Anybody know of any passive rail/soapbar pickups that are 5" wide?

[asopala]

I have a semi-custom fanned 8 string I got years ago that I realized I stopped playing, and I figured out one of the reasons why: I can't stand the pickups.

Right now it's installed with Lace X-Bars, and the reason why is because of the fan on it being 3.5 inches--it has a high A string at 22.5" to a low B at 26" over 8 strings, and the neutral fret is the 12th. The bridge pickup is a 9-string pickup because it actually needs a pickup that long. The guitar itself has a pickguard and is exclusively top-routed, by the way, so it's not like I could install one of those Fishman battery packs into a backplate or anything (and I'd have my apprehensions about doing that anyway because microUSB breaks so easily, especially compared to USBC). I'm also not in the mood to get a battery box installed in the back. So what it looks like is I need to find some passive rail pickups or soapbars, but the obvious issue is that the 9 string soapbars that are readily available are all active (Fishman, EMG), and I can't seem to find 9 string rail pickups.

Anybody have any leads? I really hope Lace isn't the only option.

 

[ElRay]

Q-Tuner - Guitar Pickups

Cycfi XR Spectra - EDIT: Sorry, these only go up to straight 8 string

Rondo Music - Parts - Occasionally the bar version of their Cepheus pick-ups are listed.

 

[Pietjepieter]

M9C set with Logo

A sought after Soapbarversion of the M9. M9C with cover. This is the pickup many have been waiting for. The size is a direct replacement for EMG 909. Remember to change pots to 500K when changing from active pickups to these passive Monsters. And you can save some money when you do not need to...

shop.lundgrenpickups.com

 

[ThePIGI King]

Aluma Death Bar 5.0

Designed for Extended Range 8, 9 AND 10 string guitars, the Death-Bar 5.0 pickups have a broad, sensitive, wide band tone, with loads of warmth, clarity and headroom. The bold, yet articulate low end is tight, but not bassy, and your tone stays out of the mud-zone. The attack is smooth when...

lacemusic.com

Or the 4.5. Can't remember which one fits.

I thought BKP did, unless it was a special edition for the RG90BKPISH from years ago.

 

[asopala]

Aluma Death Bar 5.0

Designed for Extended Range 8, 9 AND 10 string guitars, the Death-Bar 5.0 pickups have a broad, sensitive, wide band tone, with loads of warmth, clarity and headroom. The bold, yet articulate low end is tight, but not bassy, and your tone stays out of the mud-zone. The attack is smooth when...

lacemusic.com

Or the 4.5. Can't remember which one fits.

I thought BKP did, unless it was a special edition for the RG90BKPISH from years ago.

Right now I have a 4.5 X-bar (I think), and ideally I'd like to get away from Lace.

M9C set with Logo

A sought after Soapbarversion of the M9. M9C with cover. This is the pickup many have been waiting for. The size is a direct replacement for EMG 909. Remember to change pots to 500K when changing from active pickups to these passive Monsters. And you can save some money when you do not need to...

shop.lundgrenpickups.com

This is looking like the way to go. Not sure if it will be a drop-in replacement for the Lace (because the Lace uses 4 screws as opposed to the two on this), but I've had good experiences with Lundgren in general. Now to see if any dealers in the USA have it... if not, I'll deal with the shipping.

 

[asopala]

Oops, I did some measurements, and I found out something:

The NECK pickup is actually 9 strings (4.5") wide. The bridge is 5" wide, like for 10 strings! The M9 is 4.5", so that's gonna be a problem. I don't know if anyone besides Lace makes really anything that wide, which, well, isn't fun.

Any leads for THAT?

 

[ezboarderz]

Oops, I did some measurements, and I found out something:

The NECK pickup is actually 9 strings (4.5") wide. The bridge is 5" wide, like for 10 strings! The M9 is 4.5", so that's gonna be a problem. I don't know if anyone besides Lace makes really anything that wide, which, well, isn't fun.

Any leads for THAT?

I would contact lundgren directly and ask if they can make a custom m9 bridge for this. Johan is really nice and has customized pickups for me for no extra cost. I’m sure he can come up with a solution for you.

 

[asopala]

I would contact lundgren directly and ask if they can make a custom m9 bridge for this. Johan is really nice and has customized pickups for me for no extra cost. I’m sure he can come up with a solution for you.

That's great to know! I just shot him an email, guess I'll see what he says.

 

[asopala]

I would contact lundgren directly and ask if they can make a custom m9 bridge for this. Johan is really nice and has customized pickups for me for no extra cost. I’m sure he can come up with a solution for you.

Well, I contacted him, and it's no good, unfortunately. The widest covers are 4.5", and on my particular guitar they wouldn't be able to make it work with the offset coils. Guitar has a pickguard is part of the problem.

 

[asopala]

At this point I'm thinking I might have to go custom pickups. Anybody know of anybody who could make something that could work? At this point, cost isn't too much of a factor, but I still want to shop around to see who's good and who's at least somewhat reasonable.

 

[ezboarderz]

Well, I contacted him, and it's no good, unfortunately. The widest covers are 4.5", and on my particular guitar they wouldn't be able to make it work with the offset coils. Guitar has a pickguard is part of the problem.

aww thats unfortunate. I dont have any other tips unfortunately outside of finding a company that can do custom pickups.

 

[luca9583]

At this point I'm thinking I might have to go custom pickups. Anybody know of anybody who could make something that could work? At this point, cost isn't too much of a factor, but I still want to shop around to see who's good and who's at least somewhat reasonable.

Zhangbucker Pickups

Boutique, Hand Wound Guitar Pickups

www.zhangbucker.com

I had your exact same problem on an Agile 72730 that also requires a 5" Lace X Bar to cover all strings at the ideal angle (which required extra routing due to the stock pickup angle being way off from the bridge on the lowest strings as usual).

I emailed all the custom builders out there and none of them were able to help.

Have a look at the custom 10 string pickup on Zhangbucker's website. He's currently making me a custom angled pickup with pole pieces for the Agile so send him an email.

I find the X Bar is good for higher strings and regular guitar tunings, but Drop E and lower sounds like it lacks attack. The Deathbar has more gain but is pretty muddy, so custom is the only option as nobody else makes 10" long blade guitar pickups.

 

[luca9583]

Pretty annoying because if BKP and Lundgren etc could just make open blade pickups up to 10" long (or longer for 9 strings wirh wide fans), a lot of multiscale guitars out there could be made with much better bridge pickup placement.