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pickup height and effects on tone (not volume)


Gwilym
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Quick question about pickup height - I'm sure I've read about this before on this forum, but I can't find an answer, and I've googled to no avail.

If all else is equal, how would the frequency response of a pickup vary as a function of the distance from the pickup to the string?

thanks!

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I'm pretty sure that within the relatively narrow range of adjustment most basses have it wouldn't make a huge difference unless you move a magnetically powerful pickup too close to the strings, choking them. Maybe an experiment could be done with a pickup handheld over the bass and run into a compressor to even out the volume. The closer you can get to the strings without choking the better, as it's in the best position to utilise its' frequency response by keeping it closer to the weaker, higher harmonics.

I'm Finished! You can wake up now!!!!!

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[just speculating] I've often wondered if those of us that play relatively hard (generating a good deal of string excursion) run the risk of having the string move [i]beyond[/i] the "view" of the polepieces- particularly with 2x4 pole "P" pick-ups, 8-pole Jazz pick-ups and MM style designs. I guess blade-type pick-ups have broader coverage in terms of string sensing. What impact this may have in terms of tone I couldn't begin to say, but it strikes me that [b]lowering[/b] the pick-ups may give better tring sensing at extremes of excursion- provided you play hard enough to compensate for a decrease in output.
[/still just speculating!]

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I used to play with the pups as high as poss without the string vibrations actually hitting them, to get the highest output I could from the pups.
I found that by dropping the pups and increasing the gap to the strings the whole tone opened up really nicely - sort of allowed the vibrations and the resonance to breathe more - it didn't sound like I'd stopped the strings choking, as I was not convinced they were choking before, but it just sounded more open and a lot more pleasing. This was on a squier jazz bass and my warmoth gecko fitted with SD Basslines pups, as well as a home-made P-bass type, also SD pups.

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height affects output...both low and high
the pup is optimised for a piece of moving carbon steel around 1/8 above it....guesswork here

as for tone.. certain frequencies could be attenuated more than others
especially harmonics
giving an apparent thinning of tone...guesswork

your guess is as good as mine

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thanks for the thoughts/comments on this - i've yet to experiment, but when I do I will report back. If the string is vibrating in a weaker magnetic field then there will at least be differences due to it being to vibrate more naturally/freely. So I'm guessing it will sound a little less "compressed" for want of a better word. Whether the differences will be discernible is another matter I suppose!

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