I developed my own pickups as another way to offer players more options than what was available off the shelf to make their instrument more unique. Initially, I used a bar over ceramic magnets with a coil shape between a P and J style and wound them hot. This method gives a smooth, even tone and focuses more on the fundamental and sustain of the note. This turned out to be very popular and players were asking me to put them in other basses they owned so I knew I was on to something. I have since expanded the types of pickups I wind to every style one can think of.

Eventually, I switched over to neodymium magnets as they are available in more shapes and sizes and offer more output without affecting the tone negatively. Pickups are available with bars over magnets or pole piece magnets. The traditional tone is gained using a 3/16” pole piece on either side of the string. This method focuses more on the attack of the note and gives that “clakety” vintage tone. A tall slim coil gives more treble and a shorter, wider coil gives more bass. A short, wide coil with large poles directly under the strings gives a much more aggressive growl and lots of output.

Like the bridge system the pickups for your bass can be custom tailored to suite your tonal specifications.