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One pickup or two?

#41
Brendan said:
I like 2 pup basses primarily because it means more knobs for me to fiddle with!!

Really. I'm not joking.
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For same reason I prefer 3. Never tried 4 (yet).

Seriously though, a far-neck pickup acts like a bass boost on a passive bass. Same thing with a bridge pickup for treble.

I think with active tone controls multiple pickupss are less important but still fun.
 
#45
It depends on the bassist.
If you change the pick-up settings for different songs to get a different tone, that would be a convenience rather than switching basses. If the tone you want doesn't require a different pick-up, then probably one pick-up will do.
My first bass only had a split pick-up and my second only had one split pick-up. I didn't like that it only had one tone that I could vary slightly with the tone knob.
Playing basses with two pick-ups at a store, I see I can get a wider variety of sounds.
Considering I've only played bass in a church setting, I found my bass tone was adjustable by the tone knob on my bass and the EQ settings on the amp.Church music runs the gamut of music styles in one set, country, gospel, rock, jazz, soft rock, alternative rock, reggae, adult contemporary, pop, 80's rock, modern country, country western,etc. Changing EQ settings on the amp on the fly between songs was not doable. No one really noticed anyway because it was the bass. Low frequency and all. Even though it's not a secular rock music setting, the bass player is still an invisible man to single women. That was a side note. I am hoping in the future to get a Carvin SB4000.
 
#46
I think that it ultimately depends on the needs of the Bassist as well as the design of the Bass - the Jack Casady Signature with it's unique Vari-Tone circuit (of which I'm trying to add one of the Limited Edition Silverbursts into the collection for Giftmass ;) ) as well as the old-school classic StingRay "sweetspot" tone could be described as the perfect examples of outliers - but I prefer to have the traditional Bridge & Neck position pickups to mix 'n match from (I also prefer a Volume/Volume setup, which in some cases allows you more precise pickup "amounts" than a Blend Pot). I personally feel somewhat limited when called on to play a one-pup bass, whether it be a Precision (naturally, being a "Jazz, Not P-Bass" guy) to something like the Ibanez Gary Willis Signature Fretless which is a fantastically-built bass and gets his tone perfectly, but to my ears has too much of the "Jaco Bridge Pup Tone" with no Neck pickup to balance things out tonally.
 
#47
MarthaSamira said:
So, if I add treble to a PBass I'll basically have a Jazz Bass?

Or if I'm using only the bridge pickup of a Jazz I can simply add lows and it'll sound like it has both pickups on full?

That's what you're saying?
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My preference would be to have 3 humbucking pickups which can be fully and partially split AND 4 band EQ onboard with active and passive tone controls, series and parallel and out of phase wiring and a volume control for each coil. Horn to horn knobs and switches is bliss.

Having said that, none of it is necessary and most of its not even very important. I was simply pointing out that if you don't have active electronics, more pickups offer more tonal options.

If you have a great multiband preamp, one pickup can do a lot (Stingray, Alain Caron's F bass, Gary Willis' Ibanez, etc).

Peace.:)
 
#49
Doner Designs said:
My preference would be to have 3 humbucking pickups which can be fully and partially split AND 4 band EQ onboard with active and passive tone controls, series and parallel and out of phase wiring and a volume control for each coil. Horn to horn knobs and switches is bliss.

Having said that, none of it is necessary and most of its not even very important. I was simply pointing out that if you don't have active electronics, more pickups offer more tonal options.

If you have a great multiband preamp, one pickup can do a lot (Stingray, Alain Caron's F bass, Gary Willis' Ibanez, etc).:)
Click to expand...

I see...
 
#50
Who Me? I prefer one good one of just the right kind, and placement.

Why? With two pickups active, you get some phase interaction between them, and to me, that makes the instrument sound less "natural". By natural, I mean a similar quality of tonal response (not the sound) you would get from a fine acoustic instrument.

What? The sound of a single coil captures the most "natural" response (to my ears) Preferably one with a narrow aperture that tunes in on a specific harmonic node. The problem with that, of course, is hum. Thankfully, there are a few modern alternative designs that get that sound without resorting to multiple coils. I use a Lace Transensor J-Pup. It's relatively low output, but that's ok since I have an amp.

Where? I prefer the J neck position for the low end. The modern design of the pickup I use helps capture some extra harmonic overtones that are usually not present on a typical J-neck pup. Based on a recording,, a bassist asked me what pickup I was using for the sound I was getting. He thought it was a stingray.

How do I get different sounds with one pickup? Simple. Technique. I hate to resort to the tone is in your fingers cliche, But it's true. Between playing close to the bridge or neck I can vary the tone or use the passive tone knob to eliminate everything but lows. I can use a pick or fingers or slap or tap for varying degrees of sharp or round attack. Theres really a lot you can do with technique alone.



tl:dr - One, Lace Transensor J in the neck position.
 
#51
I have played, and owned, many basses, and all but one have had 2 PUs. P basses have been the exception.

In fact, besides the P bass, I have never heard a single PU bass that sounds good to me.

Still looking, though.

wraub
 
#52
Of my 9 electric basses, the only one single pup model is my EBMM Stingray. My favorite tone is a 2-pup bass with both pups on, & the neck pup backed off just a hair less than the bridge.
My preferred active basses are my Spectors (USA NS-4, Euro 4LX, CRFM), my preferred passive basses are my Rics (4003,4004Cii), and the Stingray still has a home because of it's killer slap tone.
 
#53
I prefer a single neck pickup, but a single middle pickup is OK too. The only exception for me is the Epiphone Allen Woody Sig which as both a neck an middle pickup. I don't have any use for bridge pickups either alone or in combination with a neck or middle pickup.
 
#59
Darren Low said:
I don't see the downside to a 2 pickup bass if each pickup can be soloed.
Click to expand...

Slightly heavier perhaps? :)

Two pups for me if I had to choose, as almost all of mine have two.

It gives me more options, and I don't find it keeps me from using different right hand technique at all.

I generally don't fiddle with knobs or solo pups in mid song, but do use as many different techniques as I feel suits the place in the song.
 
#60
I own both, and don't really care which setup they have. Once I find a setting I like on a bass - single or double pickup - I seldom change it except perhaps for small movements of the tone knob.

Like the OP, I have a Casady and it's a great bass. So is my P, and same for sundry other basses.

One thing I do find is that in almost every double-pickup bass, I like the sound from the neck pickup better than that from the bridge pickup, so I always end up with the bridge pickup turned lower in volume. On single pickup basses, I do NOT want the pickup located next to the bridge - I want it near the neck.
 

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