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determining p/u spacing

Slowgypsy

Slowgypsy

4 Fretless Strings
Dec 12, 2006
1,944
56
NY & MA
www.peterweissdesigns.com
#1
To all the folks here who do their own builds... how do you determine pickup placement? I know many of you do custom builds, or build around your own designs. How did you come up with the placement of the pickups? Science? Or does it happen just by feel? I'm trying to learn/understand this better. Thanks...
 
#2
Personally, I prefer humbuckers such as the Bartolini XXM55M and space them so that two of the single coils of each humbucker is somewhat inline with what a jazz bass is. This way, I can do a 3 way (series-parallel-single) switch to maximize versatility.
I also take into consideration is where my fingers are when I play and place the neck pup just below that area.
I also like a strong finger sound, so I place my bridge pickup about 3/4" from the bridge base.
 
#3
It's more of a trial and error thing for me. Although I have come up with some observations on tone. Basically the bridge pickup I like to have it about 1/2" from the bridge plate, then if I put the neck pickup close to the bridge like 1/2" or less from the other pickup. I get more of a Musicman type tone with both pickups running, the closer to the neck the neck pickup goes the more Fendery that pickup will sound when solo. I tend to prefer putting the neck pickup closer towards the bridge.
I hope using those brand names helps describe the tone I'm talking about.
Dirk
 
#8
I'm patiently waiting too : ) My Washburns have a FP style setup but my wifes bass ( she's the reason for the build ) has double that on her BC Rich Eagle. I'm even thinking it might be cool to "hotrod" hers and add another 2! Kind of like Ace Frehleys Les Paul.....just fill up the whole space with pick ups! Just a thought : )
 
#11
#12
There's science, up to a point.

Tools like in Tilman's article quantify the effects in response curve possibilities due to positioning the pickup along the string. These curves also confirm the observed trait that towards bridge = treblier, towards neck = bassier. To get an instrument final output curve, this curve would be multiplied by the electronics response curve, then by the response curve for the mechanical structure, the string, the plucking action, etc.

Tools such as listings of pickup positions on conventional basses, combined with your own experience, will give you an idea of these positions as applied.

What the science does not do is
- tell you which position is best
- tell you what position is a proverbial "sweet spot"
- support putting a pickup on any particular node of an open string
- tell you what position will produce a sound compliant with someone's verbal description of tone
- tell you what someone meant in their own head when they described the desired tone
 
#13
pilotjones said:
There's science, up to a point.

Tools like in Tilman's article quantify the effects in response curve possibilities due to positioning the pickup along the string. These curves also confirm the observed trait that towards bridge = treblier, towards neck = bassier. To get an instrument final output curve, this curve would be multiplied by the electronics response curve, then by the response curve for the mechanical structure, the string, the plucking action, etc.

Tools such as listings of pickup positions on conventional basses, combined with your own experience, will give you an idea of these positions as applied.

What the science does not do is
- tell you which position is best
- tell you what position is a proverbial "sweet spot"
- support putting a pickup on any particular node of an open string
- tell you what position will produce a sound compliant with someone's verbal description of tone
- tell you what someone meant in their own head when they described the desired tone
Click to expand...

LOL....soooooooo true....LOL
 
#14
Depending on the scale, I have made string harmonic measurements (from the nut to the bridge). so far, the sound that works good (For me) is approx. 1 1/2" from the bridge (outer edge) and 2 1/2" from the other edge of the bridge pickup. Now, there's about 3/4" play with those measurements, depending on the pickup (I gave J pickups as the above example). YMMV
 
#15
#16
I recall seeing a bass, or maybe it was one of those weird basses, the 6 string ultra-picollo basses, "guitars" I think they call them, that had pickups on sliding rails, so you could reposition them wherever you wanted. Atlansia makes basses with an array of pickups covering every spot and you can decide which pole pieces to activate for any imaginable configuration, but there's a reason Fender puts their Jazz bass pickups where they do, it sounds good.

I have heard that too many pickups create an electromagnetic pull on the strings, like a gravity field, that can interfere with the string's ability to resonate, that is to say, it can dampen their vibrations and interfere with sustain, probably more of a problem for thinner wimpy guitar strings, than for tough manly Bass strings, but I don't even know if that's true. Ace's center pickup houses a smoke machine, at least on some of his Les Pauls, you should put one of those in the bass you're making, that'd be cool! :D (no, I'm not kidding.)

the first bass I built, 27 years ago, I could only afford one pickup and so I put it in the centre, probably I was imitating what I was basing it off of, my HondoII P bass, which had only one pickup. later when I realised the Jazz bass sound was what I really dug, and had a couple of EMGs put in, one in the centre, and one near the bridge, well it sounds very like a Jazz bass to me, tho the centre pickup seems a little closer to the bridge than I'd like, it's not that far off, in any case it sounds very nice. the bass I just finished building, I put 2 pickups in it, and tried to space them evenly. I didn't really put that much thought into it, I'm a little embarrassed to admit now! after I built it I looked at it and thought, hmm, I wonder if that isn't too much space between the pickups, even visually it seems like they're too far apart, though I wouldn't move the bridge one in either direction, but it sounds great, so there ya go. (http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f57/bat-bass-749410/index4.html)

I started to look at that article linked to above in this thread and my head started to swim from all the science (and I used to fix TVs for a living, but that was 15 years ago), you're building this for your wife? take her to a store, have her try out every bass you can find and take notes about which ones she likes the sound of best. use that as your starting point, and for a long happy marriage, practice saying "yes dear". good luck!
 
#17
I recall many many years ago, seeing the Who on telly, and the Ox had this green buzzard bass with what I'm going to call a split V pickup config, which I'd never seen before and that thing had just about the fattest tone I'd ever heard. like a Jazz bass on steroids.

tumblr_ljamecqVS91qdohulo1_500.jpg


I should do this for my next 6 string fretted project.
 

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