Pickup replacement in Squier bass??

[Steve Harris Is]

I have a Squier "Skull and Crossbones" bass that I'd like to swap pickups(and strings) on to give it a better quality sound. It's going to be the bass I use for Drop D tuning and other heavier tunes, etc.

I have NO experience doing any of my own mods to a guitar/bass but I am wondering if I can just swap out the two P bass style pickups and one longer J bass pickup for some better quality items(such as a set of Fender P bass and J bass one). My questions are:

Are the pickups used on these cheaper Squiers that much different than those on higher end/American made P/J basses? I want to make sure I am not replacing a set of pickups with essentially the same ones!

Also, are there any other suggestions for specific pickup replacements to add some bite to this otherwise cool bass?

Thanks!

[borden]

Ok... i'm am a proud owner of a Squier MB-4 (skull and crossbones) myself. I would assume that the pups used in that bass are up to fender specs dimension-wise. (fender designed, licensed),

Before goin' on a frenzy and buying new pickups for that 'awsome as cheap can be' bass, i would suggest that you get a caliper an measure the pickups on your own and compare it to fender specs.

as for strings.... i use flatwounds (9050's stainless, by Fender) on all my babies so i can't be a good judge here....

Good luck & keep us posted!

[Steve Harris Is]

See I'm such a newbie to the bass world that I don't even know enough to know what I need to do to make it sound better!! Maybe the pickups are fine and just a swap of the strings(they seem like crappy strings that are put on from factory) would help, who knows. I just love the look and overall feel of the bass but it's sound is a little weak compared to my Marcus Miller Jazz bass and Spector Legend.

I'll swap out the strings first and then report back. Prolly gonna use Rotosound strings(Steve Harris) and if that isn't enough of a positive change I'll try maybe SD pups.

Thanks!

[ScubaSteve]

Just throw a set of nice nickel roundwounds on there and see how it sounds. Ernie Ball strings are a good place to start. I even picked up a set of cheapie Hartke nickel strings for my jazz bass and they still sound harmonically rich and full, even after I've crudded them up with dirt and dead skin cells.

[Steve Harris Is]

New strings go on over the weekend...will let you know how things improved after that.

[HELLonWheels187]

I have dimazrio split P's in my squeir and they sound great plus the white pickups will looko good with the skull on the bass

[spudmaster34]

I love black beuties on my squire, great sound wven with stock pups

[RobTheSkanker]

I have a squier affinity P and I threw in a set of basslines(seymore duncan) spb 3's. It was a little trouble considering it was an affinity and they didn't fit right in, but with just a little work they worked great.