Information on Pickups
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The subject of pickups is a big
one and it would be foolish for me to state this as final or complete
guide to choosing the right pickup for your bass. Pickups are
important to the sound of a bass, ranked right up there with strings
as a way of defining your sound. They probably have more effect on
your final sound than whatever combination of woods you choose for
that perfect tone. To complicate the issue, a pickup can give quite
different results on different basses. Changing strings will effect a
pickup's response as well. Here is an alphabetical overview of the
pickups I use regularly.
Alembic
"MXY" (wide aperture) and "AXY" (narrow aperture). Using
ceramic magnets and a low impedance, humcancelling winding, Alembic
pickups must be combined with their active system to boost the signal
sufficiently. There are two control options; either "Q" control (a
sweeping, narrow band boost) or bass & treble controls. Uses 9V-
48V power supply.)
Alembic pickups are "hand" wound
by the Wickersham grandparents in California and are supposed to
reproduce the "acoustic" sound of the bass with no coloration.
Because these pickups are low impedance they require a specially
designed preamp circuit from Alembic, these circuits are modular in
design with solderless connectors. (Meaning you can keep adding tone
modules a la Series II.) The circuits use the best components
available and are extremely quiet. That said, the basic setup doesn't
do much for me. It is very easy to work with and get what you need
but don't expect to be blown away on the first try. Some folks say
it's bass shy...
Bartolini:
Available in all known shapes and sizes. Bartolini is set up
to make virtually any possible configuration. Generally ceramic
type.
Bill and Pat Bartolini have been
winding pickups for a lot longer than I have been playing bass. They
know what they're doing. With hundreds of different pickup models in
thousands of permutations you might have to wait a while for your own
custom wound Bartolinis. It's difficult to generalize the "Bartolini
sound" except to say that they sound nice with the sharper edges in
the sound slightly rounded over, smooth, clean, fast response with
lots of midrange definition. There are two winding options available
on most of their pickups; "Bright" or "Deep". Most people will find
the the "Bright" pickups midrangy and bass shy though they excel at
giving a voice-like quality to solo bass and can give a very
percussive attack and "growl". The "Deep" pickups have great low mids
but still won't go as deep as the the deepest. (This is generally an
asset when mixing bass in large venues with boomy or difficult
sound). Slappers seem happy with the compromise between slap tone and
fingerstyle warmth.
"These Bartolinis (M4 dual coils) would be excellent in a hard rock
band, they remind me always of a typical punchy Fender Precision
sound and cut through a Marshall full stack like a knife." -Manfred
Kromer.
Bill has a new ceramic magnet
structure, known as "CX", which gives an extended range similar to
the Lane Poor pickups. This pickup should fill the gap for those
players who seek a true full range pickup with the low noise that the
Bartolinis are renowned for.
Hum-cancellation comes in four
configurations;
"vertical hum-canceling" AKA "stacked" (lower output for use with
active preamps),
"linear"*, i.e., "split", "quadraphonic", "pentaphonic",
"hexaphonic" etc. (A separate coil and magnet under each string or
pair of strings. *These pickups cannot be mixed with other types or
some strings will be out of phase, also, these pickups must be built
to the exact string spacing of the instrument or the strings won't be
over their respective magnets and volume will be uneven).
"Dual coil", a traditional humbucker which can be wired in several
ways to alter the tone.
"Triple coil" is a refinement of dual coil where a dummy coil (no
magnetic structure) sits between the regular coils to cancel out hum
when only one of the coils is used.
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EMG:
4 string: "Jazz", "Precision", "P+J" combo, "VJ","35J", "35P4",
"35P", "DC35"
5 string: "LJ5", "40P5", "40J5", "DC40",
6 string: "45J", "45P", "DC45".
All EMG pickups are active and require a 9V battery. All use
ceramic magnets except the 4 string "VJ" which uses alnico V magnets.
Some models use ceramic magnets and iron cores to warm up the
tone.
It seems people either love or
hate the EMG sound. I like it. These pickups always sound good to me.
What's more they record well and engineers love them. If I had them
in my bass I would probably hate them because they always sound
exactly the same. They do pick up string movement in 2 axis which is
important for slappers. They seem best suited to good old rock and
roll and not much else because they are not very dynamic and don't
have the extended lows of some passive models. They don't work when
the battery dies. They are quiet and hum free, the "DC" line being
the quietest of the bunch. I used to think the LJ5's had a nice low
end but it's hard to say now for sure.
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Fender Lace Sensor / Actodyne:
4 string: "Jazz", "Precision", "P + J combo".
Lace sensors are passive and use flexible magnet material.
These are a very interesting
passive pickup, quite unique in design with the single coil on the
inside and the magnets on the outside. They can sound great
considering the limitations of the old Fender shells but are not hum
free as advertised despite attempts to shield the coil from RF and
buzz. I like the strong, sweet, tight low end however the flexible
magnetic tape may have something to do with the absence of extended
highs.
Lindy Fralen:
4 String "Precision" and "Jazz" with alnico V magnets or
ceramic magnets and steel pole pieces.
Lindy Fralen is a custom pickup
winder in Richmond, VA. His specialty has been "vintage" stratocaster
pickups for which he is world renowned. He has since started
manufacturing replacements for Precision and Jazz basses. If you are
looking for a top of the line Fender type pickup these are the ones
to start with. Lindy will wind them hot if need be. The alnico V
magnets are warmer, smoother and higher output, the steel/ ceramic
ones are "clangier" but feature adjustable pole pieces to balance
string volumes.
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Lane Poor: (Note: Lane Poor has
temporarily ceased operations, very limited stock.)
4 String: "JC", "M3.5W", "M3.5hb" "MMdv"
5 string: "JL", SB3.950, SB4.250, "M4.0W", "MM5".
6 string: "JXL", "SB4.650", "M4.5W",
7 string: "SB 5.0", "M5.0"
All with ceramic magnets, "MM" denotes Music Man, SB" denotes
soap bar, "W" denotes wide aperture, "HB" denotes humbucking, "dv"
denotes dual voice.
Ahh Lane Poor, the savior of the
modern bass luthier. This guy was production manager at Monster
cables in S.F. and then went on eventually to design and produce an
ungainly and short lived line of 4 and 5 string headless basses.
Eventually he found his true calling. These pickups are quite
remarkable as they seem to combine some of the best features of
several of my favorite pickups. They are available in 16 replacement
sizes and with a backlog of only 2 weeks. I prefer the "wide
aperture" and humbucking models for all around rock and roll. These
pickups are pretty neutral, they let the bass speak in it's own
voice. They also sound incredibly clean and accurate. The low end is
tight and full at the same time with quick response. The low mids are
very audible so you know what note you're playing on a noisy stage.
The mids aren't barky or annoying but you can coax a good growl with
some eq. These guys pick up beautifully in the vertical axis, your
slap sound is balanced and matches the volume of your fingerstyle
playing (a minor miracle.) The Music Man shell can hold any 2 of the
pickup units; narrow, wide and or humbucking. When connected in
series mode the sound rivals any pickup on the planet for fatness.
They look sharp with their little holographic disk logo. Some people
have experienced RF noise problems in certain situations, the "hb"
are quietest.
"I found Lane Poor Pickups get me a nice clear, warm and punchy
sound. Just what I was looking for. You should consider making these
the default pickups in all your basses." Manfred Kromer.
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Seymour Duncan:
4 string: Vintage Jazz, Vintage Precision, Hot"J", Hot"P", active
"J" with EQ., Active "P" with EQ., 1/4 pounder "P", 1/4 pounder "J",
"Music Man"
5 & 6 string: active, humbucking soap bar. "Music Man" 5, "J 5",
"M4", "M5"
Many different versions are available using alnico II, alnico
V and ceramic magnets some with iron cores or pole pieces
"Basslines" is the name of the
company's bass division headed by Kevin Beller, they have some money
for R & D and they seem to be doing things right. The passive
pickups boast a "big" sound that's hot, aggressive and a little bit
"dirty". Their active pickups are more conservative, something
between an EMG and a Bartolini. (They've even told me so). Not quite
sterile, fine slapping tone, very tight sounding when played
aggressively, almost warm sounding when fondled but never really dark
sounding. Not too hot for passive inputs. There is still a man behind
the name and if you are big on vintage Fender sound then Mr Duncan
himself will hand wind a pair of Jazz or Precision pickups with
formvar wire on alnico II magnets and then personally "age" them by
beating them with some blunt objects, ask for the "Antiquity" series
at your Seymour.
Outside commentary: "I have a set of Basslines "Active five string
for Jazz" (AJB-55 SET) that came stock in my Hamer Cruisebass Five.
No preamp other than the one inside the pickups themselves - passive
controls. These are the nicest pickups I've ever heard in my
relatively brief five years on bass." -Kraig Olmstead
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This is the BGRA
This feature article is © 2001 by David King
Reprinted by the BGRA with permission
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King