Advice for switching pickups of a different size

[Matt Till]

As some of you may know, I've purchased a Aria Pro II CSB-300. After extensive testing of the electronics, it's been determined it was sold to me with a bum pickup. I got screwed, long story short, not much I can do about it.



Not mine, but a cool pic of what will hopefully turn out to be a sweet bass. I needed a cheap pickup to replace it, I'm on a really tight budget, but the assbag who ripped me off at least refunded me 25 bucks. So, with that, and a little extra cash, on the basis of positive reviews (and I'm not THAT picky tone wise), I'm getting a GFS MM Pro from guitar fetish.

http://store.guitarfetish.com/gfsmmpromuma.html


Comparing pics, it's obvious it won't be just a matter of sliding the pickup in, wiring it, and it's good to go. I couldn't find much advice on the subject. What advice can you give about switching pickups on a bass that are a different size?

Thanks

[lemur821]

Are you sure the pickup is unrecoverable? If there's a tricky internal break in the winding it's one thing, but if, for example, the end of the winding has come loose from the pickup lead, you can fix it with a little sandpaper, solder, and a steady hand.

But on topic, is your replacement larger or smaller? Unless the new pickup is only very slightly larger, you'll want to get out the router. If it only needs a tiny change, you can file it out by hand (I did). If it's smaller, no problem, of course.

[Matt Till]

Unfortunately, I've discovered almost all websites devoted to selling pickups don't like giving you pickup sizes. Go figure.

I am going to toy with the broken pickup, I figure, what have I got to lose?


With the new pickup though, I was looking for any general "HEADS UP" advice from people who have had experience. Any forewarning for if I do have to take a router to it. And if it's too small, is there anything I should do to fill the empty space?

[lemur821]

Originally Posted by Matt Till

And if it's too small, is there anything I should do to fill the empty space?

That's a cosmetic decision. I didn't have to use a router on mine, but I'm thinking that "use a template if you want it to look nice" is at the top of the list, followed by "clamp the template and bass firmly before applying torque."

[Matt Till]

Thanks.

[GlennW]

I suggested in your other thread that you try to fix it. It may a simple repair. Or you could send it to someone who can. That pickup will sound REAL good when it works.

If you get a GFS pickup:
1) you'll have to route and alter the appearance of the bass
2) the poles won't line up with the strings unless you angle the pickup a lot

[Matt Till]

****. Angling the pickup, I was wondering about that. I noticed the string spacing was rather tight. Is this going to be tricky? Is it going to cause problems?


I knew I shouldn't have thrown that pickup away I'm a moron.