vintage or overwound P pup's - What has more mid range bark

[basss]

Title pretty much says it all. I'm actually looking for less midrange bark. I thought the Nordstrand NP4 had too much - might be nice for loud rock. I have a SD spb-2 (which is advertised as overwound) which seems to have less only because it emphasizes the low mids instead of the upper mids. I'm wondering if I can reduce it even more with the spb-1 or another vintage wound. Or is that bark part of the vintage P pickup sound?

[4Mal]

a truly vintage sounding pickup has punch but is very full range. Good mid detial without being mid-focused. You still hear the true bottom as opposed to a big bump in the low mids.

I'm really happy with a pickup from www.vintagevibeguitars.com Mine has Alnico III magnets and is slightly over wound. It's is warm but punchy and articulate.

Here's a link to a sample of that pickup in an 87 MIJ P into a Radial DI into the recorder. No EQ, no compression, (no chops . ) TI Jazz Flats. http://w3.gorge.net/mfbrown/vvwater.mp3

[GlennW]

I tried the SD SPB-1, 2, and 3. The 1 was the last and it's still in the bass, I like it.

I thought the 2 was very (VERY) bassy and loud, and not middy or barky at all.

If I was you, I'd try a .1uF cap first. They're cheap, and if you want less mids the bigger cap should help. I'm really surprised at how you describe the sound you're getting with the 2. I'd guess you have 500K pots and a .022 or .047 cap, but a 250K pot is more likely. Anyway, try switching to the big cap and see what happens. You might want to play with pickup height, too...lower it a bit.

I'd also suggest you bypass both pots and run the pickup leads to the jack with the cap with some scrap wire for a preliminary test. I don't believe you'll have too much mids if you do.

[PilbaraBass]

the midrange 'bark' you're talking about, I think ...comes more from the pickup position...and those overtones hang out a bit closer to the bridge...an overwound pickup will emphasize the lows (the fundimentals) more, but the "bark" will be left in the "dark"...

so for MORE midrange bark, stick to vintage...and be very careful on how much you dial off your treble...your best bet is to play your bass wide open and tame the treble with your amp.

option 2...get a P/J and blend in a little of the J-pickup

[PilbaraBass]

I read your post again...i showed you HOW to get midrange bark, not eliminate it...

however, the info is still valid...only in reverse

[4Mal]

Originally Posted by PilbaraBass

the midrange 'bark' you're talking about, I think ...comes more from the pickup position...and those overtones hang out a bit closer to the bridge...an overwound pickup will emphasize the lows (the fundimentals) more, but the "bark" will be left in the "dark"...

so for MORE midrange bark, stick to vintage...and be very careful on how much you dial off your treble...your best bet is to play your bass wide open and tame the treble with your amp.

option 2...get a P/J and blend in a little of the J-pickup

strange - to my ear overwound pickups tend to develop more low mids - to the point where they get muddy and boomy. This may seem like low end but when you record it you find very little real low end and a bunch of mid-bass / low mids which you have to pull out to get back to a reasonably balanced tone.

Quarter Pounders and Rio Grande Muy Grandes would be examples of that.

Vintage style Fender pickups don't exhibit that to my ear. They have punch and are quite 'full range' usually.

[PilbaraBass]

Originally Posted by 4Mal

strange - to my ear overwound pickups tend to develop more low mids - to the point where they get muddy and boomy. This may seem like low end but when you record it you find very little real low end and a bunch of mid-bass / low mids which you have to pull out to get back to a reasonably balanced tone.

Quarter Pounders and Rio Grande Muy Grandes would be examples of that.

Vintage style Fender pickups don't exhibit that to my ear. They have punch and are quite 'full range' usually.

midrange "bark" comes from upper mids, not low mids...

muddy/boomy <> "bark"...

I agree, with what you say...just our definitions are slightly different.