Of all the parts that make up any electric bass guitar, the pickups are perhaps the most essential when it comes to shaping the amplified sound. Which makes sense, since it's the pickups that are responsible for capturing the sound of the strings and sending it to your bass amplifier.
Bass Pickups for the Best Price
In our humble webstore, you'll find an immense selection of bass guitar pickups ranging from decent models with an affordable price tag to exclusive high-end models. Whether you want to upgrade your bass with the classic output of a single-coil; the balanced tone of a split-single-coil; or the thicker sound of a hum-eliminating double-coil humbucker, you'll find plenty to choose from.
Active or Passive Bass Pickups
Many classic bass guitar models come mounted with passive pickups and electronics, but since the end of the seventies, bassists have been spoilt with the choice between basses set up with active pickups and passive electronics, or modern basses loaded with passive pickups and an active preamp system. Depending on the layout of the control pots, these modern basses often come with a wider range of sonic profiles that can be taken in multiple directions just by tweaking the equalizer pots. Passive basses usually have a no-nonsense volume control pot and a global tone pot for fine-tuning the sound, which isn't just a no-nonsense setup but shapes iconic old-school tone. But with an active bass, you get more to play with since the tone controls are often split into a two-band bass and treble layout, or more commonly, a three-band layout including a control pot for the mids. This setup results in a more contemporary output and a balanced bass sound.
Magnetic or Piezo Pickups
The single-coils, split-coils, and humbuckers of electric basses are fitted with magnetic cores that respond to the vibration of the strings, convert it into an electrical signal, then send this signal to an amplifier where it's converted back into sound. But electro-acoustic basses are essentially acoustic basses that come with a piezo pickup fitted beneath the bridge. While the magnetic field of an electric bass pickup is interrupted by the vibration of the metal strings, piezo pickups are pressure-based, so the pickup is literally vibrated by the resonance of the instrument and generates an electrical signal in response. This signal is then processed by a built-in preamp and sent to an acoustic bass amplifier. If you have an acoustic bass that you want to convert into an electro-acoustic bass, you can pick up full packs to upgrade it. Some pickups can be clipped on and removed, but other systems will need to be installed, so if you need help, it's worth seeking the advice of your local luthier.
If your model isn't giving you your ideal bass sound, then it might be worth adjusting the setup of your single or double-coil pickups. By simply adjusting the height of the pickup, the distance between the magnetic core and the strings is adjusted, which can have a massive effect on the sound of your beloved four or five-string. When the pickup sits closer to the strings, the sound will be clearer and more full, and if you want to pull back on the clarity and fullness and round off the sound a bit, simply lower the pickup to pull it further away from the strings. Using some purpose-designed guitar tools, you could also adjust other elements of your bass to set it up and tweak the foundation sound. Of course, if that doesn't work, you could have a browse through our range of bass guitar parts and give your model a nice upgrade.
