Bass players need the power and presence to rumble in the low end while supporting a group’s soundscape. We offer pickups that suit any style from deep humbuckers to classic P tone; come find one to suit you!
Includes a 3-Pot Strat-Style Switch (Volume, Middle, 5-Way) and Dual Rail Tone Pot with Treble Bleed for added versatility. Also features selectable coil splitting.
Humbuckers
Your choice of pickup has an immense effect on the tones you can produce, especially for guitarists using humbuckers, which are known for their thicker sound that is often preferred by guitarists looking for powerful yet full tones. Furthermore, these pickups typically provide higher output than single-coil models and less frequently result in 60-cycle feedback, making them ideal for high gain applications.
Finding the right humbucker pickup can be difficult, so to help narrow down your choices it is essential that you understand their construction. Humbuckers consist of two coils stacked together with opposing magnets which work to cancel out electrical interference noise, with parallel wiring having higher output and brighter tone while when configured in series mode the signal never even reaches an amplifier and therefore never travels along both coils before reaching it resulting in cancellation of signal transmission and cancellation of tone altogether.
Humbuckers are great for creating powerful blues tones, offering both punchy lead work and chunky chords with plenty of sustain. Additionally, their higher output allows them to work well with overdrive and distortion pedals; but be aware that too much volume may render them harsh; use caution!
Some guitarists opt for installing covers over their humbuckers to reduce noise production, but this must be done carefully as improper installation could damage or alter sonic properties of their pickup. Furthermore, professional assistance should always be sought prior to undertaking modifications such as this one in order to preserve your guitar’s resale value and avoid damaging or devaluing it further.
Humbuckers may be cumbersome and annoying for guitarists when using three humbucker setups, particularly when used in tandem. The middle pickup can interfere with picking hand movements, forcing your pick deeper than intended. To address this, some guitarists recommend anchoring their wrist on the bridge and practicing this way so as to prevent your pick from going too deep and scraping the middle pickup.
J Pickups
Bass players have many sonic options at their fingertips when selecting their bass pickup, whether that guitar is a Thunderbird with dual humbuckers, a Jag with one J pickup or even one fitted with two split-coil P pickups on its Rickenbacker body. Finding an appropriate pickup tone is essential when playing any genre from punk rock to funk music – selecting one with which you feel at home will bring out its best qualities!
P and J pickups are among the most commonly used bass pickup types. A P bass features a single coil pickup that offers various tones depending on how it is voiced and used; its J counterpart provides more tones. They often sit side-by-side on an instrument where one sits in the neck position while one rests on its bridge location for maximum sound control with one volume knob enabling players to blend or individualise these pickups as needed.
Shopping for a bass pickup can be daunting, as many factors come into play. Your type of bass, amplifier, room acoustics, string type preferences and playing style all play an impactful role in shaping the tone that emerges from it all. Unfortunately, all this means it may be challenging determining which pickup best matches up with your style of music; but with careful research and consideration you will eventually discover one!
Although J-Style pickups provide a full, rich tone with improved treble response and narrower apertures for an incisive attack, adding an EMG Hot Stack pickup can bring several advantages to your bass. Although not technically humbuckers as they fit into traditional J-Bass single coil cavities, EMG Hot Stack pickups deliver high output with thick midrange sound quality while remaining noiseless – ideal for rock music as well as pop.
Good news is that both J-style and P-style bass pickups work seamlessly with active electronics. However, it should be noted that some active electronics may colorize the signal coming from your bass pickups, so it is crucial to select active electronics with a true bypass feature or switch in order to access its natural passive tone without coloration.
P Pickups
P bass pickups offer the ideal sound solution for those seeking to achieve a big, full range sound that fits seamlessly in a mix. Their punchy midrange and low-end growl will cut through without overshadowing other instruments in the mix – perfect for metal bassists or anyone seeking that old school tone.
When assessing a bass guitar pickup, it’s essential to look beyond its DC resistance (which indicates how many windings there are), but also at its frequency response curve – an interactive graph which depicts output voltage versus frequency to provide you with an exact illustration of how each note played on your instrument affects its response from its pickup.
High frequency response curves feature a sharp increase in output with each increase in frequency, leading to a more present and punchy tone. Conversely, low frequency response curves feature an incremental decline in output as frequency decreases, giving your pickup more of a warm and round sound.
Another important consideration when purchasing pickups is how active they are. Passive models require no power for operation and immediately transmit signals produced by vibrating bass strings via electromagnetic induction. On the other hand, active pickups contain preamplifiers which amplify, filter, EQ and adjust impedance of electromagnetically induced signals to improve clarity.
If you need assistance selecting the appropriate bass pickup, reach out to other musicians or knowledgeable store employees. Finding a pickup that suits you could dramatically change your tone; take some time researching all your options carefully.
Piezoelectric pickups are often found on acoustic-electric guitars, but can also work wonders on basses. These pickups use a small piezoelectric crystal to generate an electrical signal when string vibration occurs and convert that to audio for use through bass amplifiers. A popular feature of these types of pickups is their ability to switch between in and out-of-phase sounds with just the flick of a switch or turn of knob.
Custom Pickups
The pickup is the first component to convert string vibrations into an electric signal that will reach your amplifier and shape into your desired tone. Pickups play a pivotal role in shaping how bass or guitar sounds; whether passive or active guitar, your choice of pickup can have an enormous influence on its tone and character.
Magnet size and type, as well as how the bobbins that hold the wire coil, play an enormous role in how your pickup sounds. Furthermore, how the wire is wound onto the bobbin has an effect on its tone as does any insulation material used or number of turns placed onto its coil.
Manufacturers take all these factors into account when designing their products, especially when selling high volume units that must meet quality control. To achieve desired tones they must work within parameters established for their designs such as winding pattern, number of turns, copper gauge gauge and insulation material etc.
There are various types of bass pickups to choose from, each offering its own distinct voice and characteristics. Ceramic magnets provide more of an modern sound with higher output and bolder midrange than Alnico-style magnets.
Active single-coil pickups are among the most popular choices available to guitarists. These pickups contain a built-in preamp to filter any noise introduced from your guitar and provide an ideal balance between solid bass, prominent midrange and sharp treble notes.
Humbuckers are another popular option, though more costly. While these models don’t produce noise at all, they offer several other advantages such as splitting into two tones and canceling out electric hum generated by both magnetic poles.