Bass with jazz PU just below the neck heel ?

[boristhespider7]

Anyone made one? Any sound clips? Something with a jazz Pu around the 24th fret area
Doesn't have to be a jazz bass, but something 34" scale, like the position of the neck PU on a Rick 4001

Just wondering if i could get that "woody" 60's bass sound with it

 

[KeithAlanK]

No reason why not. Makes perfect sense, as per the Allan Woody bass.

All of the commercially available basses (past & present) with a pickup in that location will generate a rounder sound than pickups further from the neck.
Using a Jazz pickup, you might have to be more careful in selecting one that supposedly has a "vintage" tone, with corresponding care in the choice of tone capacitor, to get the exact sound you're after.

Also, be aware of possible problems due to the narrow spacing of the strings at that point.
When Roger Glover of Deep Purple put a pair of Jazz pickups next to each other and close to the neck on a Rick, they were very slanted so the pole pieces would line up with the strings.
You might be able to find info on which specific songs were recorded with that bass?

I would use a humbucker, and a relatively narrow one at that.
If it has to be a Jazz pickup, are there any with a blade pole? Never an alignment problem with those.

 

[Durham52]

The blade as opposed to pole type Jazz makes sense. Several companies make them (Bartolini and EMG are wo who do), they and others also make humbuckers with blades.

 

[Durham52]

Oops, "are two who do"

 

[LinusKarlsson]

Just a stupid question here - when placing a pickup so close to the neck joint, is there any risk of compromising the neck stability by routing so close to the neck pocket if your bass has a bolt on neck? I know it's been done on many basses, but the thought popped into my head just now.

 

[Durham52]

I can't see why it would be any more of an issue than with 6 string guitars where the majority have neck pickups right next to the neck pocket. I've built lots of 6 string electric guitars over the past 30 years, but few basses, so if I'm wrong I'll be happy to stand corrected.

 

[Korladis]

As long as all the strings are within the bounds of the outer pole pieces, lining up perfectly with the pole pieces doesn't matter that much. Still, if you're concerned about it, just use blade style pickups.

 

[spufman]

I'll bet a Dimarzio Ultra Jazz would be nice there. It will tend to be a relatively overpowering spot, with the wide string deflection. Could be cool.

 

[svlilioukalani]

The basses I have with a pickup in that position all have a nice deep tone. One of my secret weapons is this Gibson. It has a p-bass pickup along with a pickup in the position you are talking about. Billy Sheehan bass "the wife" is set up that way. It sounds awesome.

The only problem I see with doing it is that the pickup will get in your way if you play slap style.

 

[ajkula66]

Just a stupid question here - when placing a pickup so close to the neck joint, is there any risk of compromising the neck stability by routing so close to the neck pocket if your bass has a bolt on neck? I know it's been done on many basses, but the thought popped into my head just now.

I've installed a Mudbucker - and these dig in pretty deep - in an early 70s Jazz Bass with no ill effects when it came to the stability of the neck. Had to perform additional body routing in order to set the electronics exactly the way I wanted to as well. It sounded glorious IMO. Yeah, I know that these are considered "vintage" nowadays and that the whole experiment would be viewed by many as a blasphemy but back then they were just old and beaten up, and pretty much dime-a-dozen in sunburst/rosewood...

 

[Paulabass]

Well...it will produce LOTS of bass. I knew a guy who put a mudbucker there with a seperate output that went to two 18" p.a. subs. I think Billy Shehan does that too.

 

[dedpool1052]

Bluesman Vinatge did a JPJ bass similar to that. Here's TB's own @Jaymi demoing it

 

[Dluxe]

The late Mark Adams of Slave did this with his Jazz bass.