A Google image search for this shows basses that have the two halves of the pickup truly reversed (centerline of the pickup remains the same) as well as some that have the bass side of the pickup in it's normal location with the D/G half moved to the neck side of it (pickup centerline moved toward the neck, eg. Mark Hoppus sig. P). I'm wondering if anyone has bothered to try both setups and if they noticed much of a difference. I have a Squier Standard P-5 that came with jazz pickups (neck in the P position, bridge in 70s J position) that I'd like to swap a reversed split coil into.
There's a small difference with the P pickup soloed. Somewhat tighter with the one closer to the bridge (reversed around centerline). The "half reverse," with the EA in the standard position, sounds nice and beefy, but I would hesitate to have a bass with just that reverse P position - it could sound a tad dark on the higher strings. BUT, with adding a J at the bridge, you can blend in some more treble from it. But take this with a grain of salt - it will depend on your bass and how it sounds, what strings and pickups you will use, and what spacing you will end up with between the pickups. And ultimately, it will depend on what you like.
{} Gonna have to fire up the router either way. My gut feeling is that keeping the standard P centerline is the way to go but I may just carve out a bathtub that will accommodate both setups and try each one before cutting a pickguard for the winner.
Definitely a half reverse guy myself, EA is punchy/tight enough where it is. DG will thicken up and you can still get some burp from the bridge pup when you want.
Leaving the EA pickup where it is and moving the DG pickup to the other side.... closer to the neck. Completely reversing would be swapping the center lines (the imaginary line that goes through the magnets) of the pickups. In other words, aligning the EA pickup where the DG pickup used to line up and vise versa. In a half reverse, the EA stays where it was and the DG swings around to the neck side.
You could cut a bathtub just to experiment. Aftermarket P pickups tend to push really specific fixes, lows/scooped clank/high mids+highs/etc assuming that pickup stays in 1 position. Try a humbucker, MM, whatever attracts you while experimenting.
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