Pickups Archives - Page 4

GFS Pickups has announced new REDactive series of pickups, including Jazz and P Bass styles. The pickups are low impedance, noiseless models with internal preamplifiers. Each pickup is vintage voiced and “position calibrated” by their coils and the internal preamplifier. Beyond standard configurations, each pickup can be matched with REDactive components including pots, jacks, caps, and switches to personalize your...

Aguilar has introduced a new set of pickups called the HOT series. The Hot P and Hot J pickups act as direct replacements for 4-string Fender P-Bass and Jazz pickups but feature larger, 16mm magnets and an over-wound design. The result is a hotter output that Aguilar says adds a big and loud tone while retaining the grit and nuance....

Aguilar has introduced the Super Singles and the DCB pickups, two new pickup series for bass. Both types of pickups are wound in the company’s New York City factory and will be available in a variety of 4-, 5-, and 6-string standard soapbar sizes. The Super Singles offer a single coil sound in a soapbar size, Aguilar says, going on...

Aguilar has followed up their hum-canceling J-pickups with the AG 4P/J-HC Precision/Jazz Bass Pickup Set, which combines their 4P-60 and 4J-HC pickups. Wound in Aguilar’s New York City factory, the set is a direct replacement for 4-string Fender P-Bass and Jazz bridge pickups. The company describes the set as “well-balanced with a flexible array of tones.” As with the 4J-HC...

Reed James Custom Pickups has added a new pickup to their RJ NEO line. The Vintage Modern ALNEO Soap Bar bass pickup combines neodymium and Alnico components into a single pickup with one of the coils mimicking a vintage Jazz bass pickup while the other is a neodymium powered coil. Four conductor lead wires allow for switching from full humbucker...

Aguilar has introduced a pair of new hum-canceling single coil pickups called the AG 4J-HC and AG 5J-HC. Made for 4- and 5-string basses respectively, the pickups act as direct replacements for 4- and 5-string Fender Jazz and other J-style basses. The new pickups were designed to eliminate the hum that comes from neck and bridge pickups being at different...

Nordstand Pickups has expanded their NP4 line with the NP4V, a P-style pickup designed to deliver old school tone. The new pickup is “made to exacting early 60’s specs”, including its vintage correct size traditional Alnico V magnets. The NP4V acts as a direct replacement and fits into nearly all P-style basses. Its split coil hum-canceling configuration offers noise-free operation,...

Aguilar Amplification has unveiled the AG 4P-60 P-bass pickup, modeled after company president Dave Boonshoft’s personal 1964 Fender Precision Bass. The vintage-style pickup is described as having just the right amount of “mid-range nose” to cut through a band while retaining hefty low end. Designed as a direct replacement for Fender Precision and other P-style basses, the pickup is built...

Watson Guitars has just launched a new pickups company, specializing in a variety of bass pickups. Run by former Nordstrand employee Michael Cooper, Watson Pickups’ new line offers products ranging from vintage replacements to completely custom creations for extended-range instruments. Cooper designed the entire line. “My current favorite design is a tap-able modern P pickup,” Cooper explains, “which fits into...

Reed James Custom Pickups has announced the RJE Neos, new soap-bar style neodymium pickups. Made in the USA, the pickups have a modern sound, described by the manufacturer as “warm, punchy and very clear.” The RJE Neo pickups are available for 4- through 6-string basses and feature CNC machined black ABS plastic covers with a matte finish, though custom exotic...

AweSome Musical Instruments has introduced the T4-Board Kit, a mod using their Pickup Tone Multiplier switching system to provide a total of 68 analog pickup tones for instruments with 4-pickup coils. That includes instruments with two 4-wire humbuckers, one 4-wire humbucker and two single-coil pickups, or four single-coil pickups. The system consists of six switches on a 1″ x 3″...

In response to the my last column on bass pickups (Bass Pickups: A Guide to Formulating Your Sound) we received a request from a reader to cover the topic of setting up pickup height. Because everyone plays differently and every bass is different – even when comparing two similar models from the same company – there is no black and...