ANSWERS: 5
  • I own a guitar not a bass but the principal should be the same. the bridge pickup gives you a sharper tone. the front one is a more mellow. if you select any middle position both will activate to various degrees. select the position according to the style you want to play. rock, funk, and the like should be in a sharper timbre (back,while jazz and classical would probably sound better on a mellow setting (front)
  • Thank you
  • The bridge pickup tends to produce a tighter tone, mainly due to the position (higher harmonic overtones due to proximity to the bridge). The neck pick up will give a softer more rounded tone generally, for the same reason. As for using them, I tend to use neck for rock and when a mellower tone is required. When playing funkier passages and so forth I go for the bridge. For slap I use both on full, or maybe with the neck rolled off ever so slightly. But experiment yourself, it is the only way to find your tone. EQ, choice of strings, playing style (and effects if you use them, which opinion is greatly divided on) etc will greatly impact this as well. A great part of it is where you actually pluck the string. I tend to play closer to the bridge when playing fingerstyle, almost over the pickup which gives a more treble sound. John Entwhistle used to play very close to the neck. It is all personal choice.
  • bottom pickup is for when you strike the strings near the bridge, upper pickup is for when you strike nearer to the top of the bout.
    • bostjan the adequate 🥉
      You don't have to pluck near the pickup.
  • Try them out and you should hear what they sound like, then blend your tone to taste. If you play in an ensemble, you might need to adjust your tone how it best suits the ensemble, since different instruments take up different sections of the auditory spectrum and you don't want to crowd them.

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