I'm planning on building me 4-string bass guitar. Ive decided to by a finished neck, but build the body from scratch. Since I'm designing my bass body myself there are no boundaries of what pickups i may use. And Im wondering if its possible to use electric guitar pickups (in this case a single-coil telecaster neck pickup that i own). I am aware of that the guitar pickup is 6-polar, but is that a problem? ive read that fender used 6-coiled guitar pickups on their musicmaster basses!? What are your thoughts?
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Guitar pickup on bass?
- Thread starter awagace
- Start date
It will work. I just made a crappy single string lap steel out of a two by four, a coke bottle, and old bass string, and some old strat pickup that was rolling around in the bottom of my parts drawer. (you're right, I ripped it off from Jack White who ripped it off from somebody else. Great project with the kid, though). Screams like a banshee. So for me it works.
You may love the sound of the tele pickup in your bass, and if you do that's cool. If others don't like it then you'll have to change it to make them happy.
String to string balance is over rated. If it sounds good it's good.
You may love the sound of the tele pickup in your bass, and if you do that's cool. If others don't like it then you'll have to change it to make them happy.
String to string balance is over rated. If it sounds good it's good.
Do you think so? because the musicmaster bass is contained with a 6-coil pickup. i might be wrong but arent the blade pickups "not 6-coiled"
?
I don't know anything about Musicmaster basses other than what I just read 3 minutes ago, and that said they were stripped-down budget versions of the Fender Mustangs, and that they used surplus parts from other Fender models. The pickup didn't have 6 coils, it had 1 coil with 6 pole pieces.
The point of blade style pickups is that the strings will always be vibrating above the magnetic field regardless of what the string spacing is on the instrument. If a string doesn't line up with the pole piece then its output will be quieter than the strings that do line up with the pole pieces. Since you haven't mentioned what kind of bridge you'll be using you don't know what your string spacing will be. On a blade style pickup the blade is one continuous pole piece, so string spacing isn't an issue.
The point of blade style pickups is that the strings will always be vibrating above the magnetic field regardless of what the string spacing is on the instrument. If a string doesn't line up with the pole piece then its output will be quieter than the strings that do line up with the pole pieces. Since you haven't mentioned what kind of bridge you'll be using you don't know what your string spacing will be. On a blade style pickup the blade is one continuous pole piece, so string spacing isn't an issue.
Do you think so? because the musicmaster bass is contained with a 6-coil pickup. i might be wrong but arent the blade pickups "not 6-coiled"
6 coils!?
The only pickup I can think of aside from quad-coil blade style pickups that has more than four coils would be the Wal humbuckers that have one coil per string.
Thanks for your help! 
Do you have any sound clips or are you able to describe the sound of that pickup?
It will work. I just made a crappy single string lap steel out of a two by four, a coke bottle, and old bass string, and some old strat pickup that was rolling around in the bottom of my parts drawer. (you're right, I ripped it off from Jack White who ripped it off from somebody else. Great project with the kid, though). Screams like a banshee. So for me it works.no pics no.....thing.
