Sweet spot vs. Bridge

[rx2enemy]

Been trying to decide on specs for a custom wenge J-bass body. The last thing holding me up is the pickup routing. I only want one pickup on this thing, and Warmoth offers a "sweet spot" routing. I am a little hesitant to choose this one because I dont know anything about it. The name "sweet spot" sounds like something I want, but how much of a difference is it from a standard "bridge" position? I have heard that MusicMan uses a sweet spot pickup. Thats good enough of a name-drop for me, but I need more advice before commiting.

[jsingles]

If you are only getting one pickup I would go for the sweetspot.

It is the spot between where you would normally find the bridge and neck pickup. It is called the sweet spot because playing over that spot produces a particularly fat tone and feel, which some consider the best of both worlds. I think it would be the most versatile spot for a single pickup bass

This modulus is an example
http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/i...d16caf0a0b.jpg

[rx2enemy]

Thanks for the post. Do you think I would be sacrificing warmth going for the bridge option? I tend to play the bridge pickup with a carefully controlled tone setting. The best of both worlds sounds like a plus, what would you consider to be the downside(s) of the sweet spot position?

[12bass]

A bass with a single pickup has a limited tonal range. For many people, a "sweet spot" placement is close enough to get into the P-bass zone, but with more of a StingRay vibe in the midrange. It is a position which should sound fairly punchy in the mix. Personally, I'm not a fan of a soloed bridge pickup, but enjoy the sound of my single pickup Pedulla Rapture 5. Still, it represents a compromise, as it doesn't give the "burpy" sound of the bridge, nor the bassy depth of the neck position, although changing playing position still allows for a variety of tonalities.

[MikeyB]

You'll need to think about what type of pickup you'll be using also - a sweet spot route is almost always used with a large MM style humbucker.

-M

[recnsci]

What's the distance of middle of pickup in "sweet spot" to 12th fret or bridge?

[Fretlessboy]

I have found for bridge pickups 3.5 inches from the "G" string saddle is pretty dead on

[tubby.twins]

I've got two Warmoth fretless Gecko basses with a single pickup in the "sweet spot" and I have to say that it's a great place for a pickup. I highly recommend this for a single-pickup bass. 12bass has summed up everything I would have described about the tone.

For a fretless bass, an even better option is to put the single pickup halfway between the "sweet spot" and the typical bridge position. Here you'll get most of the warmth plus a bit more of the "burpy" tones from the bridge pickup. It's a good balance.