IMHO...Fender has been trying to play catch up for decades now..."doing it the way Fender Should have" all along!
I personally like the ability to chose through the body or top loading....
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Has Fender ever changed the Precision pickup location?
- Thread starter Stinsok
- Start date
I believe it is 10.5" from the 12th fret to the front edge of the E/A side of the pickup.
And thank you. I've been curious about how far misplaced the P pickup is on the Fender Urge. You've inspired me to measure, do the math, and find out!
I thought I was the only one that noticed that. I never wanted to mention it because I thought, well, maybe it's just me. But, with a P/J I had and with a Jazz bass I own now, in order to get punch the neck pickup has to be predominate . The bridge pup IMO has more of a twanky to nasal sound, while the neck pup has more of a burppy tone. Together they provide punch.
If I did the math right, on a 32" scale P bass, the front edge of the pickup should be 9.88" from the 12th fret. The P pickup on the Urge is sitting at 11.125." In 34" scale terms, the Urge P pickup is shifted about 1.3 inches too far back towards the bridge. I knew the P pickup was more punchy and full of midrange than a normal P bass. I bet this is a big part of the reason why.
Here's a history note, 71' thru 79', Fender issued the Telecaster bass, which had a humbucker in the neck position. In 2007, it was reissued as the Squier Vintage Modified Precision Bass TB with the humbucker in the neck position. So, it's still available. Cheers. ;^D.
If you mean in sales, I doubt it. I'll bet Fender/Squier outsells every other bass manufacturer combined at least 3 to 1 -- maybe more. Why stray too much from a successful formula?
Closer to neck = more bass, assuming more bass is your definition of punch.
I have a 2014 Mark Hoppus Jazz bass and I can attest that it delivers more punch than a standard pbass. I just put a Bill Lawrence p46 in and d@mn!, too much actually, the d/g coil seems to be overpowering the e/a, but also note that that pickup is already very well balanced in standard configuration, so I may buy the old hoppus guard with standard coil arrangement. As for position, on the later models with reversed coils the e/a coil is 3/4" further towards the neck than my am std pbass.
The Jazz Bass Special has the P pickup located in the usual spot, it's just the lack of a pickguard that may throw off your perception about the location as it just floats out there in the middle of the body, with no pickguard reference points.
You are right about the Power Jazz Special... not only is the P pickup reversed, but it is closer to the neck, which is 22 frets. They didn't really cut the neck much deeper into the body, choosing to move the bridge forward instead, which nudges both pickups forwards (towards the neck) also.
...The MH comes with an SPB-3...that's a really hot pick-up. That's where your punch is coming from. Also, you get more punch by playing closer to the bridge, not the neck, so moving the pickup closer to the neck won't give more punch. Also, the MH is a SIGNATURE model with his spacing requirements...compare a P to a flipped P, not a P to a signature jazz with a P p-up.
I don't have an spb3 pickup in mine, I have a bill lawrence p46, which is punchy as any pickup. I define punch as power whether it's in in the mids or lows. As far as placement I was just correcting someone about where the pickup is located in that model, but I agree playing closer to the bridge gives a serious midrange punch
I think the term precision comes from adding frets to an electric bass, [as in the original p bass.
typically i measure to the center of the pup or pup array [with a split p]. PawleeP
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Zombie thread!
Can you imagine the TalkBass meltdown if Fender changed the Precision pickup position? Even if Fender simply released a poorly rendered image of the pickup moving a couple millimeters? There'd be a panic buy-up of the old stock, people would wonder if hawaiian shirts were next on the chopping block, mass bass player panic would ensue... Only for Fender to release a statement that it was a mistake, which many would say is them backpedaling, and we'd never know the truth.
I guess I can imagine it!
...please don't take this seriously. I love my P bass brothers and sisters, although I'm more of a Jazz guy.
Can you imagine the TalkBass meltdown if Fender changed the Precision pickup position? Even if Fender simply released a poorly rendered image of the pickup moving a couple millimeters? There'd be a panic buy-up of the old stock, people would wonder if hawaiian shirts were next on the chopping block, mass bass player panic would ensue... Only for Fender to release a statement that it was a mistake, which many would say is them backpedaling, and we'd never know the truth.
I guess I can imagine it!
...please don't take this seriously. I love my P bass brothers and sisters, although I'm more of a Jazz guy.
