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The neck toaster in my 4004L SPC is wound to around 3.68 KΩ. Yes, the output is fairly low but it has tone for days. Very full frequency range, lots of real depth to the lows, clear sparkly highs and with meaty mids.
I was thinking more of unbranded (probably because the maker is ashamed to own up to producing such garbage), cheapo, weak, tinny guitar pickups rather than what comes stock on a quality American made instrument that costs thousands of dollars.
Not to invoke a heretical tirade, but for years I've put relatively low output pickups in my guitars. The prevailing sentiment about guitar pickups has been to get the most overwound "hot" ones available for the overdriven sound. What you forfeit for that distortion is clarity. I found that having a clean, airy signal is great for both mellow and aggressive styles. Letting the amp or effects do the heavy lifting for rockers doesn't diminish the tone, but enhances it. Sometimes the hotter the pickup, the muddier it gets when you crank it through a Marshall stack on 10. ( I can't afford Nigel Tufnel's rig.
) The problem with using guitar pickups on the bass (aside from the polepiece spacing, which is addressed by using blade style pickups) is that bass frequencies typically require more power to reproduce than those in the upper registers. Although low output bass pickups are available (as those you possess), they are probably still hotter than cheapo, underwound guitar pickups. This is a given since Rickenbacker makes a variety of pickups tailored to the specific tonal needs of the instruments they are designed for. That is a completely different scenario than mounting a mongrel pickup on your instrument. I hope this explained my earlier post. Have a great night, Jeff.
Depending on the specific pickups, yes you can. I've been playing basses (all great sounding ones, too) that havd at least one, or more, guitar pickups on them, since 1973. In fact, I didn't even know they were guitar pickups for a couple years after getting the first one, all I knew is they sounded just like I'd expect from a bass.
Agreed, but the responsible party to do such is down the signal chain; it is the amplifier that takes care of the heavy lifting. I usually DI that bass to my recorder and it (the bass) has all the power to make great recordings (assuming my playing is up to snuff
).
When you look at the bottom of a hi gain and see six poles you get the feeling you've been had.Depending on the specific pickups, yes you can. I've been playing basses (all great sounding ones, too) that havd at least one, or more, guitar pickups on them, since 1973. In fact, I didn't even know they were guitar pickups for a couple years after getting the first one, all I knew is they sounded just like I'd expect from a bass.
In my case, it was six large alnico magnet slugs on the early '67 toaster pickups!
Best pickup ever made, great for both bass and guitar (6 or 12 string). 
