Math question - scale length and pickup placement

Wilbyman · #1 08-21-2006, 07:19 AM

Hey guys-

I've got a bridge pickup (single coil/jazz pickup) which is 30 and 5/8" from the back of the nut (fingerboard side of the nut). The measurement is to the middle of the coil. The rub is that this is a 33" scale length instrument. How many inches from the nut would this pickup placement be on a 34" bass?

In other words, I'd like to cop the same sound from the pickup but on a 34" bass...to me, you would have to move the pickup (toward the neck) a little to accomodate the scale length. However, I don't think it would be a one full inch...

Any math guys help me out here? I was an english major.

W

Atoz · #2 08-21-2006, 07:39 AM

30 5/8" = 30.625"

I might be wrong, but I think it should scale linearly, so:

(30.625)*(34/33) = 31.553" from the nut, which is somewhere between 31 1/2" and 31 9/16"

Wilbyman · #3 08-21-2006, 07:51 AM

That sounds right. It confirms my suspicion the pickup position translates to 34"...a little closer to the nut than standard 60's Fender bridge position. That works.

W

George Looney · #4 08-21-2006, 10:04 AM

It's simple really, just relate the scale length to 100, so you can calculate the percentage.

100 / 33 = 3.03

So : 33 * 3.03 = 100
And : 30.625 * 3.03 = 92.79
This means that the PU is at 92.79 procent of the scale length. (measured from the nut)

92.79% of 34 is : (34 * 92.79) / 100 = 31.55