Can someone explain the difference between Bass and Guitar pickups?

PitchShifter

Senior Member
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Is there something in the type of wire, the bobbins, magnets, winds etc that makes the pickup "pickup" deeper notes better, or is it just the sound it produces?

I've played a couple of Bass VI type guitars and they are really mushy on the low E and A, and the even the D ain't that flash..to my ear, you have a 6 string guitar with 3 usable strings. A Bass VI is a long-scale guitar, using guitar pickups strung with Bass gauge strings.  I want to know if I switch out the middle pickup for a bass pickup, like a Joe Barden with double blades (so string spacing isn't an issue), if I can improve the overall response of the low-end of the guitar?  I generally play it through a Bass amp already and the performance is still lacking.
 
I haven't seen or heard of one of those in about 25 years. If you've got an old 60's model, you might be better off trying to find an oddball Fender collector to unload it on; rather than routing it out for a bass pickup; take the money and buy or build a real bass. Those things never worked/sounded passably as a bass.

For those reading that don't know what he's talking about, here's a link:

http://theband.hiof.no/articles/fender_bass_vi.html
 
No, it's not an original (I wouldn't dare rout one of those either!).

I'm not using it as a bass I'm using it as a Baritone melodic instrument (a la Robert Smithe of The Cure). I'm happy enough using the high strings, I just want to improved definition of the bottom half.  I was thinking of putting in a Bass pickup and blending the signals.
 
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