Strings over Poles

[Guest WilliamV]

Had a look. Couldn't find anything on here, but could online elsewhere. Google search. Still no definitive answers.

Just how critical is it that the strings are directly over the poles on pickups?

On the recent one that I am building, the strings do not align over the poles on neither the neck or bridge pickups. Nowhere near actually. Well... Maybe about a strings width away with all four.

I would post a pic but it is under construction and the neck is not attached. But will update with a pic after the cavities are routed out completely.

Edited February 23, 2021 by WilliamV

[itu]

Magnetic field is not very "sharp" within a bass pickup context. Bigger issue is if the balance between strings is not even. It is not a bad thing to have pickup poles right under the strings, but some tolerance is usually accepted before the sound is affected.

[SlapbassSteve]

I agree with the above- a pickup should in theory generate a magnetic field rather than a magnetic beam, so as long as the strings are in the general vicinity of the pickups they should induct signal fine, especially if all strings are a consistent distance from each polepiece.

...with that said, I've worked on some basses, particularly ones with '51 P pickups, where the pickups are ridiculously directional... I'd love to understand a little more on the ins and outs of magnets, inductance, etc to know why!

In the realms of conjecture I'd imagine a lower output pickup with magnetic polepieces would be more directional than a higher output pickup with a bar magnet underneath, or a blade style design, for example...

Short answer- depends what pickups you have, but it's probably fine!

[PlungerModerno]

If it sounds good, it is good. It's a musical instrument ain't it! 

Seriously though, you can have a bass with a pickup whose poles are directly under the strings and have issues with uneven volume across the strings. It's nice if it lines up, but it rarely does with any real precision.

[Bigguy2017]

4 hours ago, PlungerModerno said:

If it sounds good, it is good. It's a musical instrument ain't it! 

Seriously though, you can have a bass with a pickup whose poles are directly under the strings and have issues with uneven volume across the strings. It's nice if it lines up, but it rarely does with any real precision.

"It's nice if it lines up, but it rarely does with any real precision."

It's not just Precisions, real or not...  😉

Have a look at the MM Old Smoothie - 5 pole pickup with 4 strings.

[PlungerModerno]

7 hours ago, Bigguy2017 said:

Have a look at the MM Old Smoothie - 5 pole pickup with 4 strings.

Excellent suggestion.

A suggested experiment: bend a string at or above the 12th fret and listen to the volume as it changes position over the poles. This will be more subtle on bridge pickups (hopefully, unless a string on a saddle or the whole bridge starts moving!).

[Guest WilliamV]

11 hours ago, Bigguy2017 said:

"It's nice if it lines up, but it rarely does with any real precision."

It's not just Precisions, real or not...  😉

 

I don't think that he was meaning Precision Basses. As in Fender Precision Bass.

[Guest WilliamV]

11 hours ago, Bigguy2017 said:

Have a look at the MM Old Smoothie - 5 pole pickup with 4 strings.

Yes, but the strings are directly "in between" the poles. I think that the pickup was made this way for a specific reason.

[ikay]

On 23/02/2021 at 23:37, WilliamV said:

Just how critical is it that the strings are directly over the poles on pickups?

It depends on the type of pickup poles. Pickups with a 'double pole' configuration (eg. standard Fender) give a fairly broad and even magnetic field so string alignment isn't that critical. Pickups with single poles are far mores sensitive to string alignment. See vid below - if you jump to 3m 40s he demonstrates the effect of sideways displacement of the pickup which is quite significant.

 

Edited February 25, 2021 by ikay

[PlungerModerno]

15 hours ago, ikay said:

It depends on the type of pickup poles. Pickups with a 'double pole' configuration (eg. standard Fender) give a fairly broad and even magnetic field so string alignment isn't that critical. Pickups with single poles are far mores sensitive to string alignment. See vid below - if you jump to 3m 40s he demonstrates the effect of sideways displacement of the pickup which is quite significant.

 

Cool vid. I imagine if the pickup was a little farther from the strings the effect of being above or off the poles would be a lot more subtle, as the field will be more even farther from the poles.

[Killed_by_Death]

 

In Poland, the string must go OVER the Pole:

 

[ikay]

9 hours ago, PlungerModerno said:

Cool vid. I imagine if the pickup was a little farther from the strings the effect of being above or off the poles would be a lot more subtle, as the field will be more even farther from the poles.

Yes that's true. Lowering pickups can help to give a more even balance across the strings, but you also lose some punch and volume.

[Owen]

I have a custom wound set of pickups in one of my 5 strings. Getting them wired in was a nightmare because the artisan had used different coloured cables for the same job on 2 pickups. As we were investigating the whole thing we sprinkled metal filings on the casings. It turns out that the pickups have 4 pole pieces. That was another step in my dissapointment with them.

But there was a happy ending. As it turns out they work just fine and the 4 pole pieces were not an issue.

[Dabbler]

On 26/02/2021 at 19:11, owen said:

I have a custom wound set of pickups in one of my 5 strings. Getting them wired in was a nightmare because the artisan had used different coloured cables for the same job on 2 pickups. As we were investigating the whole thing we sprinkled metal filings on the casings. It turns out that the pickups have 4 pole pieces. That was another step in my dissapointment with them.

But there was a happy ending. As it turns out they work just fine and the 4 pole pieces were not an issue.

Turns out person paid to do their job knew what they were doing 😉

More applicable for guitar humbuckers, but I've always wondered what effect metal covers have on the magnetic fields of pickups?

[Owen]

2 hours ago, Dabbler said:

Turns out person paid to do their job knew what they were doing 😉

More applicable for guitar humbuckers, but I've always wondered what effect metal covers have on the magnetic fields of pickups?

If they had used corresponding colours on both pickups I would believe that they knew what they were doing.

[Killed_by_Death]

 

Wow, you folks just don't enjoy Polish jokes, do you?

 

10 hours ago, Dabbler said:

More applicable for guitar humbuckers, but I've always wondered what effect metal covers have on the magnetic fields of pickups?

It does affect it, but if it's the correct material it will have less effect, I think Nickel is the primary material, which is weird since our strings have Nickel & they're SUPPOSED to affect the magnetic field.

 

On 26/02/2021 at 14:11, owen said:

the artisan had used different coloured cables for the same job on 2 pickups

Many manufacturers do that, but it's about Polarity.

 

 

[Owen]

4 minutes ago, Killed_by_Death said:

Many manufacturers do that, but it's about Polarity.

All that stuff is way beyond me but it also foxed 3 very experienced techs.

[itu]

11 hours ago, Dabbler said:

More applicable for guitar humbuckers, but I've always wondered what effect metal covers have on the magnetic fields of pickups?

Most of the metals have very little effect on the field, if the cover is thin. There are very few materials that change the magnetic field a lot like mu-metal and soft (annealed) iron. But they are pretty rare, too. Of course thickness plays a role, because it starts to affect the distance after certain point. You probably would not do a cover that's 10 mm thick.

[DGBass]

On 24/02/2021 at 12:38, Bigguy2017 said:

"It's nice if it lines up, but it rarely does with any real precision."

It's not just Precisions, real or not...  😉

 

I must admit I can get a bit OCD with string and pickup alignment. Does it make a difference if your strings are floating to the left or right of the pole pieces or slap bang in the centre? Hmm difficult to tell sonically but if anything it looks better if the strings aren't all skewed to one side or the other. Some basses are better setup than others from the factory. String height probably affects the sound more than where it is in relation to the pole pieceThis particular bass needed a fair bit of work to the bridge position to get the strings aligned with each set of pole pieces. I don't think it really made a huge difference to the sound but it looked better and played better as the strings were more evenly spaced on the fingerboard.   

[itu]

The original Precision's name was referring to the frets, not anything else. Actual construction was meant to be cheap. Nothing bad in it, P is used a lot and could be compared to a hammer. Functional and robust.

Edited April 21, 2021 by itu

[Lfalex v1.1]

On 24/02/2021 at 12:38, Bigguy2017 said:

"It's nice if it lines up, but it rarely does with any real precision."

It's not just Precisions, real or not...  😉

Have a look at the MM Old Smoothie - 5 pole pickup with 4 strings.

See also;  the pickups in the Fender Roscoe Beck. Poles in between the strings.