Gibson pickup flaw

drbassman · December 13, 2013, 12:01:58 PM

OK, I'm into my second Midtown with the LP model and I'm having the same problem with the neck pup. The output of the neck pup is decidedly lower on the e-string compared to the other 3. Even the guys in the band noticed it at practice the other night. I had this issue with the first one, my cherry finish model and now the LP is doing the same thing. I tried rounds, flats, silk/no silk on the ball end and nothing helps. How can Gibson make a bass neck pup that sucks ass on the e-string?

I am sorely disappointed and bummed. I really like this bass!!

drbassman · December 13, 2013, 12:07:36 PM

While typing the first post I remembered that my SG bass has the same pup. So, I tried that and it too has less output through the e-string with the neck and bridge pups both full on. With just the neck, it's still not as loud, but closer. This is really an interesting situation.

Granny Gremlin · December 13, 2013, 12:18:42 PM

can't you adjust the pole pieces to compensate (or are they not adjustable - I don't have any of those basses so I don't recall)?

...[google image] ... yeah, adjust the pole pieces. I even had to do that on my vintage EB3 - the short scale makes the E a bit week but raising the polepiece under that string (or lowering the others) can balance it out no sweat.

dadagoboi · December 13, 2013, 12:28:46 PM

Adjusting pole piece screw height never seems to do much on real mudbuckers but try raising the E and lowering the others. If that doesn't work- remove the A D and G screws. If that doesn't help, nothing will!

drbassman · December 13, 2013, 01:35:37 PM

Hey, I thought the poles on these were cosmetic only? I cranked them a bunch and they don't seem to raise up or make a difference.

And quit mucking up my threads. I'm just a little tired of people having pissing contests on my turf when I am asking for some help with a problem. Take it somewhere else please.

Dave W · December 13, 2013, 03:04:23 PM

If there's a blade pickup under there (as on the SG Bass) I don't see how adjusting the polepieces would have any effect. They had very little effect on a vintage mudbucker, probably because the sidewinder construction didn't allow a direct vertical path to the magnets. But AFAIK they're ornamental on this version of the TB Plus.

Can you shim under the bass side of the pickup to bring it closer to the string? Since it's a blade type pickup, there's no way the section of the blade under the E can be weaker. Maybe the E string clearance is just a little too far from the blade.

drbassman · December 13, 2013, 06:24:36 PM

Quote from: Dave W on December 13, 2013, 03:04:23 PM
If there's a blade pickup under there (as on the SG Bass) I don't see how adjusting the polepieces would have any effect. They had very little effect on a vintage mudbucker, probably because the sidewinder construction didn't allow a direct vertical path to the magnets. But AFAIK they're ornamental on this version of the TB Plus.

Can you shim under the bass side of the pickup to bring it closer to the string? Since it's a blade type pickup, there's no way the section of the blade under the E can be weaker. Maybe the E string clearance is just a little too far from the blade.

I think you have a good point Dave. The neck pup is a good distance from the strings and the problem is consistent across basses. I might see if I can raise the pup from underneath. What a pain in the butt!

stiles72 · December 13, 2013, 06:52:34 PM

Pretty sure the pole pieces are just cosmetic. Would lowering the the E string side of the three point bridge help?

On my Midway - I think the Neck pup sounds really nice and balanced across all the strings. The only thing I had to tweak was some foam under the pup cover to take care of some rattling (just like my Fireburst GOTW SG Bass) and I lowered the bridge pickup just to get the sound I wanted when both pups were running together.

amptech · December 13, 2013, 07:14:57 PM

Quote from: stiles72 on December 13, 2013, 06:52:34 PM
Pretty sure the pole pieces are just cosmetic.

The pole pieces are not just cosmetic, any ferro magnetic material will affect the magnetic field - they are adjustable so that it can match the radius of the fretboard. It´s a common thing to check out when doing a guitar setup.

The mudbucker is a quite narrow coil pickup, so it won't do much matching the radii. Some people like to put a nail under the cover, others fix the silent E in the setup - I´ve read many posts on this subject in here. It sure is interesting, though.

Dave W · December 13, 2013, 07:48:07 PM

Quote from: amptech on December 13, 2013, 07:14:57 PM
The pole pieces are not just cosmetic, any ferro magnetic material will affect the magnetic field - they are adjustable so that it can match the radius of the fretboard. It´s a common thing to check out when doing a guitar setup.

The mudbucker is a quite narrow coil pickup, so it won't do much matching the radii. Some people like to put a nail under the cover, others fix the silent E in the setup - I´ve read many posts on this subject in here. It sure is interesting, though.

Let's not confuse the issue. We're not talking about a vintage mudbucker here.

drbassman is talking about the faux-mudbucker in his Midtown bass. It's a version of the TB Plus pickup. Unless something has changed drastically since it came out, it's a twin-blade pickup with the coils widely separated. The four "polepieces" are just screws, they're not located over the blades or the magnets.

amptech · December 14, 2013, 04:12:54 AM

Quote from: Dave W on December 13, 2013, 07:48:07 PM
Let's not confuse the issue. We're not talking about a vintage mudbucker here.

It was the standard sidewinder i was referring to.
Looks like I confused it with the mudbucker reference in the other post, yes..
Nevertheless, if they are magnetic they will affect the magnetic field - but if they are put there for looks only,
they are probably not.

Now, why bother to put cosmetic screws on a blade pickup?
Are they using up surplus mudbucker covers?

Basvarken · December 14, 2013, 05:22:15 AM

Not sure about the TB+ in Mudbucker disguise, but the sidewinder mudbuckers are actually a bit too narrow for many bass guitars with normal string spacing.

Often the E and G tend to be a bit weak as they're not picked up enough, due to the narrow magnetic field.

I've seen a few folks equip their bass with a very simple solution for this problem:

The allen key (or bent nail) makes the magnetic field a little wider. Just enough to properly pick up the E and G string.

drbassman · December 14, 2013, 06:32:32 AM

I'm gonna be looking at the pup soon and will report my attempted fix or fixes.

godofthunder · December 14, 2013, 08:40:06 AM

Just slap a real mudbucker in there!

drbassman · December 14, 2013, 09:36:01 AM

Had a chance to look at it, what a dopey situation. The bass side of the pup is about 1/4" lower than the treble. Duh! You'd think they could afford some thicker foam rubber at the plant! In fact, the entire top of the pup doesn't even come up to meet the back of the cover. And yes, the screws are cosmetic with the two blade set up. I'll post some pictures when I have a minute. It's Christmas decorating time at our house!!!