Stingray pickup position

[riku]

Hello all,

I'm in the middle of building an Ironbird style bass and I'm putting in a MM style Delano pickup in it. It's a 34" scale length
I'm a little stuck on the position though. Would someone please kindly measure their Stingray and let me know the position (from the fretboard side of the nut to the middle of the pickup please).

Thanks in advance.

Rik

 

[Duarte]

Come on people! The man is asking a question!

I can't answer as I havn't got my stingray yet...but sheesh!

And welcome to the forum from a fellow Noob.

 

[riku]

Thanks for the support dude.
Maybe everyone thinks that I should buy a Stingray and not build a bass with a similar sound!

 

[oli@bass]

Frankly, I don't think you'd get a similar sound anyway. You have different woods, a different pickup, different electronics and definitely a different shape and mass of wood of the whole bass. That will give you a different response for the strings and therefore a different "sweet spot" to position your pickup. Event the EBMM models do not have their pickups at the exact same position but are fine tuned to the model.

If it was that simple to just measure the position of the pickup, then that would already be widespread knowledge. But there you go: 778mm for a 2000 StingRay without the compensated nut (that would give you a different distance as well...)

Others tried to copy the SR sound for decades, they build whole businesses on that and... failed. There's nothing like the real thing. Get one. You won't regret it!

 

[Duarte]

There ya go, maybe finish building this bass then go and buy a 'Ray.

 

[riku]

thanks for the measurements Oli. I know that I'm not going to achieve exactly the same sound as a stingray due to all the things that you mentioned, but a MM style pickup in the same pickup will produce similar style sounds. I am going to do all my own research into the pickup position, but I usually find that Leo Fender got it right from the start, so the measurements that you gave me will provide a good starting point.

Thanks again
Rik

 

[Aussie Mark]

What's an "Ironbird"?

 

[oli@bass]

You don't want to know. But Google is your friend.

 

[Jazzbassman23]

thanks for the measurements Oli. I know that I'm not going to achieve exactly the same sound as a stingray due to all the things that you mentioned, but a MM style pickup in the same pickup will produce similar style sounds.
Rik

Speaking from experience, it won't sound anything like a Music Man. Before I saw the light, I too, built my own, and while it's a fine instrument in its own right, it most definitely does not sound like a Stingray, Sterling or Bongo. Good luck with your project.

 

[jasper383]

Why would you measure from the nut to the center of the pickup, and not the bridge to the center of the pickup?

 

[oli@bass]

Why would you measure from the nut to the center of the pickup, and not the bridge to the center of the pickup?

Because the nut does not include any adjustable parts...

 

[riku]

you measure from the nut as that will always be a fixed distance (unless it's a compensated nut). The problem with measuring from the bridge is that the bridge saddles move.

An Ironbird is an old BC Rich model. This project started when I bought the body off eBay so I'm fairly limited to the shape, but I'm filling in the P and J pickup routes and putting in a MM pickup instead.

 

[Aussie Mark]

An Ironbird is an old BC Rich model.

Careful, you might lose an eye!