Guitar pickup in a bass?

[bowyn]

I've heard that some older bass pickups were actually covered 6 pole guitar pickups... or maybe I dreamed I heard that...

Anyway, I've got a Tele Bass project I'm planning out was considering using a modified Tele guitar bridge to keep the "Tele" look and was wondering how a 6 pole Tele pickup would respond to bass strings.

Obviously the string pacing will be an issue, but other than that, anyone have an experience with 6 string guitar pickups in a bass?

[sbgodofmetal]

Yes you can use it! a google image search will show hundreds if not thousands of different bass's with single coil strat pickups and even guitar humbuckers. I couldn't tell you about the string spacing issue other than to try pickups with blade poles instead traditional poles.

[bowyn]

Thanks, homie. My head is bursting with ideas

[cynical1]

Newey did something like that on his bass. I can't recall the title of the posting, but I'm sure he'll toss in his 2 cents on this.

It really depends on what kind of output you're looking for. Myself, I've always loved blade style bass pickups. Bass pickups of the last 20 odd years seem to all be of a ceramic ilk. I can't remember consciously playing a bass with a alnico design.

The only problem you may encounter is covering the string spacing on a bass with a guitar pickup.

Give it a shot and if it works let us know. If it fails, eBay.

Happy Trails

Cynical One

[newey]

I used a Strat SC that is a single-rail type on my P-bass clone. It's a Diesel brand pickup. No pole pieces on it so I can't speak to that issue, but it works well. On mine, it is hidden beneath the pickguard for a "stealth" look, the bass also has a regular split-coil P-bass type pickup.

[bowyn]

Heh, good info.

My thought behind this was to cut a standard tele plat right near where the back of it angles up, then place it appropriately with a pickup and add a bass bridge. I think that would keep it "Tele" looking enough to be fun-looking.

Considering adding a more traditional bass pickup near the neck.

All of this is in my head without measurements at this time, so it's mostly a concept and a spare white Tele body sitting around.

In searching through some pickups, I spotted a Basslines bass pickup, 4 poles, shaped like a typical SC pickup. I'm going to try and get some measurements and figure out if I could make it fit in a tele bridge (of course the mounting stuff won;t fit with the Tele 3 screw mounting standard) and if it's something I could modify without endangering the coils, etc.

[sbgodofmetal]

Oct 4, 2012 8:11:31 GMT -5 bowyn said:

I'm going to try and get some measurements and figure out if I could make it fit in a tele bridge (of course the mounting stuff won;t fit with the Tele 3 ]screw mounting standard) and if it's something I could modify without endangering the coils, etc.

Try these

[ashcatlt]

Exactly how does that help fit this:

into this:

[newey]

Exactly how does that help fit this:

into this:

It doesn't, unless you start with one of these:



And even then, some drilling and modification to the bridge plate will be needed. I suspect that could work OK if you just have to fit that pickup in a Tele bridge.

Other than that, I think you'd have to get a custom-fabricated Tele bridge plate. There are folks who will do that for you as well, albeit for a price . . .

[newey]

Perhaps a better idea from someone over at TDPRI:

www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-technical/339944-stratocaster-pickup-tele-bridge.html

He apparently did this by trimming the plastic flanges off of the Strat-sized pickup, and then making a Tele baseplate for the pickup out of balsa and styrene plastic. He said if he has it to do over, he'd forgo the balsa and just double up on the styrene.

The OP promised pix and sound clips but never followed through, so that's all the info I could find on this mod.

Since the Tele bridge pickup's baseplate (together with its mounting to the bridge plate) is what really differentiates its sound from a Strat pickup, it might work better to construct a baseplate out of metal instead of plastic.

That's more fab work, however, and since this is going in a bass anyway, I don't know that reproducing the classic "twang" is part of the goal here.

[sbgodofmetal]

Oct 5, 2012 12:52:46 GMT -5 ashcatlt said:

Exactly how does that help fit this:

into this:

Take a step back and reread the initial statements made by the OP,

Heh, good info.

My thought behind this was to cut a standard tele plat right near where the back of it angles up, then place it appropriately with a pickup and add a bass bridge. I think that would keep it "Tele" looking enough to be fun-looking.

Going with the premade conversion rings will give the same effect with far less work and way less hassle.