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A more defined sounding P-bass. HOW?

#121
On my old Fender P bass I changed the pickup for a Bartolini. That was a 1000% improvement. A little later I added a J pickup. That was about a 2% improvement and not worth the expense and effort.

These days, if I couldn't get a sound I liked out of a bass I'd change the bass. You can waste a lot of cash on mods and not get anywhere near where you need to be. Spend that money on a better bass that starts out giving you what you want.

My Lull PJ5 sounds great without using the J, so I don't. The upgrade that made a massive difference was putting on Lakland flats.
 
#123
chris_b said:
On my old Fender P bass I changed the pickup for a Bartolini. That was a 1000% improvement. A little later I added a J pickup. That was about a 2% improvement and not worth the expense and effort.

These days, if I couldn't get a sound I liked out of a bass I'd change the bass. You can waste a lot of cash on mods and not get anywhere near where you need to be. Spend that money on a better bass that starts out giving you what you want.

My Lull PJ5 sounds great without using the J, so I don't. The upgrade that made a massive difference was putting on Lakland flats.
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I ended up with a Bart P as well. There is a clarity and extended high end detail on those pickups that puts it in more the hi-fi category. I added a J pickup but never use it. To the OP, I would also add that your bass will have a tonal bias based on it's woods. (Have not read this entire thread, skipped to the end.) Alder body/ Rosewood fretboard will be much darker compared to Ash/Maple combo. Tone of a bass is affected mainly by strings, pickups, and wood combinations. Good luck.
 
#127
thebrian said:
When I want "a more defined sounding P-bass", I play a Jazz. I'm pretty sure that's exactly what Leo invented it for.
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I tend to think this way too.
I like the thump and warmth of a P bass, as well as the simplicity but even the wonderfully talented Pino Pallidinos' great lines are too indistinct for my ears with the John Mayer trio. No disrespect intended. IMHO .
 
#128
The sound man is the answer. Keyboard players are often way to high in the mix and they are interferring with your bandwidth. So careful EQ of the keys will make a big difference to the bass. I'll stick my neck out and suggest the Precision is the most gigged bass in the World. So I'd work with the other good ideas suggested first.

PS: When I do my recordings I often notice how my Cliff Bordwell ball bass sounds completely different solo'd from the final mix. All the highs and definition from the walnut body seem to disappear.

Regards
Davo
 
#129
joebar said:
the first thing I will mention is that I had EB 45-100 strings on my P bass and it disappeared in the mix; the stock fender strings were way better on it.
better yet were TI flats.
EB are great strings but work best on EBMM instruments.

I have an American standard 2012 P bass with the CS PU's and it is just glorious in tone. I would start with a PU swap.
I tried some other basses just the other day in a store and they were nothing like mine. no two instruments are identical.
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The CS62s.....ahhhh what more can I say that I haven't said before?

Everyone is complaining about Fenders spitting out non innovate stuff but the Custom Shop bass pickups are seriously amazing for both Jazz and Precision Basses. While Fender might not be producing cool and new basses, they're still making new pickups that sound different and have different tonal options for the customers.
 
#132
I just put an EMG GZR passive p/u in my (MIJ) Precision about a week ago. Before this, I always thought it had more of a generic tone but I never did anything to the bass out of laziness; just played it a lot over the years and tried to focus on becoming a better bass player without dealing too much with gear stuff. When I discovered that this replacement pickup was a solder-less install, I decided to give it a try.

Anyway, with this new pickup installed, a set of fresh D'Addario XL nickelwound strings and the tone control circuit knob rolled to about 1/2-way open... here's what I was able to get tonally out of my old bass, which I feel has more *definition* than before. What do you all think?: :bassist:

 
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#133
Hello guys, I came accross this old thread and I saw someone asked what happened in the end.
After having tried everything I could (different strings, adding a J pup, EQ pedals, many different pups, preamps, going active, etc) I have spoken to a good luthier that told me there isn't really much to do about as the bass is naturally VERY scooped which means is missing that magic 'cardbox' frequency. I got told all I could do would be to get a maple neck and active pups and just use it for aggressive pick playong which isn't my thing. I ended up taking the neck out and having a body built for it while that extremely road worn body sits at home holding hundreds of memories from touring. May he rest in peace!
 
#134
Kelpie said:
Hello guys, I came accross this old thread and I saw someone asked what happened in the end.
After having tried everything I could (different strings, adding a J pup, EQ pedals, many different pups, preamps, going active, etc) I have spoken to a good luthier that told me there isn't really much to do about as the bass is naturally VERY scooped which means is missing that magic 'cardbox' frequency. I got told all I could do would be to get a maple neck and active pups and just use it for aggressive pick playong which isn't my thing. I ended up taking the neck out and having a body built for it while that extremely road worn body sits at home holding hundreds of memories from touring. May he rest in peace!
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Well good luck, but I don't believe that for a second.
 
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#136
Kelpie said:
Haha Jimmy! I am planning on putting the bass up and running again just to use as backup to gigs and I will make some videos then we'll see if Its really all in my head..!
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Well I can tell you that I used to have a 62 Original in my 09 Precision and it sounded just as you describe, but sounds completely different and has much stronger midrange now that it has a Geezer in it.
 
#137
JimmyM said:
Well I can tell you that I used to have a 62 Original in my 09 Precision and it sounded just as you describe, but sounds completely different and has much stronger midrange now that it has a Geezer in it.
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Since a friend has an EMG Px lying around I might give that a try, do you know if that has a good midrange? Never used an EMG on a Pbass before and I heard good things about the X-series being less 'sterile' than all the other pups EMG has done apparently.
 
#138
Agent P's video sounds a lot like my 08' MIA P with 62 originals and DR Sunbeams. It was not clear to me whether his XL chromes were flats or rounds. Makes a big difference. Also didn't know if we were hearing a DI signal or a mic'ed cab. I happen to like the 'native' P bass sound. Currently using La Bella Deep Talkin flats and very pleased.
 
#140
Kelpie said:
Since a friend has an EMG Px lying around I might give that a try, do you know if that has a good midrange? Never used an EMG on a Pbass before and I heard good things about the X-series being less 'sterile' than all the other pups EMG has done apparently.
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Got to admit that I'm not a fan of the PX. Had one in my P Lyte temporarily and it sounded good but much brighter than I like. I went back to the regular P. They are somewhat mid scooped, though, especially compared to the Geezer P, which is quite mid strong (and 100% passive).
 
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