4 string pickup on 5 string?

[mikeoh]

Hi everyone,
here's what I think may be a stupid question. I recently picked up a factory 2nd epiphone thunderbird pro-v body. I'm looking for a set of pickups to drop in there & can't find direct replacements anywhere. so I measured the pickup route cavity & it's about 3.5"- which is the size of the casing of many of the 4 string pickups I've found. So my question is this: can a four-string pickup be used for a five-string bass? would I be able to buy & use a 4-string pickup that fits the cavity, or would the response/level be uneven between the strings since it wasn't designed for that use? Any help or advice on this would be appreciated. Thanks!

[PotsdamBass8]

If you use a pickup with a blade rather than pole pieces, like EMG 35s, then it won't make a difference.

[mikeoh]

great, those are what I was looking at actually. Thanks for your help.

[cheapbasslovin]

You also need to be sure that the maximum string spacing on the pickup is wider than the string spacing on your bass.