Bass pickup basics

[rbilleaud]

I'm a guitar builder and I've had experience rewinding single coil guitar pickups, mainly as a cost-saving measure, but I'm about to embark on my first bass build and have a question concerning winding my own bass pickups. I don't really understand the physics behind a pickup other than just the basic concept so what it is about a bass pickup, specifically in the wire gauge and number of windings that account for it's low frequency response and contrast this with a guitar pickup. Thanks for the info, as you can see I probably know just enough to be dangerous.

[David Schwab]

Bass pickups, such as Fender's, might have more wire on them than guitar pickups. But bass pickups such as Rickenbacker's, are the same as their guitar pickups... only some have four poles. The toasters and the humbuckers are exactly the same.

So getting back to a Fender style pickup, you have about 10K on a P bass pickup.

But really there isn't much of a difference... basses are deeper sounding. One of my favorite bass pickups was a Bartolini mini humbucker that I had on my 1972 Ric 4001 bass. It wasn't a bass pickup, just a pickup. Sounded great. Very full and warm, with tons of bottom.

What you want in a bass pickup is a clean tone.

[rbilleaud]

Thanks for the info, I was always curious about that. It seems like all the bass pups I've ever seen have covers so I've never seen what's inside them, I assumed that there wasn't much difference, but thought I'd ask anyway.

[David Schwab]

Thanks for the info, I was always curious about that. It seems like all the bass pups I've ever seen have covers so I've never seen what's inside them, I assumed that there wasn't much difference, but thought I'd ask anyway.

Well you can see the inside of a Fender Jazz or Precision pickup, and they aren't all that much different from Strat or Tele pickups, except for the size and shape of the coil. P-bass pickups are more like Jazzmaster pickups.

Then you have things like Music Man pickups, which are large apature humbuckers with big magnets.

EMG's are fairly normal... blade polepieces with ceramic magnets.

Barts can get interesting... but that was mostly his original Hi-A designs.

Not a bass pickup, but just in case someone was wondering what's in an EMG 81 ...

(No, I didn't take these pictures)

[Hugh Bishop]

Is there anyone who could wind a pickup to fit in the mute section of a Rick 4001 bass? Please let me know.
Hugh Bishop

[David Schwab]

Is there anyone who could wind a pickup to fit in the mute section of a Rick 4001 bass? Please let me know.
Hugh Bishop

I've seen someone on the RicResource forum take a jazz bass pickup and with a slight alteration of the bobbin, fit it in the mute compartment. Bartolini also makes one, but these days they say the pickup doesn't produce sound, but alters the tone of the bass... I think they changed it because it's very close to the bridge.

I had one I made on my '72 4001 years ago... it doesn't do much there, but it does add some zing.

What kind of tone are you looking for?