Best pickup

Scoly · #1 03-20-2013, 10:49 PM

Hey, have just heard Bartolinis for first time sound great.Could anyone please tell me what they think is the best bass pickup. Thanks.

Hamlet7768 · #2 03-20-2013, 10:58 PM

Ask ten bassists, get eleven answers.

JimmyM · #3 03-20-2013, 11:01 PM

For actives I only like EMG P's and J's. But I have a lot of favorite passive pickups, and it all depends on the application. The Fender 62 Original P and 60's CS J, DiMarzio Model P or Model J or Ultrajazz, the Duncan Quarter Pounder, the Danelectro Lipsticks...just like anything involved in making music, there really is no best bass pickup, just a lot of really good ones that some like and some don't, and a handful of crap

Epitaph04 · #4 03-20-2013, 11:08 PM

The best pickup out there is the one I like the best.

CTC564 · #5 03-20-2013, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamlet7768

Ask ten bassists, get eleven answers.

LOL...

Munjibunga · #6 03-21-2013, 12:43 AM

My favorites are Duncan dual-coils or the Nordstrands of the same configuration. I like the Sadowsky soap bars they use in the Modern 5-25 and their humbucking J pickups, too. Now that I think of it, I like a lot of pickups.

keyofnight · #7 03-21-2013, 01:19 AM

I'd like to test drive a pair of SGD's Sidewinders. They sound pretty awesome in the recordings they've posted.

To be honest though, I can't tell the difference between most pickups. Even when I hear some kind of difference, I can usually find other reasons that I hear a difference: different amp, different cab, even different wiring/components. For example… in the manual for my pups, there are two resonant frequencies listed: one for 500k volume pots (2600Hz), another for 1M volume pots (4400Hz). That's a difference of 1800Hz! That's a world of difference. I've gotten so many different sounds out of the same bass just by going passive, adding a varitone circuit, changing the kind of pots I use, etc.

Yeah, that was a rant. Sorry. (;

Davo-London · #8 03-21-2013, 09:09 AM

There is no best. Please don't use that word. It's like a red rag to a bull on TB.

It's the B-word and should be banned.

Reword your question and say what sound you're after and what bass you have then we can offer informed opinions.

Well some of us : )
Davo