Neck vs. Bridge pickup voicing

[Kwesi]

Are neck and bridge pickups usually voiced differently? If you were to take a designated neck pickup and put it where the bridge pup would go, would the sound be different? If so, what usually separates the two tonally?

 

[line6man]

Bridge pickups are usually overwound, to make up for the lower output level toward the end point of the string.

In the case of Jazz bass pickups, the coil is not overwound, but the pickup is wider.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

With many pickups, such as on a Jazz bass, they are more-or-less the same pickups. That was true on many instruments, including guitar for many years. It's still like that on Strats.

More modern designs have them voiced differently. At the very least, the bridge pickup is hotter to sound fuller and balance better.

Some makers voice each pickup differently. For example, with many Bartolini pickups, the bridge unit is voiced darker and the neck brighter.

I also voice each pickup differently, and the bridge and neck units on my Neo pickups are different designs. I use different gauge wire, and wind the the bridge differently. I did this to get the tone I liked from each pickups at that location.

 

[Kwesi]

Thanks for the info guys. I was thinking about grabbing a set of Bartolini soaps so this helps out quite a bit.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

Keep in mind that Bart makes a lot of different pickups. But in general he voices the bridge pickup darker and hotter.

 

[tubby.twins]

Thanks for the info guys. I was thinking about grabbing a set of Bartolini soaps so this helps out quite a bit.

Which Bartolini soaps were you looking at? "Classic bass", or "deep tone"?

 

[Kwesi]

Which Bartolini soaps were you looking at? "Classic bass", or "deep tone"?

Deep tone. They seem to growl a little more in the basses I've played with them.