Bought an 09 AmStd Precision last week. Played it on two gigs and found it scooped me out of the mix except on low notes. So I did a little pickup research and ordered a 62 Original. It got here today and I did my gig, came home, installed it and restrung. Busted out the ol' REDDI and made a recording to compare to last week's recording of the bass with the American Series pickup. Sounds to me like I fixed it, but I thought I'd ask you all what you thought since my ears aren't quite fresh.
I just listened again and I do think I fixed it, by golly. Sounds more aggressive in the nad-tickling region and a little more mid where it counts. The other pickup sounds kind of dull by comparision. At least I think so...won't know for sure till I get some sleep and then rock it, but I have a gig tonight so I'll find out then. One mistake I won't be making, though, is bringing only it to my gig. Last weekend's gigs were 4 hours away, and I only brought this bass and I totally screwed up. Who'd have thought they'd make a scoop machine out of it? It's a Precision, fercryingoutloud!
So hearing what the 62 Original sounds like in this bass, now it totally makes me think I am, indeed, loading down my 76 Precision, which has a 62 Custom Shop from the late 90's and a DiMarzio Ultrajazz wired VVTT. I don't know if the pickups are identical, but I would think they should sound close, yet the 76 is way darker sounding by comparison:
Didn't care too much about it before, actually liked it being a little dark. Not so much after this new recording of the 09. So maybe one of you wiring mavens out there can tell me the best way to wire it without loading the pickups down to such a degree, and without buying all new pots (pretty sure they're all 250k pots...and no, I don't want 500k pots...I've spent enough money on that bass).
The 09 with the 62 pup sounds weird for a P bass to me... Is it wired in parallel? Did you pluck in a different spot? It seems like there's a lot less hi mids going on, almost like it's blended with a pup at the bridge. Sounds completely different from the other 2 P's.
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Originally Posted by JohnMCA72
Sure, it "sounds better" loud, just like it "sounds better" drunk.
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Originally Posted by Epitaph04
Hobobob has a Val Hallen avatar. He can post whatever he wants.
I like the the 62's although the 09's weren't a slouch either I'm thinking about grabbing a set of the 62's
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Wait, so correct me here: you have a bass with two pickups and four pots, and you "think it might" have more loading on the pickups than the basses with one pickup and two pots?
The 09 with the 62 pup sounds weird for a P bass to me... Is it wired in parallel? Did you pluck in a different spot? It seems like there's a lot less hi mids going on, almost like it's blended with a pup at the bridge. Sounds completely different from the other 2 P's.
Nope and nope. It's bright, but I hear it as having more high mids. At least I hope I'm hearing it that way. I'll find out tonight.
Either you guys have ears of a bat or I have hearing problems since to me the difference between the two is next to none, or at least nothing that can't be achieved with an EQ. Honestly, I am not being sarcastic or anything, but just worried about my hearing. I am trying to put my self in a situation where I would need that kind of a difference in tone, would I upgrade the pickup or just use the EQ instead. On the other hand maybe it makes a difference in a live situation, but I doubt it.
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I used to feel the exact same way until I bought my P Lyte. A pickup change totally saved that bass. It sucked with the stock pickups and no EQ would have saved it. And in this case, no EQ was working with it, either. The differences sound subtle here but became magnified in a mix. When you have a Precision, a REDDI, and a B-15 and you struggle to hear yourself in the mix, then there's something wrong with the pickup.
mjac, bought the pickup and wiring harness at Best Bass Gear. Weird harness...wired with Noble mini-pots. But it works.
I feel kind of responsible as I brought the loading problem into the discussion in your poll. I do like the warm sound of the '76, but I can also understand you want a bit more clarity if you need to.
First of, I can think of no really usefull options to solve this without replacing pots or compromising to much control over your bass.
What I would do (except for replacing the pots with 500k pots, they're not that expensive) is probably: Replace one tone pot with a switch that either switches between the two pu's, or switches the j pu completely out of the citcuit with pots and all. The two tone pots interact with each other anyway and the combined sound of the two pu's is probably even darker because of that.
You might want to try disconnecting the ground from the volume pot for the bridge pu first. This will tell you if that actually does make the difference you're looking for.
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Now that I'm thinking about it: just disconnecting the ground from the bridge volume might be al you want. It will make blending in the bridge pu different, but you might even like that.
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Either you guys have ears of a bat or I have hearing problems since to me the difference between the two is next to none, or at least nothing that can't be achieved with an EQ. Honestly, I am not being sarcastic or anything, but just worried about my hearing. I am trying to put my self in a situation where I would need that kind of a difference in tone, would I upgrade the pickup or just use the EQ instead. On the other hand maybe it makes a difference in a live situation, but I doubt it.
P.S. Enjoyed the basslines tho'. Very nice.
If you are having trouble hearing the difference, try this:
Start each track at the 1:00 mark and listen to 1:05 - just that 5 seconds and listen to all 3 in a row.
Hear it now?
Yes, Jimmy, the new '62 sounds fantastic!
(maybe a little low action grind in the 3rd clip?)
If you are having trouble hearing the difference, try this:
Start each track at the 1:00 mark and listen to 1:05 - just that 5 seconds and listen to all 3 in a row.
Hear it now?
Yes I do. I also did the first time around. Still, the difference is minor to me. Sounds like I can easily run track 1 through an EQ and get the sound of the track 2 and vice versa. Which (to me) defeats the purpose of changing the pickup.
That P sounds allot better to my ears with the 62 RI pup. I love that pup and have used them in a few basses. To me they just are the "it" for a good full P bass sound.
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Why yes I am! We get told all the time that "Nobody can tell the difference in a mix." I say that's absolute bunk. Our guitarist used to tell me that when I'd dial in my sound...and he's constantly flicking knobs and switching guitars. So I guess it matters on guitar but not bass? Entwistle and Jamerson sounded identical in a mix, right? Bah...guitarists!
Ladi, that's fine for you if that's what you want to do. And if I could have re-EQ'd and gotten the sound I wanted, I'd have left it alone. But I couldn't re-EQ and get the sound I wanted...as I mentioned in an earlier post.
Matthjis, might try that ground wire thing. That's a pretty easy conversion. Thanks!
The title of this thread makes me laugh. How can you fix a precision, it is perfect as is, although I don't own one at the moment. That being said, the '62 pickup clip sounds a little better, wonder what it will sound like when the strings die down a bit.
But, that'll teach you not to pick on those of use who take multiple basses to the gig! Four hours away with only one bass???? Come on Jimmy! That's a ROOKIE move! What if you dropped your bass and broke the headstock off? (There's a reason some of my friends call me "Captain Worst Case Scenario") Ha!
Hey by the way, I have a line on a B-15 that needs a little work. I can get it at a pretty good deal. Is it worth it? (Not the "value" part, but just owning the rig.) If this is a total derail, shoot me a PM if you get a sec. Thanks.
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4On, if it has a crappy scoopy pickup, gotta do something.
Two, of course it's worth it! But if you have pics, post it in the Portaflex Club thread and you will get several appraisals. And hush about the two basses thing! Nobody left
You know, that happened to our old guitarist. He had his guitar in a stand, and during soundcheck, some tech sees something that needs fixed up there, so he runs onstage like he's a bigtime tech in the middle of a bigtime show, knocks over his guitar, breaks the headstock, then denies he did it even though I saw him. The promoter of the show takes our guitarist to Guitar Center so he could "borrow" a guitar for the night, and he comes back with a $1500 62 RI Strat. He was such a schnorrer...RIP.
