What would you do with...

Alanko · October 19, 2015, 03:14:44 AM

...a Fender Wide Range bass humbucker? I have one sitting on a shelf here sourced, allegedly, from a '70s Tele bass. It is certainly an original '70s model and not a repro.

Do I pick up a basket case P bass or similar and drop it in the mid position, or do you prescribe something whacky?

4stringer77 · October 19, 2015, 08:15:08 AM

Put it in a Gibson.

Basvarken · October 19, 2015, 08:43:39 AM

Put it in a shoe box and wait till the right project comes along.
Works for me

Alanko · October 19, 2015, 09:05:42 AM

Quote from: 4stringer77 on October 19, 2015, 08:15:08 AM
Put it in a Gibson.

Controversial! From memory it has 'Fender' stamped into the top of it....

It currently lives in the parts bin, so no immediate hurry to put it to use.

4stringer77 · October 19, 2015, 11:54:06 AM

It would be funny to have a Fender stamped part in a Gibson. The Seth Lover pick up has lots of similarities with a mudbucker right? It would be interesting to see how it would compare in an EB0, EB2 or EB3. It could also give a more vintage sound as a neck pickup for an SG bass or a midtown. You could also put it in a recent Fender Starcaster and see if it sounds any different from the wide range buckers they make today.

Dave W · October 19, 2015, 12:18:34 PM

No, it doesn't sound like a Gibson mudbucker, it just looks similar. It does lack clarity because it's overwound almost as much as the Gibson, but the internal construction is completely different. It's very heavy in the midrange, I'd call it aggressive, which the Gibson isn't. It's got its own thing going.

I don't have a suggestion as to what to put it in, just remember that the polepieces are spaced for placement way up by the neck. If you were to put it at the bridge position you might run into problems, I don't know how those CuNi Fe magnets would handle misalignment.

drbassman · October 19, 2015, 12:37:35 PM

I'd do a replica, slab body, tele neck, etc but with a twist like a semi hollow body.

Alanko · October 19, 2015, 03:14:48 PM

Gut shots! As suggested, it isn't a mudbucker/sidewinder in there!

Aussie Mark · October 19, 2015, 03:55:35 PM

I'd find a cheap used P bass that has a nice neck (MIM, Squier, whatever) and replace the existing pickup with this one.

Psycho Bass Guy · October 20, 2015, 01:18:26 AM

Sell it on eBay and use the money to buy a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder which sounds almost exactly the same and will fit a wider range of pre-existing Precision body routs.

Alanko · October 20, 2015, 07:03:07 AM

Apologies for touting, but how much are these pickups worth? I don't really want to sell it, just curious.

Dave W · October 20, 2015, 08:42:47 AM

Roughly $200. Last two sold on eBay went for $225 and £225. The one from the UK would be high for an American buyer, but maybe not for you.

Alanko · October 20, 2015, 09:23:04 AM

Ooft. I paid £50 for mine, and I thought that was a push. $77 in funny money. Came with two inches of coax left, so I had to add a new hookup cable.

Pilgrim · October 20, 2015, 10:12:15 AM

You could drop it into a Squier Bronco - an inexpensive experiment that might sound pretty darn good! Might have to swap the bridge if the strings didn't like up, but that's easy to measure. On a short scale the string spacing might be OK.

Dave W · October 20, 2015, 09:55:29 PM

A Tele Bass HB in a Squier Bronco? That might stun a few sound guys!