51 Reissue P-Bass Pickups.Which One's???

[James Cassidy]

Hey, I recently bought a CIJ 51 Reissue P-Bass and I'm looking for some advice on switching out the pickups for an album I'm currently working on. I will be starting recording Bass soon, and hope to switch them out before I start, if not I will settle for the stock pickups which will work, but Im not hot about them.(Ps. Does anyone know what the stock pickups are?)
I'm mostly playing punk/hard rock/metal and I'm using this bass mainly for recording so first of all I feel like a noiseless pickup would be more ideal, and while I do find the pickup sounds decent, I would like to try something different and wanted to throw it out there and see what opinions and experiences were out there. My main recording setup for the album Im doing will likely be my SVT-CL(Anniversary) Head and an Ashdown 8x10 mic'd with an AKG C414 TLII and an SM7b or AKG D112.

Thanks guys

 

[PawleeP]

try whatever pups this uses

fralins are killer too
i think dusty now uses tv jones pickups now

 

[PawleeP]

 

[vin*tone]

Fralin split was great in mine. Killed the hum but still sounded like a single coil
Split '51 P-Bass | Lindy Fralin Pickups

 

[PawleeP]

if anyone with a 51-ish p bass has the approximate distance from 12th fret to pup center i would appreciate it!

 

[Volker Kirstein]

Have you considered a dual rail humbucker built for the Telecaster guitar neck position? They mount right in! A pup is a pup, and there are some high impedance (10K - 16K) screamers out there.

(I'm aware that impedance is a pretty much meaningless spec, but many people equate high impedance with high output)

 

[EmaTheMirror]

I personally have a Bare Knuckle 51 replacement. Great stuff, BUT it's shaped after the original 50s pickups, their fibre bobbins were a bit fatter than the CIJ reissues... I had to minimally sand a bit of the straight, neck side of my Japanese 51 cavity for it to fit in. Nothing painful in the end but a bit worrying when I first tried to mount it. A bit fatter than the stock, very three-dimensional and organic, vintage sounding, with plenty of bite.

I also have a SCPB3, the quarter pounder by Seymour. I have to say it works rather well on the single coil design, nice output with good bottom end and zingy (but not annoying) highs, a bit of mid scoop but not much, given the single coil design. A smoother attack and sustain too, given the larger magnetic field under the strings. A nice more contemporary solution which fits in the CIJ pocket perfectly. Might be good with the styles you mentioned, and for a very reasonable price.

The stock Japanese pickup is alnico too and is not bad either. Definitely the thinner of the bunch.

All these are single coils anyway and can hum, but it's part of the game. It can be controlled, though.

 

[James Cassidy]

Fralin split was great in mine. Killed the hum but still sounded like a single coil
Split '51 P-Bass | Lindy Fralin Pickups

Oh ya? Yea the Fralin Split is the one I've been eyeing up the most. Good to know you liked it! How do you find the treble/high end of the Pickup? Do you find it more on the flat side or more on the hyped side? What pickup were you using before and what bass?

 

[MattZilla]

I actually think that the '53s sound a bit sweeter with a bit more character and woodiness to the fundamental. Really, a lot more desirable than the '51s.

 

[James Cassidy]

Have you considered a dual rail humbucker built for the Telecaster guitar neck position? They mount right in! A pup is a pup, and there are some high impedance (10K - 16K) screamers out there.
View attachment 3540110
(I'm aware that impedance is a pretty much meaningless spec, but many people equate high impedance with high output)

No I haven't but that's a really cool idea lol. I may try that at some point but I don't think I would try it right now just because I need to record bass soon and would rather play it a little bit safe, but the idea is really intriguing me. The other thing in terms of pickup Impedance is apparently Seymour Duncans Split 51 is something like 27K and I even asked them if thats a mistake or a different way of measuring and their like no, Its just a really really hot pickup, but Im sort of afraid to try it because it just seems overkill.

 

[James Cassidy]

I actually think that the '53s sound a bit sweeter with a bit more character and woodiness to the fundamental. Really, a lot more desirable than the '51s.

Ya? Hmm I actually never really thought about it. I'm gunna look into it for sure. Do you know if Spec wise they are the same measurements and that? What 53's did you try?

 

[James Cassidy]

I personally have a Bare Knuckle 51 replacement. Great stuff, BUT it's shaped after the original 50s pickups, their fibre bobbins were a bit fatter than the CIJ reissues... I had to minimally sand a bit of the straight, neck side of my Japanese 51 cavity for it to fit in. Nothing painful in the end but a bit worrying when I first tried to mount it. A bit fatter than the stock, very three-dimensional and organic, vintage sounding, with plenty of bite.

I also have a SCPB3, the quarter pounder by Seymour. I have to say it works rather well on the single coil design, nice output with good bottom end and zingy (but not annoying) highs, a bit of mid scoop but not much, given the single coil design. A smoother attack and sustain too, given the larger magnetic field under the strings. A nice more contemporary solution which fits in the CIJ pocket perfectly. Might be good with the styles you mentioned, and for a very reasonable price.

The stock Japanese pickup is alnico too and is not bad either. Definitely the thinner of the bunch.

All these are single coils anyway and can hum, but it's part of the game. It can be controlled, though.

Oh nice. I'm not sure I want to, or have time to mess with something like that but I'll keep the Bare Knucle in mind. Also I'm sort of leaning toward a Split just to make life abit easier, but I'm definaitly not afraid to work with single coils. I don't know I'd like the Quarter's just because I'm already sort of finding these stock pickups to have abit of that high end harshness, plus the bass is super bright, and the strings, and the tone, and the amp lol, so if anything I need to try find something thats on the rounder and flatter side in the high end. Who knows, I may end up finding the same thing with whatever I end up choosing but at least If I know the Quarters are fairly zingy and scooped then they are probably not what I want and I'll be a little closer to landing on something I'll be happy with lol. I appreciate the feedback though. Oh so the stock is an Alnico eh, good to know.

 

[EmaTheMirror]

If you have a CIJ/MIJ, yes, it's Alnico. I have no idea about Squier ones.
IME, the Duncan is probably the overally fatter and smoother sounding of the bunch, taming the "small single pole piece" effect a bit.

Moreover, I don't know about Fralin's and Lollar's, but if their size specs on their sites match those on the Knuckles', then you might have the same kind of "problem" for the fit. I would not be surprised, as they all seem to echo the true vintage design with thick rope cover wound around the bobbin and push-back wires.

I can guarantee the Duncans are fine as a non-vintage replacement and fit the Japanese cavity with no issues. Not to mention that if what you are not 100% keen on is the true Tele pickup character, you'd probably feel more at home with the ¼ pounder than the Knuckles, Fralins and the likes.

I know it's a bit of a stretch, but try listening to Message In A Bottle's isolated bass track on YouTube. Recording techniques and amps apart, that to me exemplifies the rawness of the original tele single coil... Having said that, based on what you state you have all the tools in your rig to fatten and shape it to a sound close to you... But if that burp with sharp attack and relatively short sustain seems to bother you, then you probably need to stray away from the original design and the Quarter Pounder or a humbucker solution might be the way to go

 

[Zoobiedood]

No I haven't but that's a really cool idea lol. I may try that at some point but I don't think I would try it right now just because I need to record bass soon and would rather play it a little bit safe, but the idea is really intriguing me. The other thing in terms of pickup Impedance is apparently Seymour Duncans Split 51 is something like 27K and I even asked them if thats a mistake or a different way of measuring and their like no, Its just a really really hot pickup, but Im sort of afraid to try it because it just seems overkill.

Thing is, with stacks, you have to measure the DCR against other stacks for it to make sense. A high DCR like that with a technology like stacks doesn't mean it is a super hot pickup.

 

[vin*tone]

Oh ya? Yea the Fralin Split is the one I've been eyeing up the most. Good to know you liked it! How do you find the treble/high end of the Pickup? Do you find it more on the flat side or more on the hyped side? What pickup were you using before and what bass?

It was a while since I owned that bass but it replaced a Duncan SCPB-2 which was an absolute beast - massive low end - TOO big. I wanted a more vintage tone out of it and the Fralin was smooth and well balanced. I was using Labella flats on it so can't really comment on the high end

 

[James Cassidy]

If you have a CIJ/MIJ, yes, it's Alnico. I have no idea about Squier ones.
IME, the Duncan is probably the overally fatter and smoother sounding of the bunch, taming the "small single pole piece" effect a bit.

Moreover, I don't know about Fralin's and Lollar's, but if their size specs on their sites match those on the Knuckles', then you might have the same kind of "problem" for the fit. I would not be surprised, as they all seem to echo the true vintage design with thick rope cover wound around the bobbin and push-back wires.

I can guarantee the Duncans are fine as a non-vintage replacement and fit the Japanese cavity with no issues. Not to mention that if what you are not 100% keen on is the true Tele pickup character, you'd probably feel more at home with the ¼ pounder than the Knuckles, Fralins and the likes.

I know it's a bit of a stretch, but try listening to Message In A Bottle's isolated bass track on YouTube. Recording techniques and amps apart, that to me exemplifies the rawness of the original tele single coil... Having said that, based on what you state you have all the tools in your rig to fatten and shape it to a sound close to you... But if that burp with sharp attack and relatively short sustain seems to bother you, then you probably need to stray away from the original design and the Quarter Pounder or a humbucker solution might be the way to go

Thanks, that's all great info. Right, I guess I'll have to wait and see if I have to mod the cavity, It's not the end of the world if I have to.
Ya I agree, the high end thing is more inherent of the original Tele pickup SC sound. It honestly doesn't really bother me and I do like the bright snappy sound of this bass and pickup, I just hope that whatever I get doesn't have more treble thats all lol. With the stock pickup, I'll even just roll of the tone just a hair and that seems to work nice. I may also change out my tone cap at some point to something more open as I find anything over 1/4 of the way down is to much roll off.

 

[James Cassidy]

It was a while since I owned that bass but it replaced a Duncan SCPB-2 which was an absolute beast - massive low end - TOO big. I wanted a more vintage tone out of it and the Fralin was smooth and well balanced. I was using Labella flats on it so can't really comment on the high end

Right, I see. I think if they have good bottom end and sound balanced using flat wounds then it will probably be the same story for the round wounds, just brighter. I'm not to worried. I think these still sound like the pickup for me, although there have been alot of good recommendations. Thanks man!!

 

[James Cassidy]

Thing is, with stacks, you have to measure the DCR against other stacks for it to make sense. A high DCR like that with a technology like stacks doesn't mean it is a super hot pickup.

Hmmmm, I kinda see what you mean! SD didn't explain it very well or even try to for that matter, they just kinda said Yup, there 27k and super hot lol, so I don't really know what to think.

 

[Zoobiedood]

Yeah, I don't find them super hot. They are hotter than a vintage pickup, but not like, say, a Quarter Pound P pickup.

 

[PawleeP]

Thanks, that's all great info. Right, I guess I'll have to wait and see if I have to mod the cavity, It's not the end of the world if I have to.
Ya I agree, the high end thing is more inherent of the original Tele pickup SC sound. It honestly doesn't really bother me and I do like the bright snappy sound of this bass and pickup, I just hope that whatever I get doesn't have more treble thats all lol. With the stock pickup, I'll even just roll of the tone just a hair and that seems to work nice. I may also change out my tone cap at some point to something more open as I find anything over 1/4 of the way down is to much roll off.

Try to change it (the tone pot) to a .047uf chicklet [polyfilm or mylar] and make sure it has an audio/A pot.