Making a 5-string pickup similar to 4-string pickups; ohms or turns?

[Marko Ursin]

I'm trying to make a 5-string pickup similar to the Dark Star inspired pickup I made. Should I aim for the same resistance or same number turns for similar sound? I'm making the core with same amount of steel as the 4-string pickup as well as same height coil, just longer to cover 5 strings.
Marko

[David King]

Turns!

[David Schwab]

I wind the same number of turns for 4, 5 and 6 string pickups. If you then find it sounds different you can adjust it with less turns, but I never find a need for that.

[Mike Sulzer]

I wind the same number of turns for 4, 5 and 6 string pickups. If you then find it sounds different you can adjust it with less turns, but I never find a need for that.

But you might. If you are including more pole pieces, etc., and thus have more steel, the inductance might go up a bit. Using fewer turns should raise the resonant frequency back to what it was with the four string model, if this should be a problem.

[David Schwab]

But you might. If you are including more pole pieces, etc., and thus have more steel, the inductance might go up a bit. Using fewer turns should raise the resonant frequency back to what it was with the four string model, if this should be a problem.

Exactly. Most of my pickup models started out as five string pickups, since that's what I play. I have noticed that the four string version will be a little brighter, etc. So I figured out how much more to wind them to match the 5 string, but it's not a huge difference.

You see the same thing with EMG since they use the same number of turns. They list the resonant frequency for each size and they are different.

[Mark Hammer]

The unspoken subtext of this thread is essentially "What should I do if I want to keep the same general tone I have for 4 strings, and expand it to 5?"

The question that, to my mind, accompanies that is: "To what extent CAN the sound of a 4 string instrument be rigidly preserved if turned into 5?" Do the cumulative effects of the additional neck width/mass, and bridge mass change the resulting tone enough that a 5-string pickup has to be rethought, relative to its 4-string counterpart?

Let me state unequivocally that I do not know IF it matters. I'm just curious about the consensus is on whether it does. I would think that the answer to this impacts on what sorts of adjustments one does or doesn't have to make on the pickup.

[Marko Ursin]

And let's not forget that even four string basses have different necks and bodies in size, stiffness, weight etc. Is there even a "four string bass sound" or not?
I agree that five-string bass may sound different acoustically to four string bass but still I think most of the sound of an electric instrument comes from pickup (as long as the instrument itself has healthy sound). That's why I want to try to copy the sound of the four string pickup to five string size. If the sound is not exactly the same it doesn't matter as long as it sounds good in my ears.
Marko

[David Schwab]

The unspoken subtext of this thread is essentially "What should I do if I want to keep the same general tone I have for 4 strings, and expand it to 5?"

The question that, to my mind, accompanies that is: "To what extent CAN the sound of a 4 string instrument be rigidly preserved if turned into 5?" Do the cumulative effects of the additional neck width/mass, and bridge mass change the resulting tone enough that a 5-string pickup has to be rethought, relative to its 4-string counterpart?

Let me state unequivocally that I do not know IF it matters. I'm just curious about the consensus is on whether it does. I would think that the answer to this impacts on what sorts of adjustments one does or doesn't have to make on the pickup.

I find that 5 string basses pretty much sound just like 4 string basses. I have tested four string pickups on my 5 string, and then on a 4 string, and to me the pickup sounds the same.

I think if you want the 5 string pickup to sound the same as the 4 string, try winding a little less wire. Maybe wind to the same DC resistance, but maybe not. I used to do it, but don't anymore, and don't remember what I did.

[Mike Sulzer]

The unspoken subtext of this thread is essentially "What should I do if I want to keep the same general tone I have for 4 strings, and expand it to 5?"

The question that, to my mind, accompanies that is: "To what extent CAN the sound of a 4 string instrument be rigidly preserved if turned into 5?" Do the cumulative effects of the additional neck width/mass, and bridge mass change the resulting tone enough that a 5-string pickup has to be rethought, relative to its 4-string counterpart?

Let me state unequivocally that I do not know IF it matters. I'm just curious about the consensus is on whether it does. I would think that the answer to this impacts on what sorts of adjustments one does or doesn't have to make on the pickup.

I think that the change in tone from changing the pickup resonant frequency is unlikely to compensate very accurately for those other kinds of changes. But I guess it might be useful in some cases.