Fralin Split '51 P Pickup - User's Opinions?
 

Any sonic impressions from actual users of this pricey, hum-cancelling pickup made to fit '51 style Precisions? Thanks!

I had one in my Warmoth "51 and it had tons of Highs and Lows but lacked in the Mids department. I replaced it with a Nordstand Single Coil pickup, and now I have everything I could ever want in an old school P bass. It has that dirty Dusty Hill sound that I was looking for and I couldn't be happier.

Every review I've read has said that it doesn't have the single coil tone at all, that it sounds like a split coil P (which it is). I've heard a few clips and I gotta agree. Doesn't capture the SCPB tone.

If this is indeed true I'd actually be pretty happy; nothing against SCPB, but I'd like to be able to hot-swap my Squier VM Tele bass with a split p/u P.

Had one in my 51P..and it sounded really good, as in a good Lindy standard P. As you say, maybe that's all you want. But as I have a standard Pbass, I wanted the SC sound..I got a Seymour Duncan vertically stacked SC. 4 leads out of it so you can have either a noiseless vertical HB or a really nasty sounding sc. Put a push/pull on the tone control. Done, both sounds. Costs the same as the Lindy split.

Thanks - found a nice 'shootout' vs. SCPB2 clip here and this might just be the way to go. Too bad the pup costs nearly 1/2 as much as the bass did!

Agreed, but still less than some new modern boutique pickups. If it eases your cost consciousness any, it's the same PU in Dusty Hill's and Sting's basses...though I think they can afford it....probably even 2!