Is my bridge pickup wide enough?

[IntrepidCellist]

If you're getting an overall volume drop on the bridge side coil, it's only because being that close to the bridge there is less string excursion and therefore less signal generated.

It shouldn't be a dramatic difference though. The coils are right next to each other.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

It shouldn't be a dramatic difference though. The coils are right next to each other.

I agree. It will be more that one sounds thinner. Unless you are cutting all your treble out it would sound lower in level.

 

[DaveAceofBass]

It's a custom pickup Mike uses. He calls it his "full-range" MM. It's a dual coil.

The subtlety of difference in tone is slight. However, the thought is disconcerting. It's a little less fundamental in the tone, and becomes more obvious when I really yank on the B string. Unless Kent Armstrong or SGD can make a pup with blades that go wider than the Bart in the same size shell, I'll be switching to Nordstrands (MM 5.4 and NJ5SE) when my tech can perform the surgery.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

I can fit 78mm long blades in that case.

 

[DaveAceofBass]

Hmm, food for thought. I will have to talk to you more about this.

 

[DaveAceofBass]

Is 78mm really any wider than the Bart internally? Is that wide enough for 76mm (center of B to center of G) spacing?

 

[SGD Lutherie]

Is 78mm really any wider than the Bart internally? Is that wide enough for 76mm (center of B to center of G) spacing?

I don't know how wide that Bart is internally; the standard Barts go up to 73mm. But that's what I can fit in that cover. That's the total length of the blade. As long as it's under the string it will work.

 

[DaveAceofBass]

I just can't make up my mind. I just remeasured, and the spacing is 73mm center to center above the middle of the pickup. I think I'm going to go the inexpensive route for now. Switch to a 59J1 for the neck pickup, and have the toggle switch rewired for a parallel option.

In the long run switching to the Nordstrands will likely give me the tone I want. My tech won't likely be able to do that surgery for a while anyway, as he's really backed up. In time I may make a different decision.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

Nordstrand doesn't make a 4 string MM pickup for five strings. Their five striung pickup is a different size, which is fine if you want o have the bass routed. Maybe they can make you one. Their 4 string MM pickup wont pickup out the outside strings the way you want.

 

[DaveAceofBass]

Wound up ordering some custom Kent Armstrongs. Will give a full report soon...

Dave

 

[DaveAceofBass]

Well, I just received my new set of custom made Kent Armstrong pickups. I didn't tell him what kind of magnets to use, instead I just described what I was after tonally. I was surprised that the MM pickup has ceramic magnets and not alnico because I wanted to reduce the shrill high end I had from the Barts...but maybe Kent felt this would fit my needs for a good reason. We'll see after they go in the bass....

Here's what the invoice says:
MM J81 x6x12 6.5KT.063 Ceramic in Each
Jazz Bass SS J74 7KT.06

I have no idea what that means, but I know the J pickup is his sideways single coil like I had in my old Kinal. I know that will sound killer. Just hoping the bridge pickup is not too harsh sounding, I want a warm tone. There's a little routing to be done. I'll give a review when it's all done.

 

[Ric5]

I have a custom Kinal SK5. The bridge pickup is a Bartolini MM pickup, a custom version of the pickup Mike Kinal uses. I've always been concerned about the pickup not being wide enough, but I don't notice any sound dropout on the B or G strings when I'm on the neck coil (60s J position) or in parallel humbucking mode. However, I seem to have pretty low output when I'm on the bridge coil (70s J position) side. Although I don't really notice a dropout on the B or G strings, it is noticeably lower output compared to the front coil. I'm thinking of replacing the pickups, but that may require routing, which I wouldn't want to have to do to my sweet bass.

Take a look at the picture and tell me what you think!

You have answered your own question. You need a wider pickup in the bridge position. You are using 4 string pickups on a 5 string bass. I do it all the time, but I also use a bridge that is 2 1/2". Yours is larger.

So you have 2 choices.

1 - Narrower bridge.
2 - Wider bridge pickup.

The bottom line is the laws of physics and electromagnetism are in play here. I would get the 5 string version of that pickup and put it in there.

 

[DaveAceofBass]

You have answered your own question. You need a wider pickup in the bridge position. You are using 4 string pickups on a 5 string bass. I do it all the time, but I also use a bridge that is 2 1/2". Yours is larger.

So you have 2 choices.

1 - Narrower bridge.
2 - Wider bridge pickup.

The bottom line is the laws of physics and electromagnetism are in play here. I would get the 5 string version of that pickup and put it in there.

Already done. See my last post. Kent made longer pickups, just barely.