paulnb57 Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 (edited) So I have a project on the go, I have an Epiphone EB-0 neck which I hope to marry up to an unrouted for pickups Coronado body (its in the mail)... I hear all the time about locating a pickup on the sweet spot, between bridge and neck position (?) ala MM....so, on a short 30inch scale, how do I determine where the sweet spot is? Or to put it another way (if the sweet spot is a myth) where should I locate the pup? I intend to recycle the EB-0 parts from the bass that supplied the neck, so Mudbucker/Sidewinder it is! Although I do have a Mustang bridge that I will use.... I may just put it where it is on the EB, unless someone suggests otherwise would be beneficial..... Thanks in anticipation... Paul Edited October 19, 2015 by paulnb57 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 If you can describe the pickup position in terms of the (virtual) fret number it should make it easier to translate to a different scale length. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Get the measurement from the center of the pickup to a reference point such as the bridge (harder since the saddles are staggered), nut, or 12th fret on a real Stingray. Then divide by 34 and multiply by 30 and you should get the equivalent distance for a 30" scale bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acebassmusic Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Have a look at the following. It probably will cause more questions than give answers....lol [url="http://buildyourguitar.com/resources/lospennato/index.htm"]http://buildyourguitar.com/resources/lospennato/index.htm[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertbass Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 On the other hand, you could just wire the pickup straight to an amp and hold it above the strings and move it up and down the strings until you get the sound that you like. That will be the place to mount the pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 For ref, the centreline of a Stingray pup is 344mm from the 12th fret. Scaled down for a 30" neck this would be 303mm. Same measurement to centreline of a P pup is 295mm (or 260mm for a 30" neck) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Surely the sweet spot is subjective , as some want a punchy sound and some want bassy, therefore the pick up being biased towards either bridge or neck , will deliver desired results Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 I agree with the suggestions that it depends on what you like/want to hear. There's no one best position and I suspect that the actual pickup type will influence where you'll end up placing it as much as a position chosen relative to the locations of the vibration antinodes/nodes along the string (in other words a humbucker might well sound good in a position that a single coil won't and vice versa). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 I don't really believe in so-called sweet spots because such a spot would move every time you fretted a note ... but that's not to say that pickups don't sound different in different positions. However, where you position the pickup will need to take account of the string spacing in relation to the spacing of the poles of the pickup. You'll want them to match up. Similarly, You'll need to position the bridge carefully to get the right scale length - a Coronado has a 21 fret neck and 30" scale but an Epiphone EBO has only 20 frets but a 30.5" scale. If you are using the Epiphone neck you will need to use the Epiphone scale length. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulnb57 Posted October 20, 2015 Author Share Posted October 20, 2015 Thanks for the replies folks The Coronado body is someone elses unfinished project, bare wood and is only routed for neck and the f holes are done, so its a blank canvas......the neck pocket and the EB-0 neck are the same dimensions so the neck should fit, perhaps with a little fettling, then its a matter of locating the bridge at the EB-0 scale length, which I will measure on the neck donor.....rout for the pickup, drill for the wiring and pots etc and paint, if the poles on the EB-0 pickup are far enough apart to go for the MM position then thats where it will go, if not it will be centred on the 24th fret location as it was on the donor...... I've built several partscaster guitars so am fairly confident its achievable....... Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3below Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Much good advice above about what sound you want and the 'sweet spot' moving with different fret positions plus the string spacing issue. Be bold, engineer a sliding pickup like the Gibson Grabber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 [quote name='paulnb57' timestamp='1445371633' post='2891056'] Thanks for the replies folks The Coronado body is someone elses unfinished project, bare wood and is only routed for neck and the f holes are done, so its a blank canvas......the neck pocket and the EB-0 neck are the same dimensions so the neck should fit, perhaps with a little fettling, then its a matter of locating the bridge at the EB-0 scale length, which I will measure on the neck donor.....rout for the pickup, drill for the wiring and pots etc and paint, if the poles on the EB-0 pickup are far enough apart to go for the MM position then thats where it will go, if not it will be centred on the 24th fret location as it was on the donor...... I've built several partscaster guitars so am fairly confident its achievable....... Paul [/quote] Sounds good. Good luck with it. We will need to see pics of the progress please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulnb57 Posted October 20, 2015 Author Share Posted October 20, 2015 [quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1445372884' post='2891071'] Sounds good. Good luck with it. We will need to see pics of the progress please. [/quote] Consider it done.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 [quote name='3below' timestamp='1445372013' post='2891057'] Much good advice above about what sound you want and the 'sweet spot' moving with different fret positions plus the string spacing issue. Be bold, engineer a sliding pickup like the Gibson Grabber [/quote] Please don't, as sliding pick ups/ Gibson grabber are the work of the devil! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulnb57 Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 Not a hope in hell of me fabricating a sliding pup, I don't have the skills and even if I did, well, Meh!…. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatEric Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Reading all of the above and taking note. . . . . I was lucky enough to have a Westone Rail and I agree with EssentialTension, there are (to my ear) no real sweet spots. What it did teach me was that moving it a small distance - 10 to 15mm did change the tone. In essence - near bridge, more bark - less punch. Mid position way more punch, less bark and not too much mud. Neck - no bark, some punch and lots of mud! No, I'm not talking about canine mud fighting!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 As other have said, the 'sweet spot' is somewhat subjective. But another huge factor in placing the pickup is the tone of the pickup itself... I love the tone of the neck pickup on my Ric copy - it's a Kent Armstrong toaster style one. So when I bought a Lakland Decade, it was because it had the neck pickup in a similar position and I thought I'd get a similar tone. I don't. It sounds completely different. With the Jazz Bass bridge pickup, I have a 70s one and it's a little too barky on it's own to be honest. I always end up blending a bit of the neck PU with it. On the 90s jazz I can use the pickup on its own no problem, same pickups (Wizard, 74s custom wound) with 1/2 an inch difference in position. So the 'sweet spot' is finding the right pickup and the right location for [u]that[/u] pickup in my opinion. e.g. muddy pickup, put it nearer the bridge to add bark. This is why somtimes people replace their pickups to something with a different tone, they could get a similar effect by moving the pickup they have, but on an already made bass that is messy. You have the luxury of choosing from two separate variables. Your best bet would be knocking up something like Leo Fenders plank, screw the neck and bridge to it, string it up and move the pickup you have chosen to fit until you like the sound. Measure it, and put it there on the real body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iiipopes Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 String up the bass. Wire up the pickup outside of the instrument. While playing, have a friend hold the pickup close to the strings and move it along the length of the strings, from closer to the neck to closer to the bridge, until you find a spot where you like the tone. I used to have a cheap ceramic J-pickup that I used as a test pickup to do just that when figuring out where I wanted the pickups on my custom half-fanned P/J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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