Pickup placement for a custom bass

[maturanesa]

hi

im ordering a bass to build, and i want a musicman pickup on it. Its passive, about 11/12 k dc...

im just wondering wich place its better (distance from the bridge)

I like the Gary Willis kind of tone (growly, fat) that he gets with only one soapbar (or even one jazz) in the bridge position, but he has a preamp ...
I like Anthony Jackson´s too, and he placed a soapbar in the middle of the body, with no preamp.
And also im looking for a tone that i could go anywhere, any style, because that will be my main bass (and only). Not that P`ish kind sound.


Some Stingrays i tryed sound a bit zingy, others fine...So im a bit confused about how the placement influence on the tone --> need some advice...

thanx!

[SGD Lutherie]

I'd place it in the Stingray location. That's right between the other two examples, so you should get an approximate tone. There is no correct place to put a pickup. Just remember, closer to the bridge is tighter and brighter sounding, and closer to the neck is rounder and deeper sounding.

Since your pickup is wound so hot, it wont get that zingy Stingray tone. Those pickups are about 2 k in parallel, and they use a preamp that has a bright tone.

A pickup wound to 11k will sound much fuller.

[maturanesa]

Originally Posted by SGD Lutherie

I'd place it in the Stingray location. That's right between the other two examples, so you should get an approximate tone. There is no correct place to put a pickup. Just remember, closer to the bridge is tighter and brighter sounding, and closer to the neck is rounder and deeper sounding.

Since your pickup is wound so hot, it wont get that zingy Stingray tone. Those pickups are about 2 k in parallel, and they use a preamp that has a bright tone.

A pickup wound to 11k will sound much fuller.

Is 11k hot for a double coil pickup??? 11 k is the total resistance you get in series mode... 5.5 k should be in parallel or single coil modes... i would say 5.5 k is a pretty low output

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by maturanesa

Is 11k hot for a double coil pickup??? 11 k is the total resistance you get in series mode... 5.5 k should be in parallel or single coil modes... i would say 5.5 k is a pretty low output

It's hot for a MM type pickup. They are 8k in series. Most are wired in parallel, and read about 2k. They were intended to be low impedance pickups, and used with the preamp.

For non MM pickups, 11K is on the higher end of average. Output is not as important as tone, so a 5.5k pickup can sound for clean and full range, while an 11k might sound like mud. But it all depends on the design of the pickup. 8-9k is about average. Some Jazz pickups are about 7-8k, and P basses are 11k.

But louder isn't better.

[maturanesa]

Originally Posted by SGD Lutherie

It's hot for a MM type pickup. They are 8k in series. Most are wired in parallel, and read about 2k. They were intended to be low impedance pickups, and used with the preamp.

For non MM pickups, 11K is on the higher end of average. Output is not as important as tone, so a 5.5k pickup can sound for clean and full range, while an 11k might sound like mud. But it all depends on the design of the pickup. 8-9k is about average. Some Jazz pickups are about 7-8k, and P basses are 11k.

But louder isn't better.

In a passive pup 11 k its fine for me... but 5.5 k makes me think the tone would be a bit thin and lack output, so having the series/parallel/single coil modes would not be an advantage....
Having two coils that reads like a regular Jazz (7k) should be fine for parallel, but would up the series to 14 k.. maybe too much and start losing some clarity... thats my dilema

[tubby.twins]

Originally Posted by maturanesa

im just wondering wich place its better (distance from the bridge)

I like the Gary Willis kind of tone (growly, fat) that he gets with only one soapbar (or even one jazz) in the bridge position, but he has a preamp ...
I like Anthony Jackson´s too, and he placed a soapbar in the middle of the body, with no preamp.

I would go for a sweet spot position as well. It's a nice balanced compromise between the warmth of a neck pickup and the punch of a bridge pickup. I've tried several pickups in this position and they all sounded good.

It's interesting that you mentioned the Gary Willis tone, since (at least in the old days) he used a bass with a single, lower-output pickup; on his amp rig he would boost up the signal. Since he played with a very light touch this meant a fairly low signal level, but the result was was a very sweet, singing tone.

I don't know much about the newer Gary Willis signature basses, so I can't comment on the signal level, but it's probably safe to say the overall output level isn't very high, since the man himself would want to get closer to his original tone. The newer basses do sound a bit thicker on his later solo albums than the sweet, singing tone of the early Tribal Tech records; this is because they are dual-coil humbuckers. The older basses used a Bartolini jazz pickup (I think) with a narrow aperture.

I understand that Anthony Jackson also plays with a lighter touch, but on his basses the pickup appears to be somewhere between the sweet spot and the typical neck pickup position.

[Vakmere]

Have the builder install a track where you can move (slide) the pickup to wherever you want. Leave enough wire under the cavity to move with the pickup. Never seen one made like that but if it can be done you'll have that "play any style" bass.......... I think.

[Ric5]

Originally Posted by SGD Lutherie

I'd place it in the Stingray location. That's right between the other two examples, so you should get an approximate tone. There is no correct place to put a pickup. Just remember, closer to the bridge is tighter and brighter sounding, and closer to the neck is rounder and deeper sounding.

I agree the stingray position is a pretty good location. Also slightly towards the neck is the Rickenbacker bridge pickup position which is also good. And it is hard to go wrong with the p-bass location. And McCartney and Squire both used the Rickenbacker neck pickup to get good tone.

[FunkMetalBass]

I also think the stingray location (maybe even back toward the bridge a tad) is ideal. There wont be much difference, but since the pickup is a bit hot, the upper-mid and treble content near the bridge will help to compensate for the low-mid focus of the pickup.