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MM Stingray pickup position.


NancyJohnson
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I'm assuming that Leo/MM got the Stingray pickup positions in their sweetspots...could owners of a 4H and a 4HH take some positional measurements for me?

I'm thinking about putting an MM pickup (or two) into an old P-bass body I have knocking around.

I guess take a measurement off the 5-string saddle to the edge closest to the bridge in each case?

Thanks muchly.

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Measurements for my SR5 are as follows:

764mm from nut to centreline of neck coil

776mm from nut to centreline of pickup (between coils)

788mm from nut to centreline of bridge coil

 

Edited by ikay
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4 hours ago, fretmeister said:

Is the bridge pickup in the same place for both the 1 and 2 pickup versions?

Seems to be.

I did a fast and nasty Photoshop overlay using MM images.  I lined the neck heel and resized 4H and 4HH images until the bridges and saddles were the same size/location.  Bearing in mind that production will inevitably change over the years (even the off millimetre or the more extreme 1970s Fender Jazz bridge pickup movement), I feel pretty confident in saying the bridge pickup is in the same location irrespective of it being a 4H or a 4HH.

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21 hours ago, Treb said:

BTW it will not sound like a Stingray as you know it. The preamp is an important factor too.

 

The preamp is only important to give you the "variety" of sounds that people have come to expect from a Stingray... there's a bunch of "typical Stingray" sounds that are quite different from each other. If you bypass the preamp on a Stingray, the sound you get is... you guessed it: unmistakeably Stingray. If you place the right pickup at the right place, you have something that will sound much like a Stingray.

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22 hours ago, fretmeister said:

Measuring from a saddle is a crap idea. Could be massively out depending on string choice.

 

Measure from the nut or the 12th fret.

 

This. Saddles have slightly different positions on different basses. Always measure from the neck side: 12th fret is a convenient spot.

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Are bridge.H and neck H the same spec on a Stingray - they aren't on a Sabre - I have a feeling the poles are shorter owing to probs had with the first pre EB Sabre neck pick ups and string pull. 

As McNach says, the sum of the Stingray parts is very much the sound (even acoustically)  - whilst an interesting proposition, a collection of other parts with Stingray pick ups placed correctly may sound completely different - a bit like Thunderbird pick ups placed in a Precision.....

Nice experiment though and I'd be very interested to hear the outcome.

 

 

Edited by drTStingray
More ropey arithmetic
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28 minutes ago, drTStingray said:

Of course - but the scale length of the bass is 34 in (and by default centre of fret 12 to generic saddle position is 17 in - my G saddle is 3/8 further therefore measure G saddle on your bass to centre of 12 th fret then adjust my numbers based on the difference of yours from 17 and 3/8 in. 

Thus not such a crap idea and far simpler to measure short distances than every one being over 12".

 

 

It is a crap idea, sorry :)

The point you're measuring will vary from bass to bass due to the strings used and action which affects the intonation adjustment, which is not the same for every bass. The scale length of 34" is just the *nominal* scale.

However, the measurement from the pickup to a fixed point above it (choose any fret, not necessarily 12", 20" will do just fine) should be the same for every bass. 

 

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34 minutes ago, drTStingray said:

 

As McNach says, the sum of the Stingray parts is very much the sound (even acoustically)  - whilst an interesting proposition, a collection of other parts with Stingray pick ups placed correctly may sound completely different - a bit like Thunderbird pick ups placed in a Precision.....

 

... and that's not what I said (sorry, I don't mean to pick on you today :D)

I just said that a Stingray without the preamp still makes a sound that you *know* it's a Stingray. The right pickup at the correct spot already gets you a lot of what is characteristic in a Stingray. How close it gets it will depend now on an array of other factors. Some basses with certain pickups can get so close that the difference does not matter. Others... not so much. At least that's just my own experience playing with my own Stingrays and various OLPs I used to own years ago, made with a variety of woods and which I modified in many ways... 

 

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Sorry I seem to have misquoted you McNach - I suppose I should have said i empathised with your view - take it how you like but my view is based on hands on experience with, currently 8 Stingrays of various types and 1 Sabre - listen to the acoustic sound with your ear against the top horn - elements of the Stingray characteristics are there just from the vibration of the mechanical parts. I know this challenges the accepted view of many on bass forums that it is only the pick ups and electronics which contribute to the sound - this view is challenged also by most guitar makers - the pick ups and electronics often contribute significantly - some more than others - but to say they are the only contributors is rather like saying the ambient volume driving in a car is only created by the engine and mechanical parts - and the tyres make no contribution whatsoever. 

 

Edited by drTStingray
more inaccuracy (from me) a picture tells a thousand stories - see subsequent post!
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15 minutes ago, drTStingray said:
Ah I see - I've fixed it for you all.

Centre of fret 12 to centre of bridge pole, bridge pick up = 15 3/8 in 


Centre of fret 12 to centre of neck pole, bridge pick up = 14 1/2 in.


Centre of neck pole, bridge pick up to centre of bridge pole, neck pick up = 2 and 5/8"


Centre of bridge pole, neck pick up to centre of neck pole, neck pick up = 7/8"

Sorry I seem to have misquoted you McNach - I suppose I should have said i empathised with your view - take it how you like but my view is based on hands on experience with, currently 8 Stingrays of various types and 1 Sabre - listen to the acoustic sound with your ear against the top horn - elements of the Stingray characteristics are there just from the vibration of the mechanical parts. I know this challenges the accepted view of many on bass forums that it is only the pick ups and electronics which contribute to the sound - this view is challenged also by most guitar makers - the pick ups and electronics often contribute significantly - some more than others - but to say they are the only contributors is rather like saying the ambient volume driving in a car is only created by the engine and mechanical parts - and the tyres make no contribution whatsoever. 

 

 

:drinks:

 

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16 hours ago, mcnach said:

 

... and that's not what I said (sorry, I don't mean to pick on you today :D)

I just said that a Stingray without the preamp still makes a sound that you *know* it's a Stingray. The right pickup at the correct spot already gets you a lot of what is characteristic in a Stingray. How close it gets it will depend now on an array of other factors. Some basses with certain pickups can get so close that the difference does not matter. Others... not so much. At least that's just my own experience playing with my own Stingrays and various OLPs I used to own years ago, made with a variety of woods and which I modified in many ways... 

 

i had a passive USA Sub when they they first came out. No pre amp, but it sounded like a Stingray B|

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Just in case anyone wants any further useful info, I did measure to the nearest bus stop, Guildford Civic Centre and various other variables, based on a location 8' 6" and 75 degrees from my television as the crow flies. 

Of course, none of this applies to the new 2018 Stingray which has 22 frets anyway 😏 😊👍

Edited by drTStingray
Oh well....... checkout the picture - what happened to the OP anyway? 🤔
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On ‎25‎/‎01‎/‎2018 at 22:26, drTStingray said:
Ah I see - I've fixed it for you all.
Centre of fret 12 to centre of bridge pole, bridge pick up = 15 3/8 in 
Centre of fret 12 to centre of neck pole, bridge pick up = 14 1/2 in.

These measurements put the pickup very close to the bridge and are quite a long way off ...

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10 hours ago, Funkfingers said:

The nut is the datum point.

The suggestion to measure from the twelfth fret would be of no assistance on a fretless instrument.

And to think none of the musicman experts here picked you up on the fact the twin pickup Rays have a compensated nut hence all 4/5 strings are different at the nut so you are in fact totally incorrect, any chosen fret would be the ONLY datum point ;)

Come on guys you can do better than this :D

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