Neck Pickup and Bridge pickup are the same?

[_sky_]

Hello,


I´m buying the DP123 DiMarzio pickups for a jazz bass I have. The question is that the seller told me there was a mistake in the factory and that he only have a set with two neck pickups. He says there isn´t any problem and that the pickups are the same dispite the bridge pickup being a few inches smaller. The Tone/sound will not be affected.

Is this true or am I being duped?

 

[Coolhandjjl]

In a standard J bass, the bridge pup and its associated route cavity is slighter wider to account for the spread of the strings as they approach the bridge. Some brands of J style basses use the neck pup in both positions as a cost cutting/inventory control measure, so some sets are packaged and sold that way.

The seller is correct in stating they both sound the same, however, the dimensions of your route cavities will tell you what will fit, as a neck pup will not fit if placed in a standard bridge route cavity.

 

[line6man]

The seller is lying to you. Because a bridge pickup is wider, even if it has the same number of winds, it will have more wire on it. This means higher resistance, inductance, capacitance, impedance, and output. Bridge pickups are almost always made to be hotter than neck pickups, because there is less string movement to transduce at the bridge position, but yet you need the pickups to balance with each other.

 

[honeyiscool]

In a Jazz Bass, the difference between size is so minute to matter in terms of tone and windings. Plus, even two exactly same pickups from the same assembly line can sound a bit different and measure different, too. However, what's important is whether it'll fit your bass. They shouldn't even call them bridge and neck Jazz pickups, they should call them long and short.

The average Fender has a long rear and a short forward pickup. If you have a MIM or certain Squiers, there's a good chance that both your pickups will be short. Certain basses have two long pickups. So assembly line Jazz Bass pickups are pretty much always made so that both long and short Jazz Bass pickups have the same tonal characteristics, because who knows which position they'll actually be used.

 

[iiipopes]

Instead of arguing about it, here is the link to the DiMarzio web page on the pickups. Yes, they are physically different lengths. But DiMarzio seems to use the same bobbins with the poles inserted at different intervals, and they list the specs as being the same on both pickups. So as always, the truth of the matter is somewhere in the middle:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[Coolhandjjl]

guess no one liked my reply.

 

[_sky_]

Thanks for the answers! If I put the two "long" pickups I will be more rested.