guitar pickup transplant?

[modderdan]

Hi, all, I'm new here; I've got a telecaster style bass that I'm thinking about changing the stock pickup on, the only thing is, the pickup I have at the moment is a vintage-style Gibson P-90 guitar pickup. Pardon my ignorance, but I really don't know much about bass pickups, so I'm wondering if there is any problem putting a guitar pickup in a bass? I don't play bass much -- only on my own home recordings, so I'm interested in some expereinced luthiers' and modders' experiences on this. Yes, I know the pole pieces won't quite line up, but I plan on tilting the pickup diagonally, basically the reverse of a strat bridge pickup slant.

[purple_hazer]

it could work, but it would sound really weird

probably pretty bad, considering guitar pickups are wound to sound like guitars, while bass pickups are wound to sound like a bass

[rh15951]

Yeah it would sound pretty strange and probably not great :lol:

[modderdan]

Can either of you elaborate on why it would not sound that great? I have never really compared guitar pickups to bass pickups, so I have no idea what differences exist, if any.

[purple_hazer]

it could work, but it would sound really weird

probably pretty bad, considering guitar pickups are wound to sound like guitars, while bass pickups are wound to sound like a bass

i explained it already

they are most likely constructed way differently aswell

[modderdan]

i explained it already

they are most likely constructed way differently aswell

Explained what? That doesn't explain anything; how is a bass pickup different than a guitar pickup?

[purple_hazer]

idk the damn specifics

but if they were made the same, you wouldnt buy GUITAR pickups or BASS pickups. you'd just buy pickups

see what im getting at here?

[modderdan]

Yes, I see, Purple_hazer, but WHAT is so different about them? I want to know why this is a good or bad idea. :naughty:

[mnemonic]

they're both basically a coil of wire wrapped around a magnet.

i'm sure they use different kinds of magnets, and different gauges of wire for guitar and bass pickups, but other than that i cant think of many other differences that there could be.

[modderdan]

I agree with you, mnemonic, that I don't know why exactly they would be so different. I'd guess that possibly bass pickups use a larger magnet with thicker wire, in order to pick up the low frequencies a bass produces compared to a guitar, but a P-90 should have plenty of output for a bass, I'd think. I would like some specifications on what makes guitar and bass pickups different, though.

[mnemonic]

you could alwys just pop it in there and see what it sounds like. its not going to damage anything by putting it in there, unless you have to cut up the pickguard to fit it in.

some carvin basses back in the 80's i think had guitar pickups in them. dunno how they sounded tho.

see

http://www.carvinmuseum.com/images/playersgallery/johngalbraithdn640k.jpg

http://www.carvinmuseum.com/images/playersgallery/woodd-lb40fk.jpg

[zhyla]

Modderdan, maybe you can try it and let us know how well it works? The string spacing is the most obvious problem but I'm not sure that's really a big deal. I imagine using a bass pickup for a guitar doesn't work well but the reverse is probably fine.

[Xerxes]

The biggest problem, as Mr. Green said, is the string spacing. Notice on your average guitar pickup there are six little sets of magnets and/or screws. On a Bass pickup there are four. I'm not versed in pickupology, but I'm willing to bet money they're like that for a very practical reason.

If you do get brave enough to try it, let us know how it works.

[CCR90]

makes me wanna try getting a bladed jazz bass pup and put it into a guitar.

[purple_hazer]

makes me wanna try getting a bladed jazz bass pup and put it into a guitar.

ive always wanted to try that!