4 string pickups on a 5 string bass?

[jondog]

I've read about how string alignment w/ pole pieces is irrelevant, that if the string is vibrating in the field it will get picked up. I put a 5 string neck and bridge on a 4 string body and for pickups so far I've tried a Seymour Duncan J 4 and Ibanez PJ 4 set, and on both the A string is a little quiet, like it's not getting picked up as well as the others. Am I looking in the right place, or could something else be causing this? Neither has exposed pole pieces.

I don't want to re-rout for 5 string sized pickups, should I look for pickups that definitely have bar magnets?

[Randy W Lopez]

Some of the EMG's jazz pickups are designed to fit and work with both a 4 or a 5 string bass

[darkstorm]

The A string is quiter cause its probably most out of line with the pole peices. Useing rail style pups if your going that route is best imo since the rails instead of round pole tops dont care where the strings are as long as within their width.

[Ric5]

I have done it many times without a problem.

http://www.3dentourage.com/425/425.htm

[jondog]

Originally Posted by Ric5

I have done it many times without a problem.

http://www.3dentourage.com/425/425.htm

Wow, lots of cool conversions on your site!

I don't get it, you have no trouble using 4 string pups and neither do lots of other people, but the two I've tried definitely have a weak A string. I even tried a new string today in case it was dead or something, same problem.

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by jondog

I've read about how string alignment w/ pole pieces is irrelevant[

Well you can read anything, but you have demonstrated that you have to be selective on what you believe. It might work OK with some pickups, but clearly does not with others.

I don't want to re-rout for 5 string sized pickups, should I look for pickups that definitely have bar magnets?

You can get four string size pickups that work with 5 strings if they use blades instead of round poles.

Some choices would be EMGs, Joe Barden and my pickups. There are probably more to choose from.

My Ibanez 5 string uses standard size jazz pickups, but with blades, so every string is nice and strong.

[iiipopes]

Try a pickup with a rail instead of individual polepieces, like an EMG Jazz or a Barden Jazz. A lot of those RIC 4-to-5 conversions also use RIC HB-1 pickups, which are also rails type humbuckers, or he's ground down the button polepieces and retrofitted a rail.

[amimbari]

you could use even use dualrails

.

[Ric5]

Not all 4 string pickups do the job. Some will leave a hole where the A string is.

I find the Seymour Duncan 1/4 pound jazz and p-bass pickups work just as well on 4 or 5 string basses. On most Fender style pickups the 8 poles cover 5 string quite well. Pickups with only 4 poles aren't a good choice.

Yes dual rails or single rails do the best job.

How I got the idea to use 8 pole pickups for 5 strings was from Rickenbacker. Rickenbacker uses the toaster pickup for 4, 5, 6, and 8 stringed instruments. The toaster pickup has 6 alnico magnets and it works in many situations.

You may have to raise the pickups to get good coverage.

[lowfreqgeek]

Despite what others will tell you, my only experience with 5-strings on 4-string P/J pickups is the same as yours: the A-string is especially weak. I also noticed the other strings were very uneven, depending on where they aligned with the pole pieces (all 8-pole pickups).

But you can get Barts, Dimarzio, Norstrand, EMG, Basslines, and who knows what else for 5-strings in a 4-string-size jazz package. Barts, Nordstrand, and EMG (among others) also have 5-string P-pickups in a 4-string-size package.

Try www.bestbassgear.com.