Help: unbalanced Raised-A SD pickups

[ilan]

A friend has a Seymour Duncan Antiquity Raised-A SCPB pickup in his bass, and - surprise! - the A string is significantly louder. What can he do? I vaguely remember hearing somewhere that you can push the magnet down... Any ideas?

Like this one

[Pilgrim]

If the pickup has individual pole pieces, why not give it a try?

[dadagoboi]

A friend has a Seymour Duncan Antiquity Raised-A SCPB pickup in his bass, and - surprise! - the A string is significantly louder. What can he do? I vaguely remember hearing somewhere that you can push the magnet down... Any ideas?

SCPB? as in Single Coil Precision Bass?  I could push the magnets back and forth on my '55 s pickup.  I can't do it on the newer Duncan SCPBs.

But if you're talking about the '57 raised A (the only one Duncan sells):
http://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/antiquity-p-bass-raised-a-3

Just lower the pickup under the A string  (also raising the E side and D/G pickup) until the output is equal across the strings.  That's what I did with my '57 clone, output is balanced.

[veebass]

The SCPB Antiquity has even poles.
It sounds like SCPB Antiquity II your friend has. They have raised A and D poles but the A is raised more, like the original pickup in my '56. Designed to follow the fretboard radius and the string response is very even in my '56.

My 69 Telecaster Bass had an Antiguity II in it when I got it. I didn't notice an appreciable uneveness in string response. What is the fretboard radius of the neck he is using it with? Maybe it is really flat?
What I did notice about the Antiquity II was it sounded just aweful as far as I was concerned. Thin, nasal and an over the top initial spike in attack. I swapped it out for a SD SCPB Quarter Pounder. Much better sounding pickup to my ears. Currently installing Jess Loureiro split coil 51 in the Telecaster Bass with push pull pot to allow it go series or parallel.

BTW. Here's a shot of what Carlo is saying about the 57 split. My 82 Fullerton 57 RI.

[ilan]

Sorry, not Antiquity. This one:

[Pilgrim]

That's the one I had in mind, often referred to as SCPB.  If the raised pole under the A is sticking up, press it down.

[nofi]

that whole contraption looks wonky. use a compressor.

[Pilgrim]

What, you don't like the look of a god-fearing, upright, 'Murrican SCPB pickup?? 

Harrumph!  Harrumph!

[amptech]

If nothing else works, maybe the other magnets could be magnetized a tad more to even out the A.
I use samarium cobalt magnets to tune alnicos, they are fairly strong. I come by quite uneven magnets in both new magnetized rods and factory fresh pickups from time to time. With a small screwdriver or something, you can feel difference in pull if they ar way different.

[veebass]

On the other side of the coin.
The Jess Loureiro split I have just installed in my 69 Tele has a very slightly lower response on the A string. This pickup has all the poles raised slightly.
It isn't bad and a compressor evens it out. I can probably also drop the height of the A string a little as well.
I suppose that is why Leo experimented with the pole heights in his mid 50s single coil P Basses. I have a 56 P Bass which has raised A and D poles and the response is very even.

[ilan]

Thanks for all the input guys. I forwarded it to my friend.