BoomBass Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I once heard that Mike Pope, who has designed the infamous Fodera preamp, set out to experiment with different positions of the two single coil pickups on a J-type bass. Allegedly, he had found that the perfect position was in fact the classic Fender Jazz position, and he concluded that Fender must have beed darn lucky back then. However, I don't know if this story is accurate, but letøs just assume it is for now... So, do you think that the Fender posistion (let's not get into whether it's 60's or 70's) sounds best to our ears today, because A: Fender was darn lucky and just hit the best possible position at first attempt (and more or less by coincidence) B: Fender did in fact research massively in order to find the perfect position C: we have been listening to the sound of that position forever, and therefore, this sound is what we feel is 'right' - or even 'perfect'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bass Doc Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I believe 'B' because I believe I've seen a picture of him with a test bed 'skeleton' where he slides a plugged-in pickup to whatever position seems right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I think they must have researched into it, and I can picture what Bass Doc is saying right now....good way of testing the 'sweet' spot. The Jazz and Precision sounds are iconic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoomBass Posted April 13, 2010 Author Share Posted April 13, 2010 (edited) [quote name='Musicman20' post='804446' date='Apr 12 2010, 11:04 PM']I think they must have researched into it, and I can picture what Bass Doc is saying right now....good way of testing the 'sweet' spot. The Jazz and Precision sounds are iconic.[/quote] Yeah, I can't imagine that Fender did no research neither. However, they did change it slightly in the 70's (or CBS did) in order to be able to produce more efficiently - the 70's spacing did not have anything to do with a tonal development or improvement even though some do prefer the sound of the 70's spacing... Edited April 13, 2010 by BoomBass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bass Doc Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 Legend has it that CBS simply got their jig in the wrong place in the 70's and both the pickup and the bridge took a backward step - hence the need for a longer length bridge screw for the G string. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoomBass Posted April 13, 2010 Author Share Posted April 13, 2010 [quote name='The Bass Doc' post='804647' date='Apr 13 2010, 10:38 AM']Legend has it that CBS simply got their jig in the wrong place in the 70's and both the pickup and the bridge took a backward step - hence the need for a longer length bridge screw for the G string.[/quote] OK. Sounds likely. I have heard that CBS made the change deliberately as the slight change made the machines a few per cent more efficient. Either way, it sounds pretty CBSish... However, that being said, I LOVE my 70's Jazz! Coincidence or financial calculation, I don't really care - it sounds darn good to my ears :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 (edited) I thought it was so the bridge pickup would finally reside under the bridge pickup cover, whereas it sticks out with the 60's positioning. The pickup is closer to the bridge too, so not sure if it's a simple re-alignment. Edited April 13, 2010 by Doctor J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 [quote name='BoomBass' post='804260' date='Apr 12 2010, 10:04 PM']So, do you think that the Fender posistion (let's not get into whether it's 60's or 70's) sounds best to our ears today, because A: Fender was darn lucky and just hit the best possible position at first attempt (and more or less by coincidence) B: Fender did in fact research massively in order to find the perfect position C: we have been listening to the sound of that position forever, and therefore, this sound is what we feel is 'right' - or even 'perfect'?[/quote] B. It would be relativly easy to make a rig up where you could slide the pups back and forth untill it sounds best. your ears would be able to make it out. a bit like tuning a radio. Even if he didn't do this, and i think he would have done, i'm sure you could work out where the best positions might be mathematically. I don't think it would just have been 'luck'. a strat has one of the pups angled, similarly this wouldn't have been found by luck. option C doesn't work because it ignores the scientific side of it, that certain positions will sound better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bass Doc Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 (edited) [quote name='Doctor J' post='804854' date='Apr 13 2010, 01:35 PM']I thought it was so the bridge pickup would finally reside under the bridge pickup cover, whereas it sticks out with the 60's positioning. The pickup is closer to the bridge too, so not sure if it's a simple re-alignment.[/quote] I have an original 1962 Jazz and the cover does indeed hide the pickup. As indicated above, both the pickup and bridge moved back so the same spacing applied in relation to the pickup being covered. Edited April 13, 2010 by The Bass Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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