Half a p bass pickup?

[ON the ONE]

I've been commissioned to build an 8 string fan fret guitar/bass in the style of Charlie Hunter.
I'm wondering if I can split a P bass humbucker and only use one coil.
Here's why:
This design uses string spacing that is more similar to that of a guitar (I know,I know) than a bass and the 4 poles of one half of the p pickup will perfectly split the 3 bass strings.
This means I can reduce the space between the neck pocket and the saddles for a more comfortable playing position. Typically these 8 string fan frets use both coils side by side and retain their humbucking and wiring configuration but I'm trying to save space for two guitar humbuckers.
Does anyone have experience with simply cutting a p bass pickup in half? Obviously there could be hum, but will the output be drastically reduced or are there other bummers that havent thought of?
Is there anyone that makes a super narrow bass hum-bucker?
Thanks

 

[rufus.K]

Build a plywood mock up and mount the pickup to try it

 

[Will_White]

I've been commissioned to build an 8 string fan fret guitar/bass in the style of Charlie Hunter.
I'm wondering if I can split a P bass humbucker and only use one coil.
Here's why:
This design uses string spacing that is more similar to that of a guitar (I know,I know) than a bass and the 4 poles of one half of the p pickup will perfectly split the 3 bass strings.
This means I can reduce the space between the neck pocket and the saddles for a more comfortable playing position. Typically these 8 string fan frets use both coils side by side and retain their humbucking and wiring configuration but I'm trying to save space for two guitar humbuckers.
Does anyone have experience with simply cutting a p bass pickup in half? Obviously there could be hum, but will the output be drastically reduced or are there other bummers that havent thought of?
Is there anyone that makes a super narrow bass hum-bucker?
Thanks

You can just use guitar pickups, they work with bass too, as for using half a p bass pickup it works out put won't be much less and it will hum. Since its fanned could you use a full p bass pickup to pick up all the strings? One string per pole piece?

 

[rufus.K]

go one step further, take 2 strat pickups and make one humbucker P-Bass style with them offset.

 

[Will_White]

go one step further, take 2 strat pickups and make one humbucker P-Bass style with them offset.

Humbucking Blade style strat pickups even.

 

[Nev375]

You can just use guitar pickups, they work with bass too, as for using half a p bass pickup it works out put won't be much less and it will hum. Since its fanned could you use a full p bass pickup to pick up all the strings? One string per pole piece?

They work, but they don't always sound good with bass strings.

Some are fine and some are horribly weak on the bass end.
No good way to tell except for trial and error.

 

[Will_White]

They work, but they don't always sound good with bass strings.

Some are fine and some are horribly weak on the bass end.
No good way to tell except for trial and error.

As long as it isn't some super high output pickup it will work well for bass if it has an even magnetic field that covers all the strings this is where blades come in handy.

 

[Nev375]

I think you could knock the magnets and/or poles out of one half of it and stack it under, behind or off to the side (does the design have a pickgurd?) and it would be a hum-cancelling dummy coil.

edit: Maybe not directly under, that might pickup part of the magnetic field and cause weirdness. I don't know. I've never actually used a dummy coil, but Alembic and others have used them quite effectively.

Maybe in the control cavity?

 

[Nev375]

As long as it isn't some super high output pickup it will work well for bass if it has an even magnetic field that covers all the strings this is where blades come in handy.

Link Removed

Here's my 9 string octaved Baritone. It has GFS rail tele pickups. The octave strings sound great, but the bass strings are mediocre.
I want to upgrade them, but I'm hesitant to shell out the cash for some Duncan or boutique pickups until I'm convinced they sound
good with bass strings. I don't want to hijack the thread, so if anyone has suggestions shoot me a PM.

 

[ON the ONE]

Thanks for the ideas guys. This is a stereo guitar so that the bass and guitar can be run to different amps. The customer does a one man band looping thing and wants two instruments in one. In the photo, you can see the space between the pickups. That is what I am trying to eliminate. Maybe I need a custom pickup made.

 

[swarfrat]

I haven't yet, but was planning (before a more radical direction change) to split a P-bass pickup for a very narrow 4 string, remove the magnet from the other half, and hide it inside the body so it would still hum cancel and have similar inductance, but only sense strings via the visible portion.