Episode 035: The Pickup Line

Practical Bass

00:00 / 39:09

Different pickup choices are what make electric bass exciting. How do they affect your sound?

Do you have a favorite pickup configuration?

Dave
- I lean toward Precision but mostly prefer having the options of a P/J combo
Paul

How do pickups work, anyway?

They’re transducers, meaning they change one kind of energy into another
Copper wire wound around a magnet, sometimes in multiples, generates a magnetic flux field
The vibration of your string disturbs the field, which generates a tiny electric signal
Then you amplify this signal and it becomes what you hear
The amount of copper wiring (number of windings) also changes the tone!

Passive vs. Active

Active pickups usually have fewer coil units and wire winding
- Meaning even lower signal
- The battery power lets you amplify that way up, EQ it, etc.
Passive pickups have a brighter, fuller tone though… that’s why all pickups aren’t active

Location

Where do you play on your strings?
- Dave
  - Wherever I can get the sound I need! – But most time spent by the neck
- Paul
Where you put the pickup affects the sound similarly to your fingers
- By the neck — round, booming tone
- By the bridge — trebly, nasal tone

Precision pickups

Since the late 50’s, split coil — one unit for the low strings, one for the higher strings
Gives the characteristic “bark” of a P bass
Early 50’s P basses had a single coil pickup
Chuck Rainey, Rocco Prestia, Bootsy, all the punk

Jazz pickups

One closer to the neck to give body and fullness
One closer to the bridge to give more twang
Combine them and you get the trademark “growl” of a jazz bass
70s spacing means the pickups move toward the bridge, especially the one closest
Sounds: Geddy Lee, Jaco, John Paul Jones, Marcus Miller, Aston Family Man,

Music Man pickups

Standard configuration is a dual coil pickup fairly near the bridge
Switch on the StingRay may differ depending on the age of the bass, but most made in the last twenty or so years allow you to switch between parallel, series, or single coil
- The cheaper SUB and Sterling don’t work the same
Louis Johnson, Randy Jackson, Pino Palladino (80’s)

Different manufacturers make lots of options

Size/weight of pole pieces, number of windings, material used…
Popular: Seymour Duncan, Nordstrand, Aguilar, Bartolini, lots more…
- Check out our friend Blyss at sonofabass.com, he dropped Aguilar pre + pickups in a Sire V7 for amazing sound

Other aspects