Pickup systems have an enormous effect on the tone and performance of a bass guitar. There are different styles and power levels of pickups to consider when selecting the appropriate setup for you.
Humbucking pickups employ two coils with opposite magnetic polepieces in order to cancel out ambient mains hum, which would otherwise interfere with musical signals.
The Pickup
What type of pickup system you have installed in your bass guitar will have a dramatic impact on its tone. While there are various kinds of bass pickups to choose from, each offers unique advantages and drawbacks; which one best suits you will depend largely on what genre of music you plan to perform as well as whether or not an amp will be necessary for live performances.
Most basses feature two or more pickups to allow for custom tones to be created, including passive and active pickups. Passive pickups don’t need power and immediately output their signal converted from vibrations of strings. Active pickups have preamps which amplify, filter, EQ and adjust impedance of electromagnetically induced string vibrations before outputting them. Bass guitars generally benefit more from active pickups due to higher winding counts that better capture low frequencies of vibrating strings effectively.
Bass guitars typically feature larger string spacing than guitars, which has an impactful influence on their tones. Most pickups are engineered with specific spacing considerations in mind to achieve an ideal combination of sounds across all strings.
Acoustic basses differ significantly from guitars in that their strings often move out of phase with each other, altering their tone. To compensate, most bass pickups feature internal wiring adjustments as well as external magnet adjustments in order to obtain the best balance and natural tone possible.
One of the newest innovations for bass guitars is optical pickup technology, which uses light to convert string vibrations into electrical signals. Though still an emerging concept, Light4Sound has created a prototype called the oPik that should soon become commercially available.
This type of pickup works by shining a beam of light onto a string, measuring how its shadow changes, and then using that information to convert into an electronic signal via its microprocessor. It could potentially produce a very clean and noiseless sound that would be ideal for recording applications.
The Bridge
A bridge is an essential piece in any song, providing variation and tension before transitioning to the chorus or subsequent section of music. Additionally, this section can add contrast and emphasize certain aspects of melody; additionally, bridges may introduce new melodies or alter rhythm patterns, creating dynamic changes in energy levels that create dynamic change within songs.
Single-coil bass bridge pickups are among the most widely used varieties, featuring a coil that wraps magnetic polepiece screws. A single-coil produces open and bright tones; however, due to electromagnetic interference from external sources like radios and neon tubes it may produce noise that compromises tone quality.
Split-coil pickups provide another viable choice, comprising two coils with separate magnets connected by wire. When engaged, these pickups produce both single-coil and humbucking sounds depending on which switch is engaged, while offering greater tonal versatility than single-coils.
Humbuckers are another popular pickup choice, comprised of two pickup coils side-by-side connected by large pole pieces to minimize unwanted noise. Humbuckers are especially well suited to bass guitars as they deliver powerful tones with plenty of sustain and resonance.
P-style pickups were first used on Fender Precision basses in 1957. Each string has two magnetized polepieces which produce more harmonic overtones than fundamental tones for an enhanced harmonic bass sound and focused, punchy tonality.
Active bridge pickups use a pre-amplifier to cut or boost specific frequencies, giving you greater control of your bass’s tone than passive systems. Activated pickups run off of 9-volt batteries and come equipped with various features you can adjust according to your playing style; some active models even combine features from multiple active pickup types for unique effects; these models commonly feature bass/treble controls as well as input volume and gain controls.
The Neck
Your bass guitar’s neck can have an enormous effect on its sound. The position and shape of its neck can change the sustain your instrument has, as well as how deep or bright its sound may be. Wood types such as Maple can produce brighter tones than Walnut. Play around with all these factors until you find what sounds best to you – it could transform your tone!
The neck pickups can vary in style, size and power depending on how they’re configured. Some are single coil, where one coil picks up all strings simultaneously; others use two humbucking coils close together that produce deeper sound with more “punch”. Some even utilize split-coils, in which each coil takes on different strings so that on a 4-string bass guitar one coil takes care of E&A and D&G strings while the other takes care of D&G strings – thus creating two distinct sounds when playing all four strings simultaneously!
An alternative option for bass pickups is an undersaddle transducer, which attaches under the saddles on an acoustic bass’s bridge and offers less intrusive pickup capabilities with a fuller sound, though more power may be required to drive it; as with all pickup types, quality preamps should be used to avoid overloading its signal and ruining its tone.
Acoustic basses may also feature piezo pickups, which function similarly to magnetic pickups but use vibration rather than magnetism to detect string vibrations. Piezo pickups tend to be much more sensitive than magnetic ones but may pick up ambient noise more easily and could present issues when used with non-metal strings such as nylon.
Reflective mode pickups are relatively rare but offer bassists an alternative way to sense string vibrations: light. Light4Sound was the first company to introduce this technology with their oPik for acoustic basses; electric basses should soon follow suit.
The Preamp
Your bass’s pickup can make an enormous impactful statement about its sound. From one single coil pickups and split coils, to humbuckers and humbucking pickups – they each cater specifically to certain genres or playing styles.
Single-coil pickups deliver a broad and fuller sound, offering more volume at all frequencies, while their higher output enables for aggressive playing styles. Their volume pots allow you to control how much of that fullness or bite you want in your guitar’s tone.
Single-coil pickups come in many varieties depending on their design; from coil counts and pole piece arrangements to their magnet configuration – which greatly influences tone on single-coil bass guitars.
The J or P pickup is an advanced variation on the single-coil design, featuring two sets of six magnetic polepieces arranged opposite to one another for optimal signal amplification and cancelling out ambient hum from other electrical devices, doubling string signal and emphasizing harmonic overtones instead of fundamental tones. As a result, bassists looking for powerful bottom heavy sound with rock blues or country style should opt for this pickup design.
The P is descended from the classic single-coil of a Strat guitar and continues to play an essential role in many bass’s sound. Initially it found favor among players looking for an expansive tone capable of solidifying group aural foundation while minimising mains hum; today its versatility makes it popular among slap and pop musicians like Larry Graham as well as funk bassists like Tim Commerford and Robert Trujillo as well as metal guitarists looking for four-string blasting sounds.
Recent advances include active, or “powered,” pickups that use additional power to convert electromagnetic string vibrations to an electrical signal. They feature higher winding counts to capture low frequencies effectively while their preamps add voltage gain, filtering, EQ and impedance adjustment to help shape each string’s sound more precisely.