Pickup upgrade for precision copy

shaunj · #1 09-17-2009, 08:08 AM

I have an old P bass copy that has a solid Ash body and I would like to upgrade the poor pickups on it. Anyone have any suggestions or recommendations. I don't have alot to spend:/

I was looking at these seymour duncan ones.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/cart...itemid=SPB3Blk
thank guys,

and may your muse go with you

**line6man** · #2 09-17-2009, 08:11 AM

You are not giving any kind of parameters as to what kind of sound you want...

You need to tell us what you're looking for before anyone can suggest anything.

shaunj · #3 09-17-2009, 08:21 AM

Well I like a broad range of sounds. Sometimes I like quite trebley and othertimes I like a warm round sound. What do you think?

kraigo · #4 09-17-2009, 08:36 AM

I like the Duncan SPB-1 better than the SPB-3. Classic P-Bass tone. I've got Antiquities II's in my main P-Bass. Very nice, but I wonder if I could really tell the difference between the Antiquities and the SPB-1 in a blind test.

I'm planning on trying Bill Lawrence's pickups in another bass. Details here: Bill Lawrence P-46 Pickup mini review (BEST P Pickup I've EVER tried)!

KO

NickInMesa · #5 09-17-2009, 08:37 AM

If you want good passive pickups, try Jason Lollar:

http://www.lollarguitars.com/

You can actually TALK to the guy and tell him what you want and he'll do it for you, at the same price of a new EMG set.

EMG makes great active pickups, you replace the pots at the same time and the connectors are easy to deal with.

http://www.emgpickups.com/products/index/213

Otherwise Seymour Duncan:

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/basslines/

And last but not least Bartolini (pricey):

http://www.bartolini.net/information..._bass_pu_s.htm

PJSShearer · #6 09-17-2009, 08:49 AM

I have EMG's in my fretless and DiMarzios in my fretted bass - I can recommend both - the DiMarzio has a "harder" sound

dannybuoy · #7 09-17-2009, 11:46 AM

For CHEAP pickups, Artec Giovanni are supposedly very good copies of vintage Fender pickups, using the same specs and materials, but without the huge price tag.

ctmullins · #8 09-17-2009, 12:24 PM

I have an old Ibanez Destroyer pickup lying around. Looks just like a DiMarzio. Want it? PM me.

kraigo · #9 09-17-2009, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannybuoy

For CHEAP pickups, Artec Giovanni are supposedly very good copies of vintage Fender pickups, using the same specs and materials, but without the huge price tag.

Hmmm - never seen those before.

http://www.guitarfuel.com/Giovanni_Pickups.php

$30...

I think I've got my own heart set on Bill Lawrence though.

KO

dotlikeimpact · #10 09-17-2009, 01:56 PM

anyone ever try GFS P pickups?

etoncrow · #11 09-17-2009, 02:00 PM

I replaced 5% over-wound Fralin's ($120) with the Lawrence P46's ($65) and never looked back

**line6man** · #12 09-17-2009, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickInMesa

If you want good passive pickups, try Jason Lollar:

http://www.lollarguitars.com/

You can actually TALK to the guy and tell him what you want and he'll do it for you, at the same price of a new EMG set.

I'd recommend Curtis Novak personally. (His pickups are a little cheaper than Lollar too.)

http://www.curtisnovak.com/

He just wound me a P bass pickup, based on the YouTube clips I sent him.
He also did me an amazing totally custom pickup a while back.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrkdesi...7616105790884/

Tell him what you want and he will wind it for you...

dmusic148 · #13 09-17-2009, 02:29 PM

No love for the standard US Fender pickup? I have two Am Std's, and they sound terrific.

**line6man** · #14 09-17-2009, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmusic148

No love for the standard US Fender pickup? I have two Am Std's, and they sound terrific.

For the money you are paying, why use a mass produced pickup when you can get a handmade one?
Especially with guys with Curtis Novak and Jason Lollar around that will do your own custom specs...

dmusic148 · #15 09-17-2009, 02:38 PM

Well, OK, IF you know what you want and IF it costs less, great. Bring on the customs.

**line6man** · #16 09-17-2009, 03:08 PM

Ok, sorry.
I just looked up the Fender pickups, and they are a lot cheaper than I thought they were.

$70 for Fender is a lot cheaper than $95 for Novak or $110 for Lollar.

GlennW · #17 09-17-2009, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaunj

IAnyone have any suggestions or recommendations. I don't have alot to spend...

I recommend that you do one or two things first.

1) .1uF Orange Drop cap, about $1 + s/h.

If that doesn't do it:

2) Strings, good ones. I use either LaBella DT760FM's or TI JF344s. The TI's have nearly doubled in price and they're low tension (which takes some getting used to), but they sound real good (if you like that sound). You can order the LaBellas from ImperialGuitar.com for about $26 (that's cheap, and they'll last for decades).

I tried about 10 split-P pickups and was ready to give up on them. Some sounded ok, most sounded like crap (to me). Long story short, I tried a pickup rewound to about 12.28K on my test bass which had JF344s and it sounded very good. Then I put it in my main bass which was strung with a set of DT760FM's and it was...ugh, decent, but nothing to get excited about. The point is the exact same pickup can sound great or bland depending on which strings you use. IME, buying a pickup before having made sure what strings you'll be using is a huge waste of time and money.

narud · #18 09-17-2009, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by line6man

For the money you are paying, why use a mass produced pickup when you can get a handmade one?
Especially with guys with Curtis Novak and Jason Lollar around that will do your own custom specs...

because they sound good?

narud · #19 09-17-2009, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by line6man

For the money you are paying, why use a mass produced pickup when you can get a handmade one?
Especially with guys with Curtis Novak and Jason Lollar around that will do your own custom specs...

lindy fralin will wind your pickup until you get what you want and the sd custom shop unwound some antiquity 2's for me to get the sound i wanted. both options are better imo, due to resale value. if you eventually want to get rid of it and try something else, the novak and lollars are hard sells.

honestjohnny · #20 09-17-2009, 04:03 PM

The Dimarzio Split P with 500K pots can produce a very wide array of tones. It can also be wired in a variety of split/parallel/series combinations and switchings.

A graphic EQ might not be a bad idea either. Behringer makes a cheap ($20) copy of the Boss BEQ-7 or you can get the Boss or the MXR 10-band. Both are good options.