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2010 P-Bass Pickup Info

G

gimp

Jan 13, 2011
363
7
Catonsville, MD
facebook.com
#1
I just recently picked up a 2010 American Standard P-Bass for a song ( http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/nbd-another-fender-p-1005526/ )

2010pbass_front.jpg


I really like the sound, but I also like to mess around. Can someone give me more info on the pickups that came stock in these basses. I'm considering a change to SPB-3s (Quarter Pounders), but I'd like to get some opinions.
 
#6
I did not care for the 2010 pickups, they are OK but not as exciting as after market options. I would also stay away from quarter pounders. Lots of people love them for rock music, they don't sound like a P bass to me.

Good options: Aguilar, Lollar, Seymour Duncan Antiquity II, SD SPB-1 is also an improvement over stock pickups. Other option DiMarzio P (sounds different because of the ceramic but it's a great pickup for that in your face tone).
 
#7
Thanks for the info. I do play mostly rock, so that why I lean toward the Quarter Pounder. I had one in a bass a long while ago, and I think I liked it at the time, but I was a teenager then and liked to fiddle around with things.

That said, I wouldn't mind keeping this one sounding more "traditional."
 
#10
.
A bit off-topic, but i thought I'd put my 2 cents worth in.
I don't know anything about the stock pickups. Mine are now sitting in a sealed sandwich bag! ..........

I have an identical bass. (Ok, mine's a 2011)
I fitted a Wilde (Bill Lawrence) P-46 to it and have never looked back.
The stock pickup was great, but somehow sounded, to my ears, just ever so slightly "humbucky" to me and didn't seem to have a very high level of output.

The Wilde just has "it" as far as I'm concerned.
Big, clean, full tone ..... lovely!

To prove it to myself and eliminate the placebo effect I recorded both pickups on two separate tracks of my multi-track recorder so i could compare them literally side by side.
This sealed the deal for me and I knew I'd made the right choice.

And sorry, before you ask, I deleted the recorded tracks a few weeks ago.

For $60 you can't go wrong IMO.
 
#12
AGH said:
The SPB-2 should drop right in. Just solder em up!
Click to expand...

OzzyGreg said:
.
[I fitted a Wilde (Bill Lawrence) P-46 to it and have never looked back.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the nudges! Today has been a good day, but my jury is still out.

My home practice rig is a 1967 B-15, but I don't crank it that much as we live in a townhome.

I started my night by putting the stock pickups and preamp back in my '96 Cowpoke. I had an idea a while back to make it passive, so I removed the preamp, left the stock jazz pickup in, and swapped the p-pick for the SPB-2, but it never sounded right. The P was just super weak and it didn't sound good. Putting the stock electronics back in this bass reminded me of how good it really is.

So I was then left with the SPB-2 just sitting there, so with your prompting I threw it into the 2010 American P. Granted, I'm not playing at show volumes or through my show rig (PF-350 through a 2x15), but I noticed a difference. Not a huge one, but it just felt like "more." A bit more volume and overall tone, and a bit more "grindy" when I dig in. So far so good!

I'm down to three basses at the moment, and this P is now my only passive (the other has older active EMGs). I didn't want to lose the classic P tone, but I wanted something with just enough balls behind it. This might be it.

The P-46 is still on my short list - might grab one just to try it.
 

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