Well i'm picking up a new frankenbass P-bass this thursday in a trade deal, the only down side is its currently equipped with active EMG alnico pickups + preamp So I'm going to be swapping out all the electronics for a passive system, I've got a bunch of volume and tone pots just sitting around but no extra p-bass pickups, so i'm here to have you guys with experience help me decide!!! I'm trying to keep it relatively cheap and have a short list all ready, there's no place around here to try out these pickups so I'll describe what i'm looking for!
What I want is a pickup up with massive low end and low mids with smooth high end. I want a high enough output to drive dirt pedals well but not too much as to not be able to achieve a really clean bass tone easily. I want a pickup that will sit in the mix and fill it out, not cut through to the point where its competing for mid frequency space with the guitars. This will be on a 4 string bass setup in either C standard or B standard, so it's gotta work well with low tunings.
Vote away!!!
Iommic Pope wrote:
Skip, you rule. You hate people so much, you're willing to discredit all human progress, its awesome.
I've got the DiMarzio P/J setup in my Yamaha, and I absolutely love it. Super hot pickups, drives pedals very nicely. Stays clear at least down to D, haven't ever really tried it lower than that. Definitely a mid/low heavy pickup, especially with a pick.
SPB-3 all day. Excellent sound, high output and cheap. If the Model P is as good as the Model J it might also be an option. Model J is pretty dark in comparison to an average J, but Ps are more audible in low tunings, I think, so muddiness might not be an issue in the end. I would use 500k pots anyway
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Achtane wrote:SPB-3 all day. Excellent sound, high output and cheap. If the Model P is as good as the Model J it might also be an option. Model J is pretty dark in comparison to an average J, but Ps are more audible in low tunings, I think, so muddiness might not be an issue in the end. I would use 500k pots anyway
SPB-3 is most likely what i'm going with, and 500k pots is actually exactly what i will be using. Never understood fenders obsession with 250k pots, my MIJ jazzmaster had them originally and it sounded like a freaking blanket was over the amp threw one meg pots in there and it opened right up. I figured 1meg was too much high end for a bass but 500's would help immensely for clarity especially with BEAD tuning.
Iommic Pope wrote:
Skip, you rule. You hate people so much, you're willing to discredit all human progress, its awesome.
I've got Bill Lawrence P-46's in my P. Sound great and they're really quiet. Pretty cheap to as there isn't a middle man to contend with. The one downside is they're a little taller then my stock pickups were. But, they still fit in nicely, just really close to the bottom.
I've found a 250K on a Jazz pickup and 500K on the P pickup sounds really good.
That's backwards from what most people say, most people say 250K on P pickups and 500K on Jazz.
If you feel the pickup sounds too dark, you could add a treble bleed to the volume pot (there's all kinds of calculators on the net for frequency responses) on the darker pickup and turn it down some to induce a brighter sound.
I haven't had much experience with any pickups, except the GFS pickups and Duncan Designed. GFS pickups sound pretty good, and you can get them in varying windings. I've never tried them any lower than C#, but they sound alright. Not to mention they're far cheaper than most pickups. They don't have the larger pole pieces like the Quarter Pounders, but they are Alnico.
Wow i forgot about this thread Turns out after tweaking the pickup height and putting a new battery in the bass i decided to stick with the emg's. With the tone rolled off they sound absolutely huge, and swapping the battery is really easy.
Good to hear that someone tried and liked the GFS pickups its hard to find reviews of them from what i found.
Iommic Pope wrote:
Skip, you rule. You hate people so much, you're willing to discredit all human progress, its awesome.
So I'm going to be swapping out all the electronics for a passive system, I've got a bunch of volume and tone pots just sitting around but no extra p-bass pickups, so i'm here to have you guys with experience help me decide!!! I'm trying to keep it relatively cheap and have a short list all ready, there's no place around here to try out these pickups so I'll describe what i'm looking for!
threw one meg pots in there and it opened right up. I figured 1meg was too much high end for a bass but 500's would help immensely for clarity especially with BEAD tuning.
Turns out after tweaking the pickup height and putting a new battery in the bass i decided to stick with the emg's. With the tone rolled off they sound absolutely huge, and swapping the battery is really easy. 
