Question about pickup placement (ss Maruszczyk / Warmoth etc.)

JACink

JACink

Mar 9, 2011
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#1
I am looking into replacing my current Jazz Bass with something of higher quality, and as I am a great fan of short scale instruments, I have been investigating 30" scale J bass options (which are not many).

I am really interested in the Maruszczyk Elwood, which seems to be a lot of bass for the money, apart from the fact that he makes some beautiful instruments.

My question is regarding the pickup placement on the Maruszcyzyk.

Comparing it to say Warmoth or Bacchus, the neck pickup seems to be a lot closer to the neck on the Elwood.

As I am looking to be able to get the full range of J tones from the bass, I am wondering if I should be worried about this?

Here are some photos for comparison:

Maruszczyk Elwood 30":

im21005173442maruszczyk-elwood-4p-short-30-3ts.jpg




Warmoth Short Scale Jazz body:

B3231a.jpg



Bacchus Short Scale:

bac-wjb-mini-sob.jpg
 
#4
Looks like The Elwood has 22 frets. That's two more frets than a regular Jazz bass, so less space between the end of the fretboard and the neck pickup.

A more accurate measurement is from the 12th fret to the pickup.
 
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#5
Mushroo said:
Looks like The Elwood has 22 frets. That's two more frets than a regular Jazz bass, so less space between the end of the fretboard and the bridge pickup.

A more accurate measurement is from the 12th fret to the pickup.
Click to expand...

Very good point, I didn't think of that! I will see if I can find a photo that let's me measure, or maybe from the bridge would be easier.
 
#7
Mushroo said:
And looks like 21 frets on the Bacchus. ;)
Click to expand...

I just did some quick and dirty measurements in Photoshop, and the Warmoth and Maruszczyk seem to be exactly the same placement. The Bacchus pickups (both of them) are a little closer to the bridge than the other two (by a distance of about half the thickness of the pickup).

Thanks all.

Now I have crossed one more thing of the list, I am running out of reasons why not to order the bass :D
 
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#9
JACink said:
I just did some quick and dirty measurements in Photoshop, and the Warmoth and Maruszczyk seem to be exactly the same placement. The Bacchus pickups (both of them) are a little closer to the bridge than the other two (by a distance of about half the thickness of the pickup).

Thanks all.

Now I have crossed one more thing of the list, I am running out of reasons why not to order the bass :D
Click to expand...
You know what you need to do. ;)
 
#10
kodiakblair said:
So no Sandberg now ?
Click to expand...

Well, that's a good question. I am in love with the Sandberg TT4, but I can't deny the fact that I feel more comfortable on a shorter scale. Doing some research on the Maruszczyk, it seems to be a lot of bass for less money than the Sandberg. I am not saying they are better or worse than the Sandberg as I haven't played either, but I can get the exact specs I want for about 500€ less than a Sandberg with "basic" options.

The funny thing is, lately I have been rotating through all my basses to see which ones to get rid of, and I keep coming back to the Samick neck on the Westone. I think I can safely say that it is the most comfortable neck shape I have played on. From what I have read, it seems that the Waruszczyk neck profiles and widths are similar, and he is also willing to shape the neck however you want.

Usually by this time I would have just bought a bass, but then again, I have never thought of spending over a grand on one, which is probably why I am being more undecisive.
 
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#11
My good brother @JACink
A wee bit advice. Send Adrian the Samick neck. Aye he speaks English but it's a damn sight easier for him to copy the neck when it's in the workshop than from your instructions :D Be specific about every part but don't expect him to have long chit chats with you. His work is top notch and if you want I can put you in touch with a couple of his customers.

TBH I'd be going with Marusczyk for a short scale. Last few builds I've read have been shorties and folks seem to start planning a 2nd build not long after. Yes they're that good.
 
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#13
kodiakblair said:
My good brother @JACink
A wee bit advice. Send Adrian the Samick neck. Aye he speaks English but it's a damn sight easier for him to copy the neck when it's in the workshop than from your instructions :D Be specific about every part but don't expect him to have long chit chats with you. His work is top notch and if you want I can put you in touch with a couple of his customers.

TBH I'd be going with Marusczyk for a short scale. Last few builds I've read have been shorties and folks seem to start planning a 2nd build not long after. Yes they're that good.
Click to expand...

I have been reading through various websites (some with googleation involved) and it seems nobody has a bad word to say about them, which makes me hopeful.

I have asked about sending the neck, but checking the dimensions that I have found, it seems the stock neck is pretty similar.

I will wait to see what the pricing is like for the options I have asked for, but I don't discard ordering one that they have in stock (you know me, I want it now!)
 
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#14
Old Garage-Bander said:
There doesn't appear to be a lot of difference so probably not a deal breaker if you like everything else.

I'd guess that more separation might give you more variations in tone?
Wonder what the really smart guys think about this?
Click to expand...

With two pickups you can blend to taste. Generally speaking the further apart the lower the frequency of the mid scoop that occurs when both pickups are on full. For this reason I tend to prefer more separation because I prefer to scoop the low mids a tad and leave the high mids more prominent. Most of my basses have three pickups and I tend to mostly use the bridge with the far neck to get that yawning throaty sound without loss of upper mids.
 
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#15
JACink said:
I am looking into replacing my current Jazz Bass with something of higher quality, and as I am a great fan of short scale instruments, I have been investigating 30" scale J bass options (which are not many).

I am really interested in the Maruszczyk Elwood, which seems to be a lot of bass for the money, apart from the fact that he makes some beautiful instruments.

My question is regarding the pickup placement on the Maruszcyzyk.

Comparing it to say Warmoth or Bacchus, the neck pickup seems to be a lot closer to the neck on the Elwood.

As I am looking to be able to get the full range of J tones from the bass, I am wondering if I should be worried about this?

Here are some photos for comparison:

Maruszczyk Elwood 30":

im21005173442maruszczyk-elwood-4p-short-30-3ts.jpg




Warmoth Short Scale Jazz body:

B3231a.jpg



Bacchus Short Scale:

bac-wjb-mini-sob.jpg
Click to expand...

If you know where you want the pickups, you can just indicate the placement you prefer. I've done that in two out of my 3 Maruszczyk Jakes
 
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#16
mcnach said:
If you know where you want the pickups, you can just indicate the placement you prefer. I've done that in two out of my 3 Maruszczyk Jakes
Click to expand...

The main problem is me knowing what I want :D

To be honest, I trust his choice of location more than I trust my own. I think for the fist time (with both Maruszczyk and with a custom bass) I will only specify exactly what I am certain about and leave the rest up to someone who knows far more than me!

(This may turn into the perfect excuse for a second one sometime in the future ;) )
 
#17
JACink said:
I am looking into replacing my current Jazz Bass with something of higher quality, and as I am a great fan of short scale instruments, I have been investigating 30" scale J bass options (which are not many).

I am really interested in the Maruszczyk Elwood, which seems to be a lot of bass for the money, apart from the fact that he makes some beautiful instruments.

My question is regarding the pickup placement on the Maruszcyzyk.

Comparing it to say Warmoth or Bacchus, the neck pickup seems to be a lot closer to the neck on the Elwood.

As I am looking to be able to get the full range of J tones from the bass, I am wondering if I should be worried about this?

Here are some photos for comparison:

Maruszczyk Elwood 30":

im21005173442maruszczyk-elwood-4p-short-30-3ts.jpg




Warmoth Short Scale Jazz body:

B3231a.jpg



Bacchus Short Scale:

bac-wjb-mini-sob.jpg
Click to expand...

If you know where you want the pickups, you can just indicate the placement you prefer. I've done that in two out of my 3 MaruszczykJakes
JACink said:
The main problem is me knowing what I want :D

To be honest, I trust his choice of location more than I trust my own. I think for the fist time (with both Maruszczyk and with a custom bass) I will only specify exactly what I am certain about and leave the rest up to someone who knows far more than me!

(This may turn into the perfect excuse for a second one sometime in the future ;) )
Click to expand...

Pretty much the reason why I just went with the stock configuration on my P/JJ Jake. The P pickup is a bit closer to the neck than a standard Precision... but it doesn't make a huge difference. However, sometimes you just want a particular pickup in a particular location (because of another bass you've played or whatever)... and with Maruszczyk you have that option. I don't think it even add any extra cost, or if it did it was so small I forgot about it.

An excuse for a second one sounds very good ;)
 
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