6, there's a huge price gap.

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[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1041641' date='Nov 29 2010, 09:01 PM']5 strings seem to be mostly soapbars, but there are enough other ones that they're avoidable, unlike 6ers where the vast majority are soapbars.

I suppose I don't need to know what's happening inside, but it's not really like the difference betwen two buckers where they sound similar. To use your TV comparison, it's more like if it's LCD or Plasma, you'd probably want to know before you bought it which it was. :)

I just have a thing against soapbars, that's what made me wonder. With my rig and my fingers, they always sound a little flatter than MM pups and miss the sparkle of Js. I've only got limited experience with them with this rig so I'm not throwing all soapbars out of the window yet, but I do gravitate to other stuff. I'd love a Bongo 6, but for the difference between a 5 and 6, there's a huge price gap.[/quote]

Yeah.
You can get 5 and 6 versions of P and J pups but the P type are two different sizes (making machining more fiddly) and the J pups are physically longer than the normal 4 string versions (again making machining more fiddly).
A soapbar just needs a rectangular shape hole and in it goes!

Soapbars are, as you say, avoidable, but I wonder what would happen to the overall price of the instrument?
I think there's also a "fashion" element to this as well - back in the 50's shiny chrome plated pups were [b]the[/b] thing - but you hardly ever see them on mass produced basses these days.

I find that my three soapbar basses all sound different to each other (which is why I have three of them!) and my JB is totally different again - I just tweak anything that doesn't sound "right" out of the equation using the tone controls.

I'm a born again luddite who embraces simplicity... :)

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[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='1041722' date='Nov 29 2010, 10:17 PM']Someone out there [i]must[/i] have a sixer with 3x split "P" pick-ups in.. 2strings per pick-up. The best way to make them hum-cancel would be a second set, (Buzzard style) and make them RW/RP with those! It'd look like someone had been playing dominoes all over your bass!![/quote]

Well, the Fender 5 string PB has a "two string" pup and a "three string" pup - so I guess someone could make a 6 string using two of the three string pups...

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