5-string P pickups

eastcoasteddie · #1 08-26-2010, 09:46 AM

So I'm thinking of installing a P-pickup into a bass that has a Ceramic MM-style bridge pickup, as a 2nd pickup.

I really like how the Delano PMVC 5 FE/M2 would match with the exposed pole pieces and all. oever, the price is kind of steep at $160, and is a special order from Delano. I'd really have to be sure of this pickup before I order it.

SInce there are not all that many 5-string P's available on the market, I've also looked at the Bart CB series. More readily available and costs $110.

How would the 2 compare?

I'm not really looking for a definitive "classic P tone", just looking for something different with a big set of bass balls. The bass has a pretty modern growly tone as it is.

SGD Lutherie · #2 08-26-2010, 09:54 AM

Might be easier to get a P sounding soapbar.

tubby.twins · #3 08-26-2010, 10:52 AM

The Delano PMVC 5 pickups are very nice. I had one of these for a short time, but eventually had to sell it since it didn't match my string spacing. But it sounded very good and I would consider using one again.

They have a lot of midrange bite for a P pickup, and pick up the fundamentals like very few other pickups do. The tone is deep, rich and authoritative. They are very responsive to different fingering/picking techniques, and can purr, growl, or bark depending on how hard you play.

I would guess that these have more "balls" than the Bartolini "classic bass" series. If you are looking for a 5-string P-bass pickup with cojones, this would be a great choice.

You should check your bass's existing MM pickup to make sure you get the right Delano model. They make them in humbucking style (with the circle icon on their website) for which both halves have reverse wound and opposite magnetic polarity. These should work well with most "normal" humbuckers or single coil pickups. They also make the humcancelling style (with the triangle icon on their website) which has the same magnetic polarity in both halves. These are designed to work with Delano's quad-coil (dual twin-coil inline humcanceller) pickups, but will have phase issues if you use them with a "normal" humbucker or a single-coil pickup. So you should use some magnetic paper and maybe a compass to make sure that your existing MM pickup is indeed a normal (dual coil) humbucker, and not a quad-coil with the split magnetic field in the middle (i.e. between two strings).