P bass PUPs. Are they in the correct configuration?

[Marky L]

Just musing to meself as I fitted the QPs to my P bass, are the PUPs on a Precision actually in the correct position?

OK, it probably would make little difference but the way I see it, the PUP under the E & A strings is towards the neck i.e. the warmer end and E & A are fatter sounding strings. The D & B PUP is of course closer to the bridge giving a more brighter edge on the two already toppier strings.

So... should the PUPs actually have originally been placed the other way round.. E & A nearer the bridge and D & P PUP up the neck end? Would this balance the tonal output just a little bit more?

M

[The Bass Doc]

It's hard to say Leo made a mistake but your thinking in terms of tonal balance is sound. Yamaha made a P-bass type in the 70s with this feature (as well as a straight-through neck) and I rated it better than your average Precision.

[stevebasshead]

I've often wondered the same. I dunno about right and wrong specifically, but I do know that if I was ever to build a P-style bass I'd certainly consider putting the pickups the other way round to see if it helped string-to-string balance. Where the pickup sits along the string's length can have a big effect on the sound, but not always the one you think it might.

For example one of the things to consider is harmonics, the position of a pickup can have a dramatic effect on whether the harmonics ring out or not. For example, on my Ric 4003 the neck pickup was spaced 1inch from the end of the fretboard, after a tiny amount of routing I've got it moved to 1/2 an inch as per the 60s/early 70s Rics. Now the harmonics, when using the neck pickup only, really ring out whereas before they were almost non-existent.

[simon1964]

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='586532' date='Sep 1 2009, 02:24 PM']It's hard to say Leo made a mistake but your thinking in terms of tonal balance is sound. Yamaha made a P-bass type in the 70s with this feature (as well as a straight-through neck) and I rated it better than your average Precision.[/quote]

Sandberg's Ps all have the pickup the "wrong" way round - ie opposite to the Fender configuration. It certainly seems logical - whether it actually makes any difference may be another matter.

Edited September 1, 2009 by simon1964

[Marky L]

Cheers.
I'd like to try one of the Yamahas at some point one day.

Maybe saying Leo was "wrong" wasn't quite the right word

[The Bass Doc]

[quote name='Marky L' post='586674' date='Sep 1 2009, 05:18 PM']Maybe saying Leo was "wrong" wasn't quite the right word [/quote]

Almost anything Leo did can be improved on over the years but you can't fault him in terms of coming up with one of the best sounding pickup configurations of all time - so many pro users suggest he got a lot right.

[DarkHorse]

IIRC, Neil Murray (from Whitesnake) had a B.C Rich bass with P type pick ups that were arranged 'back to front' to give a more even tone. I don't really know if it makes a difference, but it does make sense that it would.

[GreeneKing]

Leo made a mistake

Wash your mouth out young man

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Leo finally got it right for me with the last bass he designed for Fender
[attachment=32043:SDC10053.JPG]

Edited September 2, 2009 by Jean-Luc Pickguard

[Tait]

my taitycaster has them the other way round because these were my thoughts exactly. problem is i have no idea how much of a difference it makes because my taitycaster's active, which i expect makes more of a difference to the sound.

[chris_b]

Fender designed their basses to be played through the amps that they had in 1950 so it is very likely that they would have been designed differently today. They changed the pickup design from the original so they must have been "improving" something. I'm sure they tested both configs before a decision was made. Anyway, you can easily compensate for any shortcomings there might be with today's fantastic EQ facilities.

[Dr.Dave]

Didn't Lee Sklar have his Precision's pups reversed?

[cetera]

Spectors have always been the other way around too....

[LukeFRC]

Surely for 50's amplification and music styles it would make sense to have the deep notes fat and deep and the higher strings with more attack so they can be heard better.
The other way would be more 'balanced' on modern amplification but if you are sticking it into more or less a guitar amp I think it possibly makes sense.

[chris_b]

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='587697' date='Sep 2 2009, 05:03 PM']....Surely for 50's amplification and music styles it would make sense to have the deep notes fat and deep and the higher strings with more attack so they can be heard better....[/quote]
But at the start of 50's the music didn't have fat, deep bass notes or any bass with attack! It was all a rounded, middy thud for the next 10 years at least. They got heard with their 35 watt and 50 watt amps because they were replacing DB's, which no one heard anyway.