TRBboy

That's the other thing for me, I'm trying to use British stuff for my build as much as possible, such as native only woods, so UK built pickups would be good.

I think I'm less sure of what I need now than when I started this thread! 😂 I did have dimarzio ultra jazz in my old Fender years ago, and did enjoy them.... But it was a long time ago so maybe not what I'm looking for now..... Starting to wonder if my best choice tonally is to go for some decent hand made pickups, and maybe keep it JJ.... @Cuzzie is your Bass culture pickup a DCB humbucker? Has anyone here heard of or used Catswhisker pickups? A friend and builder recommended them to me years ago, hand built in the UK for a reasonable price....

Yeah maybe, I don't have any experience with those, and not sure what the pros /cons are vs side by side coils.

Thanks very much, will certainly send you a pm! I was a carpenter many moons ago, and still keep my hand in, so I'm reasonably confident in my woodworking ability, although to be honest I've NEVER used a router! Definitely the neck is the bit that scares me the most, but with the help of Richard it will be a lot easier. He has a table saw set up with a 0.5mm blade and a sled he's made for slotting fretboards. He said it takes like 10mins to do rather than hours of frustration by hand with a fret saw! He is Richard Meyrick BTW, in case anyone wants to look him up. 😊 I'm just still a bit baffled why there seems to be less choice of pickups and hardware for 18mm string spacing, when it seems pretty common on production 5 string basses?! Is it purely because fender 5's are 19mm?

Listened to a lot of Big Split videos last night.... And I'm less convinced now! Don't know how to explain it, but they almost seem a bit empty /tone less? That's how it comes across on some of the Vids anyway, they seem to sound a bit absent in the low mids. Interesting hearing head to heads between big singles /Splits, the singles sounded much more open and toneful to me, and much more present in the low mids. Trouble is with videos, you don't know what other variables are in play! 🤷🏻‍♂️ I do wonder if I'm not going to get the sound I want out of a hum cancelling single coil though... 🤔

Thanks @cuzzie, I'll send him a mail. It is a full build from timber stock, the only premade bits will be electronics /hardware etc. I'm hoping to be able to do a lot of it myself, but will hook up with Richard for the trickiest bits (slotting the fretboard, etc). I'm so glad I found him, a really great luthier, and he charges by the hour to use him /his workshop. He obvs makes his own instruments and does repairs etc, but in between that does builds with people. Super nice guy too. We met two weeks ago to discuss properly, he's given me a better idea of what I need to do in what order. I'll use my existing basses as references for measurements etc, and there are some ideas I may steal from elsewhere too. Got a fairly clear idea what I want to do though. I really fancy trying to build it all out of native woods, so there are some fairly unknown quantities with what I've chosen, but I have a good degree of confidence. It's just pickups and hardware that's bugging me!

@Merton I'm stalking you on insta now... Love the Zoot, but REALLY digging the sound of your Finn! 😍

Thanks Merton, that sounds superb! Definitely the kinda vibe I'm looking for. Does your Zoot have an active eq or passive controls? And is that the neck pickup soloed? Certainly sounds deep and punchy, but still clear and articulate, and without being overly aggressive or 'clinical'. Will follow you on insta! (I'm @Oli_Frost)

Thanks Merton, good to hear! They're not too aggressive are they? Suitable for a variety of styles would you say? Could you get a passable classic P or J type sound out of them? Cheers

Thanks guys, but all the blade type pickups seem to be ceramic bar construction, so probably won't give me the tone I'm after. Big Splits do come in a size suitable for 18mm spacing though.

Hey folks, I'm just about to embark on my first bass build from scratch, with some help from a local luthier. It's going to be a 34" scale 5 string, with 18mm spacing at the bridge (as that's what I'm used to and like). It's going to be passive, possibly wired VTVT I really want a nice, organic, open tone, I guess more vintage /traditional in character, but maybe a bit ballsier. I do prefer Alnico V pickups. I did have my heart set on a PJ config, with a hum cancelling J, but it seems too be fairly difficult to find many PJ sets which are suitable for 18mm spacing (even though that seems to be one of the most common 5 string bridge spacings... 🤷🏻‍♂️). I've been in touch with Aaron Armstrong, and he could build me some, which would be pretty cool, as I'm sure other people could. But I've also been reconsidering my choice; should I just go JJ, because there would be much more choice of pickups then. OR, do I look at something like Nordstrand Big Splits, which sound like they would give me a kinda cross between a P and J pickup in both positions... Or should I just give up on the 18mm spacing and go 19mm, as I'd have more choice of PJ pickups then (albeit not much more). Any inspiration greatly appreciated, I haven't even started the build yet and I'm getting frustrated! 😂

I'm STILL waiting for them to bring out a 5 string Electra.... 😏

How is it that there seem to be more 18mm 5 string basses, yet there's more pickups and bridges for 19mm spacing....? 🤔

I am starting to wonder if I should just go for 19mm spacing, I'd have more choice of bridges and stuff too, and could buy Walshy's Aguilars then! 😂

Gregor Fris (of Bass the world) runs Sandberg's social media for them, and he is very helpful and knowledgeable. BUT if I were you @SammybassI would email the service department ([email protected]) and ask if they could post you a replacement. They've gladly sent me various bits over the years, so definitely worth asking. I'm not sure you'd find something to suit if the shelf, you'd probably have to buy a nut blank and file the grooves yourself. May be wrong though

I'm not entirely sure to be quite honest, but string spacing is usually referred to as the spacing at the bridge, so I guess the pickup pole spacing is calculated based on that. I know what you're getting at though, I think.

Thanks man, yeah that's kinda what I thought. The aesthetic isn't a big issue for me, but I do want the tone to be fairly trad/vintage but maybe with a kick up the bum! The other option is just to go Jazz, there's waaaay more choice 5 string jazz pickups than there is PJ. But I know I really enjoyed that P pickup on thy Yamaha BB435 I had! Hence why I'm considering the big splits I guess, a bit of a 'best of both'?

Still struggling to find much that's suitable for 18mm spacing, aside from some custom built Armstrong. Off the wall idea maybe, but is it worth me looking at a set of Big Splits? They're definitely 18mm string spacing, and my impression is they'd give the kinda tone I'm after?

Oooh, and my current one is s/n 35542, only had it a couple of months, if that.

My Ken Taylor was ordered June 2012 and delivered in Dec /Jan, and had s/n17297 My Classic Booster was ordered maybe autumn 2013 and delivered spring 2014 I think, and had s/n 20931 Don't know if I can easily find details of the others I've had

So, heard back from Aaron Armstrong, he can certainly do it, and price would be £240.

The lowest price seems to be about £239 from some quick googling, or there's @walshy's brand new set in the classifieds for a bit less. I think I'm going to email Aaron Armstrong first though, and just see wear he can offer and for how much.

In the same ballpark IIRC

Try Mike and Dustin in the setup /service /tech department: [email protected]

I've not played them, just heard them and I must say they sound very good.... Maybe worth the expense!