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5-string alternative for TV Jones Thundertron/Filtertron bass pickups

TFM94

TFM94

Aug 24, 2020
627
2,374
Finland
#1
Hi Talkbass!

Last year I built a 4-string bass with TV Jones Thundertron pickups, and I still love the sound. They're distinctly different from P or J pickups, and I use both the neck and bridge position regularly.

I am currently planning a 5-string solidbody build and I would like to go for a similar tone. To my disappointment, it seems like TV jones doesn't offer a single 5 string version. Do you know an alternative, something that will get me in the ballpark? I know that "Gretschy" basses don't traditionally come as 5-strings, but I think it would be a very usable concept.

I recently got to hear some Nordstrand BigRigs, and while they are a totally different design, they sounded pretty decent. Any experiences here?
 
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#4
ctmullins said:
The Thunder’Blades will work for tight string spacing.
Click to expand...
TFM94 said:
String spacing will be 17mm (center-center)
Click to expand...
I was also going to suggest blade-style pickups. I don’t have enough experience with filtertrons in a bass to know how different they might sound than the standard pole variety though. Another consideration could be guitar Filtertrons, it may seem counterintuitive that the guitar version would work well with bass, but often exact pole alignment is no particularly important (for reference, Rickenbacker bass toasters are just 6-pole pickups under the cover and work great on 4 and 5 string basses). Filtertron pickups aren’t very wide, but when you look at what 17mm bridge spacing tapers down to at the different pickup locations it should work as long as you don’t need a bridge pickup right up next to the bridge where you might be hitting the edges of the pole spread.
 
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#5
TFM94 said:
String spacing will be 17mm (center-center)
Click to expand...

Gonna be close. 17mm at the bridge gives a total string spread of 2.68”. The blades on the Thunder’blade pickups are right at 2.5” long, so it depends upon
  1. How much your strings taper towards the nut, and
  2. How far away from the bridge you will place the pickups
 
#6
Seems to be a bit of a squeeze. I have built a guitar with filtertrons (Powertrons, to be exact), and the pickups fit into the same mounting rings as the bass pickups, so there's nothing to be gained here over the Thunderblades. The outside dimensions of the Thunderblades are identical to the thundertrons, which fit into my 4-string just right, which has also 17mm spacing.

For pickup locations I was thinking of the typical J positions, so one of them would be fairly close to the bridge. Btw, nut string spacing is 10mm.

I still find it astonishing that there is no manufacturer out there who makes a 5-string Filtertron bass pickup.
 
#7
TFM94 said:
I still find it astonishing that there is no manufacturer out there who makes a 5-string Filtertron bass pickup.
Click to expand...
Why? In all the years I've been posting here, this is the first time I can recall seeing anyone ask for such a thing, so I'll bet there is little demand. The high prices for the Thunderblades (and their annoying website layout) put me off as well.
 
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#9
TFM94 said:
Well, most newer or boutique pickup manufacturers offer their pickups also as 5-string versions, and quite often as 6 string as well.
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I'm well aware, but unless they offer them in some standard sizes like EMG35/40/45 the only people that will use them will be small custom builders or people willing to modify instruments to fit them.
 
#13
TFM94 said:
Seems to be a bit of a squeeze. I have built a guitar with filtertrons (Powertrons, to be exact), and the pickups fit into the same mounting rings as the bass pickups, so there's nothing to be gained here over the Thunderblades. The outside dimensions of the Thunderblades are identical to the thundertrons, which fit into my 4-string just right, which has also 17mm spacing.

For pickup locations I was thinking of the typical J positions, so one of them would be fairly close to the bridge. Btw, nut string spacing is 10mm.

I still find it astonishing that there is no manufacturer out there who makes a 5-string Filtertron bass pickup.
Click to expand...
I just suggested the guitar filtertrons as an option because I’m not certain how much the blade version changes the tone you are accustomed to and the total spacing of the poles on a guitar pickup can be wider than some 4-string bass pickups, so the guitar versions are a way to get the standard design but in a wider spacing than the 4-pole bass versions and with total string coverage. Total spacing probably would be pushing it for J bridge position with either the guitar or blade options, but might work- might be worth setting up a test rig to see how much your 68mm bridge spacing would taper in at that position.
 
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#14
Actually most (six-string) guitar pickups are spaced right at 2”, or slightly less for Gibson spacing.

I have used seven-string guitar pickups without trouble.
 
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#15
ctmullins said:
Actually most (six-string) guitar pickups are spaced right at 2”, or slightly less for Gibson spacing.

I have used seven-string guitar pickups without trouble.
Click to expand...
Right you are- For some reason I thought the bass Filtertrons were tighter spacing ala the neck position on some Gibson-style basses (like the bass mini-buckers in my Epi Allen Woody, which I had considered swapping for Filtertrons), but apparently I was way off! I should definitely not post before coffee.

I’ve used guitar pickups for tighter (15-16.5mm spacing) 4 to 5-string neck conversions before as the extra poles cover all the strings reasonably, but on an actual 5-string neck with a wider heel they wouldn’t really work at all.
 
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#17
deepestend said:
Also, does anyone know if thundertrons would work with 19mm spacing?
Click to expand...

I just measured on my thundertrons. The polepieces are 18mm apart, so if you mean 19mm spacing center to center, then you can probably get away with it by having the outer strings just at the edge of the polepiece. If you mean 19mm in between strings, then you will be around the edge of the pickup itself and blades will probably be the better choice.
 
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#18
TFM94 said:
I just measured on my thundertrons. The polepieces are 18mm apart, so if you mean 19mm spacing center to center, then you can probably get away with it by having the outer strings just at the edge of the polepiece. If you mean 19mm in between strings, then you will be around the edge of the pickup itself and blades will probably be the better choice.
Click to expand...
Thank you!
 

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