Vintage? Modern? What to do, what to do..

[bassslater19876]

So I love my bass.
Well..
A better way to put it is I love my basses concept.
3 octave fretboard, neck through construction, but that's about it.
I'd really like to replace my Bart MK1's with different humbucking soapbars and replace the preamp with something with a vol/vol/ 3band? with a coil tapper, maybe refinish it something schnazzier, Pau Ferrero fretboard.. but that's for another thread.
That's just one day though.
Yesterday, and for quite sometime now, it's been giving it some vintage P/J's.

Now, after re-evaluating my options from vintage to modern, my whole perception of reality has been thwarted.

If I threw in the "modern" set up, I'd get today's bass tone, and be able to dial in the vintage tone, which is ever so embellished into me, as well as "my" tone, and whatever else I may desire. Without having to switch up basses.

If I really considered the P/J I'd get those basses respective tones, and that's about it.

So, Pickups and Electronics guys and gals, could you attempt to answer the question that has stumped, angered, and made me cry oh so long.

The final battle between versatility and true-to-the-tone-ness, modern and vintage, simplicity versus bells and whistles, and old versus new.

[4StringTheorist]

Check out this thread. It became a great discussion on "vintage" and "modern" tone as relates to the onboard electronics of a bass. I think it'd be a good read for you.

[bwest9]

If you can afford to, consider getting seperate instruments each dedicated to getting a vintage vs modern tone instead of having a single instrument with a split personality.

[bassslater19876]

bwest9,
Impossible is not, but that's close.

Mr. Theorist, I am looking over the thread as I type, but I think a multiple personality bass is what I'm gonna decide on; for the moment. Hah.

Would either of you happen to know any pickups or pre amps that fit what I'm looking for? Or the most versatile bass as far as cranking in any tone you want?

EDIT: Oh, and maybe anything that's versatile tones of good? Not bells and whistles of crap.

[4StringTheorist]

bassslater19876,

I'm with you as far as wanting one versatile instrument. My Warmoth J is the only fretted 4 I'll ever need.

The thing to always remember first is that you can get a universe of different sounds just by changing your attack... where and how you pluck the string.

One thing that has been really amazing to me in terms of tone versatility out of electronics is the Audere Z-mode preamp. I've got the 4-band model, and between that 4-band EQ (especially being able to tweak the upper and lower mids simultaneously) and the Z-mode switch, I can get just about anything I want out of this bass.

I can get a passable imitation P-bass tone, and a passable imitation Stingray tone. Spot on? Close enough to fool a purist? Heck no, but good enough!