Bass pup mod

[redzebra6]

Afternoon anyone!

Pulled the trigger and finally signed up after being a longtime reader (stalker) here. Mondo amounts of knowledge and info...so, I'm gonna try this one ya (and forgive my ignorance please):

in regards to the metal plates that people put under pickups, if I had one in the correct size for a J bass bridge, would I expect to get the same results as on a guitar (a tad bit more bass, more power, so forth and yada...).

I appreciate any and all (kind) answers. Thanx

[andy]

Hi Red, Welcome to the forum! Even if we're a bit overdue on this one...

I think the reason there has not been to much activity on this one is that this is just not the sort of thing many will have tried- I know I haven't ever looked into a Tele style plate for a bass pickup before. However, I believe (though I could be wrong) that the reason that the plate affects tone its that it changes the shape of the magnetic field around the pickup, pushing it up towards the strings, affecting the strength and shape of the magnetic conditions around the strings. Assuming that is the reason (and if it isn't, whatever it does in a guitar, it should also do in a bass) then I would say yes, it would make sense to expect similar results. Whether those results would be as pronouced, and whether they would be an improvement are really down to the ears of the listener.

The best way to find out though is just to give it a try- its always worth experimenting, and if you find you get cool results, I'm sure we would all be pleased to learn from your experience!

Hope this is some help, Andy

[sumgai]

reddy,

andy is correct on all three accounts -

You need to be welcomed to the NutzHouse;
The extra plate focuses the magnetic field more tightly in the vicinity of the string; and
You are now elected as the Grand Experimenter! ;D

IMHO, the better the quality of your pickup in the first place, the less likely you are to notice an improvement. But that is just my opinion, you understand. As I also haved a (MIM) J-bass, I eagerly await your report on what you found!

HTH


sumgai

[redzebra6]

Hello again,
Sorry about the long reply back (both time and text)

What I have found so far:
- after looking closely at my pups, and finding out what exactly IS a ceramic vs Alnico (I have ceramics), I had to find some sorta scrap metal that would hopefully fit.

-after cutting up a fairly thin 6" metal ruler to fit and not hearing any tonal differences, I bugged my father-in-law to see if he had anything from his former life retiring from Lockheed. Thicker than the ruler but not big enuff for the pup.

-put 3 at most to cover the bottom. Subtle change, just a tad stronger, but also more hum (j-pup=singlecoil+fairly new unsheilded bass). I'm guessing one continuous piece is better... along with proper grounding!

I will continue this when my time gets less hectic (something about cruising around in big ol' grey tubs of steel for 6-7 months, going to different countries every so often and boosting their economy all the while maintaining our presence and keeping salty squids like me employed). I plan on finding a machine shop somewhere close by and see what they can do. I might get lucky...with the metal.

Just thought I'd give those who are interested a heads up.

Until then...