I just lost my snob card...(NP4 vs. SPB-3)

[tonymcbony]

Wow.

So I recently bought a lovely USA Fender Precision locally. The guy had replaced the pickups and had put some Seymour Duncans in.

I loved the tone I got, growly as hell, excellent.
He said the pickups were spb-1's, and I thought cool, they sound great.
SPB-1's are meant to be vintage voiced of course. I got it home, and I thought about getting this P to be the best it can be, so I swapped out the pickguard for a black one (the bass in Candy Apple Red, so good with black!) and swapped the NP4's out of my Warwick and stuck them in the P Bass.

I took it to practice and though it sounded excellent, the grind that had caught my ear was missing.

So today I decided to change it back to how they were originally, the NP4 in the Warwick, and the Seymour Duncan in the Precision. When I was changing it over, I read the product code on the back of the SD's which read "SPB-3"; these were Quarter Pounders!

I had avoided them like the plague until now, and I felt kinda blow away. NP4's sound excellent of course I was stunned how much I loved the Quarter Pounders! They're two very different tones which I'm really pleased with. Not too surprised though as I quite like more modern tones but hate active electronics.

So I've had to hand in my snob card, overall I like the Quarter Pounders more than the NP4's!

[62bass]

Originally Posted by tonymcbony

Wow.

So I recently bought a lovely USA Fender Precision locally. The guy had replaced the pickups and had put some Seymour Duncans in.

I loved the tone I got, growly as hell, excellent.
He said the pickups were spb-1's, and I thought cool, they sound great.
SPB-1's are meant to be vintage voiced of course. I got it home, and I thought about getting this P to be the best it can be, so I swapped out the pickguard for a black one (the bass in Candy Apple Red, so good with black!) and swapped the NP4's out of my Warwick and stuck them in the P Bass.

I took it to practice and though it sounded excellent, the grind that had caught my ear was missing.

So today I decided to change it back to how they were originally, the NP4 in the Warwick, and the Seymour Duncan in the Precision. When I was changing it over, I read the product code on the back of the SD's which read "SPB-3"; these were Quarter Pounders!

I had avoided them like the plague until now, and I felt kinda blow away. NP4's sound excellent of course I was stunned how much I loved the Quarter Pounders! They're two very different tones which I'm really pleased with. Not too surprised though as I quite like more modern tones but hate active electronics.

So I've had to hand in my snob card, overall I like the Quarter Pounders more than the NP4's!

I'm not surprised. I've been using the QP in my 78 P for over 10 years. I's a great sounding P bass. Much better than the stock Fender pickups and the DiMarzio I tried for a while too.

And it's not just me playing the bass doing it although the player has a lot to do with the sound. I had a guy over today who is an excellent bassist and plays mostly with a pick versus me mostly finger style. He picked up my P plugged into my little GK MB150S combo, and without changing any of my settings, got a better sound than I get. We were both laughing that it sounded so good. I'm also using Thomastic flat wound strings.

I can get the QP to sound very vintage like if I want but it's a very versatile pickup. No wonder that Seymour Duncan claims it is their most popular model.

[MNAirHead]

I still wonder what growly sounds like.. 600+ basses later

[depalm]

Originally Posted by tonymcbony

So I've had to hand in my snob card, overall I like the Quarter Pounders more than the NP4's!

Yeah, I know what you mean, however they are both very different pickups in construction and purpose.

NP4 tries to reproduce a 60s p style, and in spite it's very balanced and even they are very responsive to dynamics.

SPB-3 is a different concept, huge polepieces, high output...
It's PBass with muscles. It feels like I'm playing through a great compressor. It was made to play loud and overdrives any amp input.

Of course they are very versatile pickups and you can play many styles with both.

[Nightlyraider]

Originally Posted by MNAirHead

I still wonder what growly sounds like.. 600+ basses later

Go to the zoo in Apple Valley and listen really closely near the tiger exhibit.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by depalm

SPB-3 is a different concept, huge polepieces, high output...
It's PBass with muscles. It feels like I'm playing through a great compressor. It was made to play loud and overdrives any amp input.

Of course they are very versatile pickups and you can play many styles with both.

That's right and is what so many guys miss and then perpetuate the myth that they are a one trick pony.

I play latin, jazz standards, ballads, classic rock, R & B and even some folk and country and with just a bit of change in eq and right hand technique I can get an appropriate sound and a good one too.

That said, I just ordered a Bill Lawrence P 46 pickup for a Carvin Bolt 4 I'm putting together in a PJ format. Just wanted to try something different. I know the QP would sound great in it. Now I want to see what the Lawrence will do. I sure liked his J 45 pickups. The P46 is a bargain too-only $56.

There are a lot of very good pickups on the market these days, each with their own rabid devotees. I'm a rabid QP devotee.

[depalm]

Yep I replaced the original 78 PU on my P in 1985 for a QP, no regrets.

[Jefenator]

Originally Posted by tonymcbony

... When I was changing it over, I read the product code on the back of the SD's which read "SPB-3"; these were Quarter Pounders!

You couldn't tell that, just from seeing the pole pieces??



... sorry, just had to give you a hard time on that

Just goes to show: when comparing pickups, it's good to ignore the visual aspect as much as possible & let the ears do the choosing.

FWIW Nordys weren't quite my thing, either. And I seem to be having better luck with larger pole pieces, in spite of my irrational "vintage purist" bias.

[Arvin]

I'm always surprised at how much disregard for the SPB-3 I read here on talkbass. I think it's a great pickup. I don't find it "too hot," or "modern-sounding," or "mid-scooped," like a lot of people claim.

I find the SPB-3 to be extremely versatile -- it's very responsive to subtle changes in playing technique. Play soft, and it'll purr. Dig in, and it'll growl. Roll the tone down a bit, and it thumps. Played with a pick, it's deep and percussive. Definitely not a one trick pony.

It also changes a lot with pickup height adjustments. When I first installed one, I thought it was too hot, but after lowering the pickup just a smidge, it tamed down nicely. Little tweaks go a long way with this pickup, in my experience.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Apples and Oranges. Both pickups are going for a different sound

[MN_Bass]

QPs are great for rock, I remember playing a sx p that I put them in and overdrived my SVT, what a sound...(enter dream sequence), back to reality, great pu, I recently got another p with some Hanson Vintage P PU, great also.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by pseudocat

I'm always surprised at how much disregard for the SPB-3 I read here on talkbass. I think it's a great pickup. I don't find it "too hot," or "modern-sounding," or "mid-scooped," like a lot of people claim.

I find the SPB-3 to be extremely versatile -- it's very responsive to subtle changes in playing technique. Play soft, and it'll purr. Dig in, and it'll growl. Roll the tone down a bit, and it thumps. Played with a pick, it's deep and percussive. Definitely not a one trick pony.

It also changes a lot with pickup height adjustments. When I first installed one, I thought it was too hot, but after lowering the pickup just a smidge, it tamed down nicely. Little tweaks go a long way with this pickup, in my experience.

That's exactly what I've found. Love the sound with a pick especially. But fingerstyle it's great too.