Suggest me some pickups (P/J set)?

[danbronson]

This is my bass...

 

 

As you can see, it is cheeeap. It has an ash body (three pieces I think?). I want a really versatile sound. It's for use in my home studio. It might see some live use too but it's mostly just for recording. I play and record everything from soft acoustic stuff to rock to metal and want pickups that can sound good in any circumstance.

 

I was thinking EMGs because active pickups tend to rely less on the instrument's natural tone (I'm sure this bass is not spectacular sounding) and because it's a convenient way to switch out all the electronics at once too. But I'm curious as to what you would all suggest too (and why)!

[degroove]

I am in the same situation. I am looking for good fretless tone. Passive too.

[ToeJamFootball]

I use EMG PJ pickups. I like them a lot. That sad though, I do miss my passive tone. See if you can find a bass with Seymour Duncans Quarter Pounders in it, they sound pretty damn good.

 

Otherwise you could try Dimarzio.

[bassplayer7770]

 

I use EMG PJ pickups. I like them a lot. That sad though, I do miss my passive tone. See if you can find a bass with Seymour Duncans Quarter Pounders in it, they sound pretty damn good. Otherwise you could try Dimarzio.

 

 

Yeah, I'd look at the Duncan Quarter Pounders as well as the Hot pickups.

 

http://www.bestbassgear.com/basslines-pickups-spb2.htm

http://www.bestbassgear.com/basslines-pickups-sjb2.htm

 

DiMarzios are another affordable option.

 

http://www.bestbassgear.com/dimarzio-model-pj-pickups.htm

[LouSpaceMonkey]

Seymore Duncan 1/4 lb PJ set.

 

and a Leo Quan Bad Ass bass bridge.

 

you'll get power, responsiveness, and sustain

[georgestrings]

I like DiMarzios, but I think of them as being more agressive, and less versatile... Given the OP's stated goals, Seymour Duncans *might* be a better fit, as may EMGs...

 

A worthwhile approach *might* be to replace the pots, cap, and jack - and give that a listen before buying new pups... After all, it's not expensive to do so, will need to be done anyways in order to reap the full benefits of new pups, and often times makes a huge difference in how low end basses sound... Also, *usually* SX pups really aren't bad - they suffer more from crappy pots than they do of inferior pups, IMO...

 

 

 

- georgestrings

[LouSpaceMonkey]

 

I like DiMarzios, but I think of them as being more agressive, and less versatile... Given the OP's stated goals, Seymour Duncans *might* be a better fit, as may EMGs... A worthwhile approach *might* be to replace the pots, cap, and jack - and give that a listen before buying new pups... After all, it's not expensive to do so, will need to be done anyways in order to reap the full benefits of new pups, and often times makes a huge difference in how low end basses sound... Also, *usually* SX pups really aren't bad - they suffer more from crappy pots than they do of inferior pups, IMO... - georgestrings

 

 

Concur

[bassplayer7770]

 

Concur

 

 

Yup. Never owned an SX, but Mr. Strings' suggestions sound reasonable to me.

[ThudMaker]

Upgrade the electronics. The SX pickups aren't that bad. Also, forget the 1/4 Duncans. All they do is give you a bit more powerful mid scoop sound. You can get that with an eq. Fender originals would sound more organic.

[LouSpaceMonkey]

Upgrade the electronics. The SX pickups aren't that bad. Also, forget the 1/4 Duncans. All they do is give you a bit more powerful mid scoop sound. You can get that with an eq. Fender originals would sound more organic.

 

Yeah well,.....you dress funny :poke:

[i_wanna_les_paul]

Upgrade the electronics. The SX pickups aren't that bad.

+1

 

I dropped a Rio Grande Muy Grande P/J set into my SX and I was underwhelmed. I should have replaced the pots as well, but I wasn't blown away by the difference in pickups. IMO, the SX stock pickups aren't too bad.

 

I'd switch out pots first, then see how you feel about things.

 

Oh, and it's good to see you, Dan!

[georgestrings]

 

Yup. Never owned an SX, but Mr. Strings' suggestions sound reasonable to me.

 

 

 

Yeah, it's a zero risk proposition, and usually pans out pretty well...

 

 

 

- georgestrings

[T. Alan Smith]

 

Upgrade the electronics. The SX pickups aren't that bad. Also, forget the 1/4 Duncans. All they do is give you a bit more powerful mid scoop sound. You can get that with an eq. Fender originals would sound more organic.

 

 

Yeah, you mentioned wanting to record- all full time audio engineers appear to detest hot pickups, as they do actives. I believe Duncan makes a vintage series that's highly acclaimed.

[spong]

 

Yeah, you mentioned wanting to record- all full time audio engineers appear to detest hot pickups, as they do actives. I believe Duncan makes a vintage series that's highly acclaimed.

 

 

I have a set of bill lawrence pickups in P/J configuration and they work for both 4 string and 5 string bases (I have had them in both types). They are also noiseless and have a great vintage fender sound. They are handmade by a small family shop and are pretty cheap if I remember correctly.

 

http://www.billlawrence.com/

 

I have had vintage fender, barts etc, but these are by far the best of them all.

[NitroBobby]

do you guys have any suggestions on where to get new pots and such? also, are there brands that you guys recommend?

 

thanks

kgb

[bassplayer7770]

 

do you guys have any suggestions on where to get new pots and such? also, are there brands that you guys recommend? thanks kgb

 

 

I'm pretty sure a buddy of mine just ordered some new pots and other parts from Best Bass Gear. Dunno the brand name.

 

http://www.bestbassgear.com/

[danbronson]

So, almost a year later, I finally got a quarter pounder (just the P pickup, I never used the J pickup so it is an empty hole in the bass right now). I upgraded the pots too, just the volume and tone for the P pickup.

 

The bass sounds pretty different, and is an upgrade for the most part, but it is not perfect. The good news is that the low end extends much lower, it really rumbles now, which surprised me! There is also an overall clarity improvement. The bad news is that it's actually a little muddy (and too loud) in the low midrange, just in one specific area. When I record with a DI, I find myself cutting the 300 to 500 Hz area. That said, I'm not using the most wonderful DI so perhaps that's the problem.

 

Anyone else finding the same thing with the QP pickup? Considering what I like and dislike about this pickup in my bass, can anyone think of a better solution I could try? I will try to post a clip sometime soon so y'all can hear what I mean (don't expect any incredible playing though! ).

[bluedogaudio]

http://www.nordstrandpickups.com/bass-pickups/index.shtml

 

http://www.fralinpickups.com/bass.asp

[AluminumNeck]

Since it is a cheap bass. Route the body cavity and put in a splitable humbucker from something like a Ernie Ball music man bass.Nice and versitale. Neck position P pups tend to have a very very round sound. Not alot of bite.

[danbronson]

Thanks for the ideas guys. I am looking for a P bass sound, I just think perhaps it's a little muddy. Honestly not much, I could certainly live with this, and like I said, it's a big improvement over the pickup and electronics that were in the bass before. Here's that clip (ignore my sloppy playing):

 

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1395881/Quarter%20Pounder%20Demo.wav

 

This is a CD quality wav file, as clean as I can make it. No EQ, compression or anything, just the bass plugged into the DI (on my TC SK48), normalized and dithered to 16 bit. It's fingerpicked as you no doubt can tell.

 

What do you guys think? Do you hear any muddiness? Or maybe I should shut the hell up cause this is an SX and I shouldn't be expecting perfection!

[AluminumNeck]

Thanks for the ideas guys. I am looking for a P bass sound, I just think perhaps it's a little muddy. Honestly not much, I could certainly live with this, and like I said, it's a big improvement over the pickup and electronics that were in the bass before. Here's that clip (ignore my sloppy playing): http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1395881/Quarter%20Pounder%20Demo.wav This is a CD quality wav file, as clean as I can make it. No EQ, compression or anything, just the bass plugged into the DI (on my TC SK48), normalized and dithered to 16 bit. It's fingerpicked as you no doubt can tell. What do you guys think? Do you hear any muddiness? Or maybe I should shut the hell up cause this is an SX and I shouldn't be expecting perfection!

 

 

its got a nice late 60's woody tone to it. Not bad at all. Is this with just the neck or the bridge/neck combo ? Sounds very neckish to me.

 

Are you looking for more a of a thud sound or a more HiFi ultra defined growl ?

[LouSpaceMonkey]

Sounds like a P-bass to me.

 

What kind of Seymore Duncan's did you put in? If you are looking for a deeper sound if so, I would try flats.

 

 

BTW, in the OP, you said you wanted a versitle sound, a P-bass (which is what you turned the SX into) is a one trick pony

[danbronson]

I probably should have clarified that I don't want versatile as in 'lots of switches and knobs', otherwise I'd get an elaborate active pickup set. I want versatile as in 'can be used in any style of music'. To me, that is essentially the P bass. Something about their sound 'just works' to me.

 

The clip is just the neck pickup, a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder (SPB-3). At the risk of using words that mean something different to everyone (punchy, deep, bright, etc.), I just want a tone that has a little more clarity/less mud in the 300-500 Hz area. If it's a little scooped, that's fine.

[AluminumNeck]

 

I probably should have clarified that I don't want versatile as in 'lots of switches and knobs', otherwise I'd get an elaborate active pickup set. I want versatile as in 'can be used in any style of music'. To me, that is essentially the P bass. Something about their sound 'just works' to me. The clip is just the neck pickup, a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder (SPB-3). At the risk of using words that mean something different to everyone (punchy, deep, bright, etc.), I just want a tone that has a little more clarity/less mud in the 300-500 Hz area. If it's a little scooped, that's fine.

 

 

 

If it were me. I route the body and slap in a passive humbucker "at the bridge" with a split coil switch. Gives you alot more tonal versatility then you have now and will bring those tones you crave to the table. Pretty easy setup if you ask me. Lots of flexiability to. I have a bass with 2 sets of EMG precisions one in the neck one in the bridge position and it has a gloruious tone. that siad I have another bass with a P humbucker config that is a stage workhorse thanx to its highly robust nature and flexiable sound. Pop a switch and aI have a jazz. Gives alot of options going that route and generally humbuckers are gonna have the sound I think I am picturing you want.

[LouSpaceMonkey]

 

I probably should have clarified that I don't want versatile as in 'lots of switches and knobs', otherwise I'd get an elaborate active pickup set. I want versatile as in 'can be used in any style of music'. To me, that is essentially the P bass. Something about their sound 'just works' to me. The clip is just the neck pickup, a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder (SPB-3). At the risk of using words that mean something different to everyone (punchy, deep, bright, etc.), I just want a tone that has a little more clarity/less mud in the 300-500 Hz area. If it's a little scooped, that's fine.

 

 

 

As far as versatility, I was speaking in terms of tone.

 

I have 5 Fender P-basses all have 1/4 lbs and Bad Ass bass bridges. What you playing in the clip is basically the sound I get outta mine.

 

What your discribing, punchy, deep and bright. sounds more like an active set like this

 

http://www.emginc.com/products/category/2/2

 

http://www.emginc.com/products/index/140/146/4