Guitar pickups on a Bass?

[BetaFunk]

I have an old VOX Clubman Bass that needs a new bridge pickup which was missing when i bought it. Replacements are hard to find and when you do they are crazy prices so i plan to replace both pickups. The only pickups that i've seen which look anything like them are from guitars. Would it be o.k. to fit guitars pickups?

[Ou7shined]

Broncos use them. They sound kinda weedy though.

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1369843163' post='2093380']
Broncos use them. They sound kinda weedy though.
[/quote]
Yes i thought they would be pretty weak but can't see that the original VOX ones had a lot of oomph.

[Grangur]

The original Fender Musicmaster bass first came out with guitar pups.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1975-Fender-Musicmaster-Bass-Fretless-/161023743644?pt=Guitar&hash=item257dc3569c

I may stand corrected here, but I'm sure I read somewhere that the original idea of the Fender bass was for it to be cheaply produced as a mass-market instrument, so they used guitar pups to keep the cost down.

[waynepunkdude]

I've gigged with my Bronco, it sounds beasty.

[Ou7shined]

My ancient Squier Musicmaster has 4 a pole pup and blew the Bronco I had (probably still do have somewhere) clean out of the water... that's not to say that Brocos are unusable.

[Grangur]

My first ever bass was a [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]VOX Clubman. I'm sure whatever you fit will be amazingly better than the original pups. You would struggle to find anything as bad as the originals. [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]That's to say "bad" = awful. Not to be confused with "bad" = wicked. Good luck[/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Cheers[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Rich[/font][/color]

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1369847190' post='2093456']
My first ever bass was a [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]VOX Clubman. I'm sure whatever you fit will be amazingly better than the original pups. You would struggle to find anything as bad as the originals. [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]That's to say "bad" = awful. Not to be confused with "bad" = wicked. Good luck[/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Cheers[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Rich[/font][/color]
[/quote]
I think you're right about the sound of guitar pickups v the original VOX ones. I have both VOX Clubman and VOX Bassmaster and they share similar pickups.

[Beer of the Bass]

Rickenbacker toasters are six pole pickups originally intended for guitar, and they sound very good indeed, so it's quite possible that the right guitar pickup could do a fine job. It looks like your mounting screws are further apart than on a single coil guitar pickup, so you might need some ingenuity to mount guitar pickups in there without also making a new pickguard.

Edited May 29, 2013 by Beer of the Bass

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1369848475' post='2093481']
Rickenbacker toasters are six pole pickups originally intended for guitar, and they sound very good indeed, so it's quite possible that the right guitar pickup could do a fine job. It looks like your mounting screws are further apart than on a single coil guitar pickup, so you might need some ingenuity to mount guitar pickups in there without also making a new pickguard.
[/quote]
Yes, i've been looking on the net for pickups and guitar pickups seen to be slightly smaller but as i've got to have a replacement pickguard made (the original one has been modified to fit a larger bridge pickup so is no good now) i can hopefully get around the mounting problem.

[BigRedX]

Have a look at guitar pickups with rails rather than individual pole-pieces.

You could also see if a Burns Tri-Sonic pickup would fit. It would have the right vintage character. You can get new ones from [url=http://www.adeson.co.uk]Adeson Pickups[/url].

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1369864136' post='2093802']
Have a look at guitar pickups with rails rather than individual pole-pieces.

You could also see if a Burns Tri-Sonic pickup would fit. It would have the right vintage character. You can get new ones from [url="http://www.adeson.co.uk"]Adeson Pickups[/url].
[/quote]
That's great idea. Thanks for the link. I'm actually sitting here with my Vox standing next to my Burns Sonic bass (with Tri-Sonic pickups) and the idea of using Tri-Sonic pickups didn't occur to me!

I've just noticed that they also do 60s solid top pickups which look similar to the Vox originals so i'll email them and find out the dimensions.

Edited May 29, 2013 by BetaFunk

[Beer of the Bass]

Those Adeson pickups do look the part. If you went for the solid topped version, I suspect no-one but the most diehard Vox collector would notice any difference in appearance.

[derreybass]

If I remember correctly the clubman pickups have a single bar magnet and a very shallow coil and I seem to remember that some Vox six string guitars at the time had the same pickups as well. The Fender bass VI uses six string pickups, I think they're he same as the Jaguar. You mention the originals are hard to find and expensive, how expensive?

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='derreybass' timestamp='1369867063' post='2093848']
If I remember correctly the clubman pickups have a single bar magnet and a very shallow coil and I seem to remember that some Vox six string guitars at the time had the same pickups as well. The Fender bass VI uses six string pickups, I think they're he same as the Jaguar. You mention the originals are hard to find and expensive, how expensive?
[/quote]
This expensive!

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1962-VOX-BASS-NECK-PICKUP-made-in-UK-6-7-K-/400495343821?pt=Guitar&hash=item5d3f61f8cd"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item5d3f61f8cd[/url]

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1962-VOX-BASS-BRIDGE-PICKUP-made-in-UK-6-9-K-/400495344035?pt=Guitar&hash=item5d3f61f9a3"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item5d3f61f9a3[/url]


One of those is more money than i paid for the bass.

Edited May 29, 2013 by BetaFunk

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1369866942' post='2093846']
Those Adeson pickups do look the part. If you went for the solid topped version, I suspect no-one but the most diehard Vox collector would notice any difference in appearance.
[/quote]
That's true they do look good. They are more than i wanted to spend but that is based on what i paid for the bass (i.e. not a lot) but they are going to be far superior to the originals. Once i get the pickups sorted i will be getting the Bass Doc to make me a replacement pickguard (he's making one for my Vox Bassmaster right now) as the original is cracked and beyond repair.

Now if only i could source a couple of (very elusive) bridge covers for those two Vox basses.

Edited May 29, 2013 by BetaFunk

[bertbass]

My first ever bass was a Vox Clubman and cost me £5.00. The original Vox pickup had been replaced with a Burns Tri-sonic. As the Burns was deeper than the Vox, the pickup went right through the body and out of the back and the previous owner had glued a shallow, bowl shaped wooden cover over the hole to hide it.

[derreybass]

I see what you mean, quite ridiculous.

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='derreybass' timestamp='1369870809' post='2093890']
I see what you mean, quite ridiculous.
[/quote]
Yes. Way over what i would pay for them.

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1369843631' post='2093390']

Yes i thought they would be pretty weak but can't see that the original VOX ones had a lot of oomph.
[/quote]
If you're stuck. I've got 2 or 3 bronco pups knocking about, I can send you one.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1369866822' post='2093844']
That's great idea. Thanks for the link. I'm actually sitting here with my Vox standing next to my Burns Sonic bass (with Tri-Sonic pickups) and the idea of using Tri-Sonic pickups didn't occur to me!

I've just noticed that they also do 60s solid top pickups which look similar to the Vox originals so i'll email them and find out the dimensions.
[/quote]

Looking around the site it appears that he will also undertake to repair 60's pickups, so he might be able to build you a proper replacement.

Have you posted any photos of your 60s basses anywhere on here? I'd be interested in seeing them - especially the Burns Sonic, since one of those was the first bass I ever owned. Mine is hardly in original condition, as it had been extensively modified by a previous owner, and I made more modifications in order to keep it playable. I also had a Futurama bass as my spare for a while (and a Baldwin 12-string), and still have a soft spot for the more unusual (but still usable) 60s instruments.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1369869369' post='2093881']
My first ever bass was a Vox Clubman and cost me £5.00. The original Vox pickup had been replaced with a Burns Tri-sonic. As the Burns was deeper than the Vox, the pickup went right through the body and out of the back and the previous owner had glued a shallow, bowl shaped wooden cover over the hole to hide it.
[/quote]

Really? The Tri-Sonics on my Burns Sonic bass have probably the shallowest form-factor of any pickup I've come across.

[neepheid]

I fitted a lipstick Strat pickup to a Bronco once (the bridge one with what I believe to be the most oomph). I thought that sounded pretty good. I've heard of many people putting in a Hot/Cool Rails pickup in them too with favourable results, with an anecdotal preference for the Cool Rails.

[iiipopes]

The problem with using guitar pickups is that most of them are overwound to bring out the mids, or the six pole pieces do not align, or they are so cheap that there is not enough wire on them to give a good tone. Yes, as posted above, the common upgrade for Fender Bronco or MusicMaster basses is to use a rails-type neck position Strat pickup, something like a Seymour Duncan Cool Rails Neck position pickup, in order to have clarity, definition, proper bandwidth and response, no drop-outs, and noise reduction.

Edited May 30, 2013 by iiipopes

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1369904280' post='2094079']
Really? The Tri-Sonics on my Burns Sonic bass have probably the shallowest form-factor of any pickup I've come across.
[/quote]
They are shallow but on my Burns Sonic bass they sit proud of the pickguard unlike the pickups on the VOX Clubman which sit low in the routing. Also the body on the VOX is slimmer. After it's been routed there isn't a lot of wood left under those pickups!