Silly question. Why the slanted pickup?..... Update 3rd Feb.. Jon Shukers reasonings

[ZenBasses]

Might seemed silly one but why are some neck pups mounted on an angle?

I am going to guess it's to give a more even output to each string

Or maybe it's not

The pups in question are Seymour Duncan MM + J quarter pounder if that makes a difference




So emailed Jon about my build and tossed this over to him. This is his reply


The main reason why it is slanted, which should be obvious..... is that the spacing of the magnets suits a wider spacing, so inclining it aligns the poles, if it was square then the poles would look untidy. If the poles were the correct spacing for the bridge and MM pickup then I would have routed it square. The second reason, which isn't quite as important as number one is that inclining it gives a better access for those slap and poppers (since the MM takes up so much room!) and thirdly is that is does look quite groovy like that, but wouldn't if the poles were out of alignment! Also the pickup is quarterpounder, so its loud, inclining the pickup does increase the bass / treble balance which is not a bad thing on a J pickup, trying to get a more P sound from a J. So style and looks come third/fourth!


So now we know.. Style also has a function Edited February 3, 2013 by ZenBasses

[voxpop]

Don't know but it looks cool.

[Sean]

It slants the wrong way to achieve even outputs from each string in the way a P pickup is effectively the wrong way round unless it's a reverse P.

My guess at why it's like that is because it looks cool rather than any technical reason.

Edited January 27, 2013 by Sean

[ZenBasses]

Thanks the replies.

I shall have to ask Jon when I next speak to him... See what his reasonings for it are. He certainly makes a few in this Config....

Interesting!!

[LukeFRC]

... cos the fella making that bass bought a bridge pup by mistake and had to fit it in somehow

[Lozz196]

Its funny but I`ve always looked at slanted pickups and thought "I want more bass on the thinner strings, not less".

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1359279030' post='1952297']
Its funny but I`ve always looked at slanted pickups and thought "I want more bass on the thinner strings, not less".
[/quote]

Dingwall pups slant back the correct way (i.e. 'theoretically' more bass on the treble strings and tighter on the bass) and as has been said the traditional P bass pup positioning doesn't make sense... though it still sounds as you'd expect (Warwick got it the right way around on the SSI and reversed the P ).

[neepheid]

To fit in with the slanted neck heel, of course

[ZenBasses]

The 2 extremes Edited January 27, 2013 by ZenBasses

[merlin]

just so cool looking,,no idear why otherwise.

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='voxpop' timestamp='1359277758' post='1952283']
Don't know but it looks cool.
[/quote]

+1

Although I imagine there is a small shifting of the bass/treble balance slightly I think its primarily cosmetic.

Might also help align the strings directly over the pole pieces in the case where the pickup pole spacing is wider than the string spacing at that point.

Edited January 27, 2013 by bassman7755

[Dr.Dave]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1359278792' post='1952294']
... cos the fella making that bass bought a bridge pup by mistake and had to fit it in somehow
[/quote]

That may well be true - luthiers have to be practical like anyone else.

When Jon was making mine I asked about the advantages of the individual brodge/saddle pieces - he gave me the theoretical blurb then said the real reason he uses them is it doesn't matter if a customer wants a 4 , 5 or 6 string - he just puts his hand in the box and fishes out the correct number without the need to keep tons of different bridges in stock !

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1359281595' post='1952335']
+1

Although I imagine there is a small shifting of the bass/treble balance slightly I think its primarily cosmetic.
[/quote]

People talk often enough of the 'sweet spot' for pup location and certain folk will swear blind that the 70's placement of the rear Jazz pup is better than the 60's so there 'should' be tonal difference with the way that a pup is angled!

[Fat Rich]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1359279030' post='1952297']
Its funny but I`ve always looked at slanted pickups and thought "I want more bass on the thinner strings, not less".
[/quote]

I experimented when I used to make basses and I came to the same conclusion. It's a fairly subtle difference but I think it produces a more balanced sound having the E string end of the pickup nearer the bridge and the G end nearer the neck.

[Prime_BASS]

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1359282277' post='1952345']
I experimented when I used to make basses and I came to the same conclusion. It's a fairly subtle difference but I think it produces a more balanced sound having the E string end of the pickup nearer the bridge and the G end nearer the neck.
[/quote]

Correct, it's to do with the weird tensions you get on each string.

A few fixes for a better balance are: slanting the pickups the way you describe, the fan fret system from Dingwall(effectively changes each strings scale length to get a better tension on each one) and then the weird string gauges that were brought up before Christmas, Alex Claber seems to use this.

If I'm honest it all still sounds like bass, but I really dig the way Warwick Thumb's sound.

[Prime_BASS]

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1359281879' post='1952339']
People talk often enough of the 'sweet spot' for pup location and certain folk will swear blind that the 70's placement of the rear Jazz pup is better than the 60's so there 'should' be tonal difference with the way that a pup is angled!
[/quote]

'Sweet spot' is still about abother 1.5cm closer to the neck on a 60's spaced jazz bridge pickup though, and it it's still down to each instruments scale length too.

[EssentialTension]

Surely the 'sweet spot' moves everytime you fret a note.

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1359283195' post='1952358']
'Sweet spot' is still about abother 1.5cm closer to the neck on a 60's spaced jazz bridge pickup though, and it it's still down to each instruments scale length too.
[/quote]

I was loosely referring to the fact that Fender Jazz bass pup placement varies with era (all 4 string Fender Jazz basses are the same scale length) and you defo get a different tone from the pup placement so the slanting of pups can't be purely cosmetic.

[DiMarco]

Fender relocated the bridge pu in the seventies because it was sticking out of the bridge pickup cover. Purely cosmetic.
The fact it sounds cool for slapping was pure luck on their side.

[Dood]

Re OP, It's really a lot simpler than that - one of the main reasons originally for slanting the pickup was to make the poles fit under the strings. It means you can use a longer pickup on a more narrow string spacing. You'll have seen this on guitars such as the Stratocaster.

The other advantage of rotating this type of pickup round means that the two poles per string pictured are closer to the string and therefore will change the tone fractionally also. I would guess that you'd get a more even attack and more sustain as the string dies away.

With the plethora of different pick up sizes that are now available, I think that there's probably less reason from a sound point of view to need to slant the pickup - but now more to do with aesthetics maybe? I think it looks cool anyway! I suppose that if you had a particularly favourite pickup you'd want to install which was too long, then slanting it would make it fit lol!

[discreet]

It bothers my OCD to have one pickup on the slant and one not! And although I love Dingwalls from a playing perspective, in bothers me that the pickups are slanted at a different angle to the bridge and the end of the fretboard...

...and yes, I fully realise there are many more important things to worry about. Do I need therapy? Probably.

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1359287568' post='1952424']
It bothers my OCD to have one pickup on the slant and one not! And although I love Dingwalls from a playing perspective, in bothers me that the pickups are slanted at a different angle to the bridge and the end of the fretboard...

...and yes, I fully realise there are many more important things to worry about. Do I need therapy? Probably.
[/quote]

No need for therapy, I can help with your Dingwall proble...

[IMG]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/warwickhunt/100_2338.jpg[/IMG]

My Dingwall has the neck end/pups/bridge appropriately angled!

[BigRedX]

I'm with discrete on this one in thinking that most of the time it looks horrible.

If it's been done to align the pole-pieces then the wrong pickups are being used. (BTW if the pole-pieces aren't individually adjustable is there any advantage in using them over a rail?)

I'm yet to be convinced that there is a significant enough tonal advantage to counteract how terrible it looks.

Also if you play with your thumb anchored on the pickup cover the slanting edge is bloody uncomfortable.

The worst offenders are Warwick and surprisingly (considering how much attention to detail is paid to the rest of the instrument) Ritter. Here they look like the router template slipped rather than a deliberate design decision. Also considering that both these manufacturers use their own bespoke pickups there is no reason why the ends couldn't be angled so that they run parallel to the strings, or even better the whole pickup housed in a straight sided cover, beneath which it can be at whatever jaunty angle the manufacturer thinks is best.

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1359289782' post='1952460']
Also if you play with your thumb anchored on the pickup cover the slanting edge is bloody uncomfortable.
[/quote]

Not on all basses! I've found that the actual shaping of the cover is far move vital; I HATE pup covers that have a razor sharp edge. Fender/MEC/Seymour Duncan/EMG are all guilty, yet Bartolini (and Bartolini/Dingwall) are lovely to rest on. I actually find the fact that the Dingwall pups angle away and are well rounded on the edge, means that my thumb rests beautifully. I've got a set of Wizard pups in my Fender Roadworn and again they are really nice to rest upon.

[discreet]

[size=4][quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1359288332' post='1952436']
No need for therapy, I can help with your Dingwall problem...
My Dingwall has the neck end/pups/bridge appropriately angled!
[/quote][/size]
It's certainly an improvement - and I thank you for that - but though the bridge pup and bridge are aligned and the neck pup and fretboard angle are aligned, [i]they are still out of alignment with each other![/i] I can see I'll have to have words with Sheldon and get a custom number sorted!!

Edited January 27, 2013 by discreet