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Additional Precision pickup near the neck, worth it?

#21
Lee Sklar's neck pickup HAS been moved towards the neck. There is a filler plate in there. The top pickup is nearly touching the bottom of the neck.

I did this with my Hagstrom many years ago - Added a Mudbucker near the neck for thunderous lows (Like the EB-2 I learned on) and another near the bridge for punchy mids without the zinginess. Incredible sound.

l.jpg
 
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#23
line6man said:
Has no one mentioned the plethora of Gibsons with "extreme neck" pickups?
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No, because we are talking about P-bass pickups on this thread.

That said, and to reinforce my earlier post, notice that the picture of Lee Sklar's bass shows the P-bass pickups reversed to get more definition out of the E and A strings, and more roundness out of the D and G strings.
 
#24
iiipopes said:
No, because we are talking about P-bass pickups on this thread.

That said, and to reinforce my earlier post, notice that the picture of Lee Sklar's bass shows the P-bass pickups reversed to get more definition out of the E and A strings, and more roundness out of the D and G strings.
Click to expand...

At that position, the type of pickup you use really doesn't matter very much.
 
#25
line6man said:
At that position, the type of pickup you use really doesn't matter very much.
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Well, yes it does. A lot. A pickup that is wound for clarity will do much better at balancing out everything, like a staple pickup on a Hofner, or a Rickenbacker toaster, than does a mudbucker or derivation, which is only good for the bottom end of a bi-amp setup.
 
#28
I'd be more interested in putting a single coil P pickup. Less wood to remove, visually more discrete. More clarity and highs than standard P pickup?

I play a lot near the neck for a more contrabassy tone, that's why I thought of having a pickup there.
 
#29
iiipopes said:
Dammit! Why do you think we are talking about P-bass pickups in this thread - that is the reason!
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The split coil is only a form factor. There are many different ways you can wind a pickup. The real question is whether or not the pickup placement is suitable for practical and useable tonality. Once you determine that it is, then and only then can you worry about how to voice the pickup.
 
#30
line6man said:
The split coil is only a form factor. There are many different ways you can wind a pickup. The real question is whether or not the pickup placement is suitable for practical and useable tonality. Once you determine that it is, then and only then can you worry about how to voice the pickup.
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Dammit! Yes, in general, but you are off point. The purpose of this thread is the suitability of a P-bass pickup in the neck position. Start your own thread.
 
#31
iiipopes said:
Dammit! Yes, in general, but you are off point. The purpose of this thread is the suitability of a P-bass pickup in the neck position. Start your own thread.
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The OP's question was "is it interesting sonically to add a pickup there?" This means that we are addressing the possibility of useful and practical applications of pickups in the extreme neck position. As it so happens, a large part of the tonality of pickups in that position comes from the position itself, so that is the chief concern. Beyond that, you can wind a split coil in any number of ways, so if you are happy with the overall vibe of having an extra pickup in that location, then it is likely to be very easy to come up with some choice of pickup voicing that works for you. The OP has not specified ANYTHING that would make a split coil any more or less suitable than a mudbucker or a toaster, or anything else. The question was not how to achieve a particular tone, it was whether or not the setup could be worthwhile.
 
#33
line6man said:
The OP's question was "is it interesting sonically to add a pickup there?" This means that we are addressing the possibility of useful and practical applications of pickups in the extreme neck position. As it so happens, a large part of the tonality of pickups in that position comes from the position itself, so that is the chief concern. Beyond that, you can wind a split coil in any number of ways, so if you are happy with the overall vibe of having an extra pickup in that location, then it is likely to be very easy to come up with some choice of pickup voicing that works for you. The OP has not specified ANYTHING that would make a split coil any more or less suitable than a mudbucker or a toaster, or anything else. The question was not how to achieve a particular tone, it was whether or not the setup could be worthwhile.
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Your point is taken and accepted.
 
#34
These questions about pickup placement come up all the time around here. We all have different fingers and ears.

It really is a very simple thing to temporarily install a pickup upside-down above the strings with blue-tack, tape, little blocks of wood, whatever. Then you can shift it up and down from neck to bridge and hear for yourself.

Yes it's not a perfect representation of how the pickup will be when actually installed, but it will give you a pretty good idea...


PS: just be careful if it's a vintage instrument as even low-tack masking tape can pull the finish up.

PPS:
notice that the picture of Lee Sklar's bass shows the P-bass pickups reversed
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Well spotted, good point. This makes a difference, especially near the bridge. And also note that if you use google images for Leland, he is playing a different bass in every shot! I have a feeling that he would sound awesome on just about any instrument no matter where the pickups were installed!:thumbsup:
 
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#35
RobbieK said:
...also note that if you use google images for Leland, he is playing a different bass in every shot! I have a feeling that he would sound awesome on just about any instrument no matter where the pickups were installed!:thumbsup:
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that supports my theory that truly successful accomplished players might be the worst people to take gear advice from, because part of being accomplished is that you can make anything sound good, no matter how bad an idea it is!
 
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#37
Nice example of a three pickup bass, at 6 min. He says the best tone he gets from it is playing neck and middle pickup together. The neck pickup alone is great for an acoustic double bass kind of tone. He also he had to use it once for live radio using DI only and it sounded great, better than his Fender J.

 

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