Pickup positions

[bertbass]

I did say pluck.

[Hellzero]

38 minutes ago, Dazed said:

I’ve looked at those many times before, still wouldn’t do the job of a stingray and precision because one set of coils will always be in the wrong place, unless you had two side by side and were able to cross wire the selected coils. I think sims did a quad coil type pickup on some earlier Enfield (Cannon ?) basses that may cover enough area to do the Sray/P thing. 

 

Ibanez ATK seems like that may have been designed to do this very task. 
 

The ATK pickup won't do it either.

 

In this case, ask a pickups builder to make one for you.

 

Someone like Chistoph Dolf at BassCulture has built me some specific pickups with the exact specifications I was asking.

 

And he's not a greedy person at all.

 

Worth asking him: [email protected]

 

[Dazed]

Thanks @Hellzero I’m currently trawling the net looking at custom pickup builders. Seems that Rautia have stopped trading. 
ACG don’t sell their multicoil pickups separately. 

Edited July 14, 2023 by Dazed

[Hellzero]

1 hour ago, Dazed said:

Thanks @Hellzero I’m currently tweaking the net looking at custom pickup builders. Seems that Rautia have stopped trading. 
ACG don’t sell their multicoil pickups separately. 

Christoph also makes a well known Wal-like multi coils pickup (see W-Bucker here: https://hotwire-bass.de/hotwire-pickups) and his pickups also equip some high end Maruszczyk basses. 

[Dazed]

Bassculture are on my list too thanks Hellzero. 

[Dazed]

Going back to the pickup location/scale images. Has anyone seen one with fan fretted instruments?

 

Any talented folk here able to add a couple into the mix. 

Ibanez 1006ms:

 

Dingwall Super P 5:

Edited July 14, 2023 by Dazed

[Dazed]

Just hacked a rough version on my iPhone 

 

[itu]

How about a moving pickup?

- one of the first Alembics (Jefferson Airplane and...)

- Gibson Grabber

- Westone Rail

- Spalt vViper

Then you have all possible options available. Problem solved.

[Sparky Mark]

I would think that the characteristic sound of both Precisions and Stingrays is the sum of all their parts, not just the pickups. You may find that a different construction, perhaps to accommodate two pickups or a single movable pickup, achieves neither character that successfully.

A bass that could produce both the authentic tone of a passive Precision and the unique tone of the active Stingray would be an incredible achievement. 

[itu]

Oh dear, I can see the headlights going towards woods. The woods of Tone...

[Dazed]

As has been discussed as many times as the chicken/egg evolution, I agree that an instrument is the sum of all its parts and when two identical basses can sound different from each, as they generally do, then replicating that sound with an all together different mix of parts is always going to be an approximation. 

As far as I can see, similar pickup characteristics, location, and construction will provide the majority of that sound, tone woods and the like must have a tiny bearing on the end result. 

[Dazed]

4 hours ago, itu said:

How about a moving pickup?

- one of the first Alembics (Jefferson Airplane and...)

- Gibson Grabber

- Westone Rail

- Spalt vViper

Then you have all possible options available. Problem solved.

Often thought about that but I’ve not seen a system that I like that much. If they worked that well it would have become the standard. 
 

Wood and Tronics have a neat system, Variable Pickup Positioning all contained in a covered housing, without the usual holes left when the pick ups have moved position. 
 

THE VARIABLE PICKUPS POSITIONING SYSTEM

Our breakthrough innovation for unprecedented tone flexibility.

 

It is a fact that most bass players are not aware of the key importance of the bridge pickup’s location on the body. As strong as it might sound, it is not as much about the woods, or the type of pickups as it is indeed the bridge pickup’s position that decides the sonic fundamental of a bass. 

 

The V.P.P. device displaces the bridge pickup in four era-related spots: 1960s (Vintage) J-style, 1970s J-style, MusicMan, Alembic-style.

 

 

 

[Dazed]

Tried the Ibanez ATK, lines up with a Stingray but nowhere near a Precision. 
 

[Sparky Mark]

1 hour ago, Dazed said:

It is a fact that most bass players are not aware of the key importance of the bridge pickup’s location on the body. As strong as it might sound, it is not as much about the woods, or the type of pickups as it is indeed the bridge pickup’s position that decides the sonic fundamental of a bass. 

Where did you learn this "fact" please?

[Hellzero]

"The most important thing I learned is that no matter what the instrument is, it is first and foremost acoustic. If an instrument sounds weak acoustically, adding pick-ups will just amplify its shortcomings. Throughout my career, I have tried to apply this principal to everything I build. By experimenting with different types and combinations of wood, I seek to get the best possible tone from an instrument." - M.Tobias

[Dazed]

38 minutes ago, Sparky Mark said:

Where did you learn this "fact" please?

I didn’t. That is a quote from Wood and Tronics website. 

[Dazed]

Is it fair to say this is all subjective, none is fact is it ? 

[Sambrook]

 

 

Another spanner thrown...

 

[itu]

11 hours ago, Dazed said:

Often thought about that but I’ve not seen a system that I like that much. If they worked that well it would have become the standard.

The standard? A P bass is so simple and cheap to manufacture, that a moving pickup would throw the costs to another level. Besides there are many users happy with its sound.

 

As you have already seen, there's no standard with pickup positions, even the basic P is available with reverse pickup. Rick Turner made basses with turning pickups.

[Dazed]

Well yeah, maybe not the standard but a standard option, precision, jazz, stingray or floating pickup but moving pickups seem to be looked at as a bit of a novelty, nice idea but….

[Boodang]

On the basis that the pups on a ric and a jazz are in different places, would be good to combine them into a 4 pickup bass. 

[Hellzero]

9 minutes ago, Boodang said:

On the basis that the pups on a ric and a jazz are in different places, would be good to combine them into a 4 pickup bass. 

That's what I have on my Le Fay Remington Steele 6 RHT CC CAP Big Block, that's quite a name, I know... 😂

[Dazed]

Any pics of it?

[Hellzero]

 

 

[Dazed]

That’s an impressive looking beast. Lefay pickups?

 

What is the black slot between the neck and pickups?

Edited July 15, 2023 by Dazed