5 String SC pickup specs

[Fingerz]

Hey

Pickup geek in the making here searching for some answers...

I have had three prototype SC pickups made for a 5 string project I am undertaking. We have been working on the tone - my last set were Alnico V with 8k turns of .063 Formvar wire. These were too Trebly and mid 'forward' for my needs. Obviously the instrument itself is custom built by me, so there's the tonal contribution from that, for which I have no reference, but I believe in my experience with a solid body electric instrument the pickup contributes most of the sound. That's another discussion/debate...

The latest incarnation I'm not sure the specs from the pickup builder, but I DO know we went up in turns, and down in Gauge (thinner), to achieve a less trebly, more bass orientated tone. I wired them up yesterday, I still hear quite a 'Quack' to the tone, upper mid forward. I have wired them straight to the jack so with the usual electronics I will be able to sculpt the sound but I am working on the natural tone, comparing to my faithful 75 J bass in it's open position.

I wonder if there is a general consensus on whether going up/down in turns and/or gauge, will help me get to the tonal spot I am looking for, or are there sacrifices etc etc?I'm yet to find that golden 5 string tone in a SC that matches a 4, but I'm convinced it must be achievable.

?

 

[Gary_M]

Hey

Pickup geek in the making here searching for some answers...

I have had three prototype SC pickups made for a 5 string project I am undertaking. We have been working on the tone - my last set were Alnico V with 8k turns of .063 Formvar wire. These were too Trebly and mid 'forward' for my needs. Obviously the instrument itself is custom built by me, so there's the tonal contribution from that, for which I have no reference, but I believe in my experience with a solid body electric instrument the pickup contributes most of the sound. That's another discussion/debate...

The latest incarnation I'm not sure the specs from the pickup builder, but I DO know we went up in turns, and down in Gauge (thinner), to achieve a less trebly, more bass orientated tone. I wired them up yesterday, I still hear quite a 'Quack' to the tone, upper mid forward. I have wired them straight to the jack so with the usual electronics I will be able to sculpt the sound but I am working on the natural tone, comparing to my faithful 75 J bass in it's open position.

I wonder if there is a general consensus on whether going up/down in turns and/or gauge, will help me get to the tonal spot I am looking for, or are there sacrifices etc etc?I'm yet to find that golden 5 string tone in a SC that matches a 4, but I'm convinced it must be achievable.

?

I'm definitely not a pickup expert. But, I do think that you should actually wire the pickups to volume pots, before the output jack. The value of the volume pot does indeed affect the overall tone of the pickup. That's why single coils generally use 250k pots and humbuckers generally use 500k pots. The 250k on a single coil mellows it out just a little bit and the 500k on the humbucker allows it to be a little less dark. No need to hook up tone pots as those should be (more or less) out of the circuit anyway if they are turned up all the way.

Those are just generalities, but give it a try and see if it makes a difference in your case.

 

[Fingerz]

I'm definitely not a pickup expert. But, I do think that you should actually wire the pickups to volume pots, before the output jack. The value of the volume pot does indeed affect the overall tone of the pickup. That's why single coils generally use 250k pots and humbuckers generally use 500k pots. The 250k on a single coil mellows it out just a little bit and the 500k on the humbucker allows it to be a little less dark. No need to hook up tone pots as those should be (more or less) out of the circuit anyway if they are turned up all the way.

Those are just generalities, but give it a try and see if it makes a difference in your case.

Wow thank you man, I will do.

 

[Jeff Siddall]

Hey

Pickup geek in the making here searching for some answers...

I have had three prototype SC pickups made for a 5 string project I am undertaking. We have been working on the tone - my last set were Alnico V with 8k turns of .063 Formvar wire. These were too Trebly and mid 'forward' for my needs. Obviously the instrument itself is custom built by me, so there's the tonal contribution from that, for which I have no reference, but I believe in my experience with a solid body electric instrument the pickup contributes most of the sound. That's another discussion/debate...

The latest incarnation I'm not sure the specs from the pickup builder, but I DO know we went up in turns, and down in Gauge (thinner), to achieve a less trebly, more bass orientated tone. I wired them up yesterday, I still hear quite a 'Quack' to the tone, upper mid forward. I have wired them straight to the jack so with the usual electronics I will be able to sculpt the sound but I am working on the natural tone, comparing to my faithful 75 J bass in it's open position.

I wonder if there is a general consensus on whether going up/down in turns and/or gauge, will help me get to the tonal spot I am looking for, or are there sacrifices etc etc?I'm yet to find that golden 5 string tone in a SC that matches a 4, but I'm convinced it must be achievable.

?

EDIT: can you clarify the units for the wire? 0.0063" is 34 AWG, 0.063 mm is about 42 AWG.

Also, even 8k turns of 0.063 mm wire would need a pretty large bobbin to fit.

 

[Fingerz]

EDIT: can you clarify the units for the wire? 0.0063" is 34 AWG, 0.063 mm is about 42 AWG.

Also, even 8k turns of 0.063 mm wire would need a pretty large bobbin to fit.

Apologies - it's 42.5 AWG

 

[Jeff Siddall]

Apologies - it's 42.5 AWG

OK, 42.5 isn't really thick, but would still be a full bobbin in most pickups at 8k turns. You can typically get less treble and more bass with a combination of thinner wire and more turns so the new pickups should help with that. Of course, as @Gary_M pointed out, pot loading will also reduce treble somewhat, especially with a 250K pot. A tone control might be all you need to get the tone you are looking for.