Why do Fender Precision Bass pickups have two offset coils?
The first models of Fender Precision Bass pickups used a single coil pickup very similar looking from the top as a Telecaster bridge pickup but with only 4 rod pole pieces. It seemed that during the mid 50 s several major guitar companies were coming out with humbucking pickups such as Seth E. Lover with the Gibson Patent Applied For humbucker, Ray Butts and the Gretsch Filtertron pickup and Leo Fender with the split Precision Bass Pickup. Leo s split pickup was made with one coil magnetized South and the other coil magnetized North. One coil was wound Clockwise and the other wound Counter-Clockwise with both coils were hooked up in series to each other. The combination of opposite magnetic fields and coil direction produced a humbucking effect. The split pickup were off set to widen the tonal range for deep low bass to bright treble. Each string used a double pole to reduce the unwanted beat effect common in pickups with single magnets.
