Guitar Musician News

Whether you play the acoustic or the electric bass, bass guitar pickups are the piece of equipment that are going to ensure that your sound is heard in combination with the rest of the musical instruments. In fact, most acoustic bass players who play along with a band will find that it is almost impossible to hear their tone over the other instruments without the aid of a pickup and amplification system, even though only other acoustic instruments are being used.

Single Coil/ Dual Coil

The coiling on a pickup refers to the number of magnets that the pickup uses to catch the electric field and send it out to the amplification system. Single coil pickups for basses are comprised of one magnet coiled by a copper wire, while dual coil pickups have two magnets. Dual coil are also known as humbuckers, as they negate the humming feedback which is created with a single coil model.

Types of Bass Pickup

There are several types of bass pickups. The most basic categories are magnetic and piezoelectric. Magnetic coils work along the mechanisms described above, generating pickups through the magnetic field. Piezoelectric guitar pickups use crystals to generate the electricity that is then picked up and sent to the amplifier. All pickups will use one or the other basic generating mechanisms, and some work in combination. They then fall into one of several other categories.

J Pickups are the basses answer to the hexagonic pickups found for some guitars, in that they lie underneath all four of the strings of the bass. These pickups are wired opposite to each other, so even though they are generally single-coil, the hum generated is greatly reduced.

P Pickups are the original style of pickup found in the first widely popular bass designed by Leo Fender back in the ‘70s. These pickups are two halves of one single coil pickup, and each half is placed underneath two of the bass’ strings. Like the J pickups, they are wired in opposite directions to reduce the hum.

Humbuckers, like the same model for guitars, use a dual coil system to eliminate hum. They are the same shape as the J pickups, but in order to incorporate both magnet systems they are much wider.

People commonly refer to soapbox pickups as a distinct variety, but in fact they are merely housing. Soapbox pickups may contain any one of the three types of pickup used in basses. Further, many bass players use several types of pickup in conjunction in order to round out the sound that they want. The placement of the pickup on the guitar will greatly contribute to the musical effects of the instrument. Having a pickup higher up on the guitar, such as at the neck, will allow the lower sounds to be amplified, maximizing the bass effects. Locating the pickups at the bridge will pick up the tones at the treble end of the scale.

Bass guitar pickups are essential for the sound that you want to generate on your bass. Not only the type, but also the placement of the pickup will influence the sound you are creating. Trying different methods and trying them in combination, along with a good understanding of bass guitar amps, will mean that you can modify your sound to exactly what you want to produce.

Bass guitar amps have always been an integral part of the bass guitar. The original inspiration for the bass guitar, the stand up double bass, depended on its great size to generate its low tones throughout a room, adding the rhythm and tonnage to the musical pieces it was involved in. With the development of the bass guitar, not only was the size eliminated but so too was the hollow body needed to generate the tones. Without amplification, it would be almost impossible to hear the notes of the bass. Today’s bass player also knows that playing without an amp can mean some serious miscalculations about the style one is playing, as practicing without an amp sounds much different than playing while hooked up.

Basically, amps work by receiving the signal from the pickup and then amplifying it out so that it can be heard more readily. Amplifiers for bass guitars (and other types of low instruments) have to make adjustments for the low tones generated by the instrument.

    Loudspeakers are larger in bass amplification systems as they need to be able to pull through more air to generate the low frequencies.
    Speakers are made using heavier material, and they are also braced much more tightly than speakers on other amps. Anyone who has ever had a CD or anything else knocked off a stereo by a throbbing baseline should understand the mechanics behind the bracing; low frequencies move more air and thus create more disturbance.
    Preamplifier systems also need to be adjusted to fit low frequencies. These systems generally include equalization controls much lower than other instruments; often down below 40 Hz.
    More complicated internal workings like fans help the amp cool down while using the greater amounts of power.

Types of amp

There are two big types of bass amp, the combo amp and amps assembled by the player. Combo bass guitar amps have all of the components needed to play in one piece, and are best suited to beginner bass players. The assembled package means that there is no assembly required either at first or when moving the amplification system to another gig.

Amps that are assembled must include the basic components of the bass system. These components include the head and the cabinet. These components both further contain specific elements of the amp makeup. The head contains all the electronics that manipulate and reproduce the bass sound, while the cabinet will contain the speakers.

One important part in the head of all bass amps is the preamp. This is where the signal from the pickup enters the amp system. The preamp manipulates the tone from the pickup. Once the sound has been modified, the signal is sent to the power amp. This part of the system drives power into the sound which is put through the speaker. Reconciling the amount of power generated from the power amp with the size of the cabinet is vital in building an amplification system as a cabinet can be wrecked if too much power is sent through it.

If you are thinking about creating your own bass guitar amps from the basic components, remember that not all parts of amp systems are created equal. A preamp system designed for classical guitars, for example, will not be very effective for a bass. Keep your instrument in mind when considering components in order to maximize the sound.

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