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Play a Strat and compare the neck and middle pickups, or try a Gibson Grabber bass - the one with the sliding pickup - and see how much difference even a small position change can make.
I've always thought that version of the Violin Bass was by far the coolest, and not just because of the McCartney connection.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
The position of the second pickup in the examples you have cited is more difficult to explain/justify for the sonic properties. That leaves practical explanations - not obstructing the signature artiste's fingers or plectrum - or cosmetic reasons.
Some instrument designs are simply what somebody thinks looks cool. (The Höfner 500 would look cool as with a third pickup, spaced the same distance from the middle pickup as the middle pickup is from the neck pickup.) Sod what it sounds like.
Obviously, there are nodal points along the strings that would be understandable locations for pickups. Wiring a pair of pickups is through a Balance control should make possible a blend of deep and clear
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Obviously the position of the pickup is important and affects the mix of harmonics - and I do think that a neck pickup generally sounds better on a 22-fret guitar - but it's *not* because they're at specific nodes.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I'm gassing for a fretless violin bass atm. Hofner's own version is very pricey, so I'm thinking I might defret one of the budget models and was considering the model pictured above as a possible. I did get one of the Harley Benton fretless violin's as a tryout but on arrival it was so horrible that I sent it straight back (scratches on the fretboard plus generally really poor fretboard condition).
On a more general level, you have to wonder whether an instrument that is not noted for its mechanical sustain lends itself to legato fretless applications.
Read these.
http://www.flyguitars.com/interviews/allenwoody.php
http://www.flyguitars.com/interviews/allenwoody2.php
Perhaps I'll stick with the solid body Epiphone violin. Now that I've ironed out it's quirks and buzzes it's a nice player and used with an eq it has a surprisingly broad range of tones. A big part of the Hofner allure was the short scale. I find long scale fretless to be hard work, the Epi at 32.5 is a good fit. My thinking is that a short scale bass, that naturally has a double bass like vibe, might work really well in the fretless format.
Interesting article btw, thanks for the links. 450 basses! That's serious gas.
How's yer bowing technique? That is the only way to extract worthwhile sustain.