I understand the jazz bass activator set are the same dimensions as the Fender jazz bass pickups, such that no routing is necessary to install the activators in a Fender Jazz bass.  What about the Fender 5-string jazz bass?  Are the pickups for that bass bigger than the 4-string bass?  In other words, will I be able to use activators in the 5-stromg jazz bass without routing?  Thanks.

Yes, the rout will be larger, lengthwise in a Fender 5-string. You may still be able to mount Alembic activators in there though, and the void be hidden by the pickguard or bridge cover. How well they work will depend somewhat on the string spacing over the pickups. Someone more intimately familiar with Fender routing patterns than me might know better on the 'bumps' for the mounting screws... if they're located the same for both 4 and 5-strings, you might be able to do it.


Good Luck. 

Much thanks.

It would be more expensive but you can probably get Alembic to make you custom sized activator pickups that are sized to match your stock pickups. Worth asking about.

Another option might be to get another Jazz bass body and rout out for Alembic 5 string pickups. Then, you can switch back and forth pretty easily by switching bodies.

I have a pair of Jazz Activators in a 5 string bass, but it's one that had 4 string sized pickups mounted in it from the beginning. Great pickups!