Advice for choosing pickups?

[KingRazor]

Unlike strings, pots, and capacitors, pickups are expensive things to test. Most people don't have hundreds of dollars to spend on buying a big batch of different pickups to try them all out in their bass to find the ones that sound best.

Because of this, I'd like to know what you guys think the best approach is for finding the right pickups. It would be nice if pickups sounded the same in a real life situation as they do on paper. But unless I'm mistaken, that's not the case at all. Pickups will sound different based on the bass, the player, the band, the style of music being played and what situation they're being used in (recording, live performance, practice room, etc...)

So, there's not magic secret to finding the pickups of your dreams unless you just get lucky right? I want to know what a decent solution is. What's a method that works?

 

[Stealth]

There's no magic secret. Pickups have their own way of responding to the notes and strings, but add your own playing style into the mix and what sounds growly to you might sound a bit warmer in someone else's hands. Your best bet is to scour the forums for the pickup reviews or for luthiers who tend to swap pickups out.

Lately, this thread has been an incredible resource because Chunger really put in the effort to try a variety of pickup types, brands and models.

 

[KingRazor]

There's no magic secret. Pickups have their own way of responding to the notes and strings, but add your own playing style into the mix and what sounds growly to you might sound a bit warmer in someone else's hands. Your best bet is to scour the forums for the pickup reviews or for luthiers who tend to swap pickups out.

Lately, this thread has been an incredible resource because Chunger really put in the effort to try a variety of pickup types, brands and models.

My only problem is I can't tell what something sounds like based simply on how someone described them. Also, they have a different bass and a different bass player than I would have, so the tone would sound different for me than for them.

 

[FritoBandito]

Ya pays your money and ya takes your chances. Just like picking out strings, without actually hearing them on your own bass with you playing them, there is no way to know exactly how they sound. If you are looking for a specific sound, post a thread asking about bright and punchy pups, or deep and growly ones, but even then, you'll just end up with how a certain pup sounds to that particular person on their particular bass. My advice? Read as many reviews as possible then take the plunge.

 

[Stealth]

My only problem is I can't tell what something sounds like based simply on how someone described them. Also, they have a different bass and a different bass player than I would have, so the tone would sound different for me than for them.

The reason I mentioned that particular thread is because those basses went through different hands, with different playing styles and all of it's recorded. Or, at least, a LOT of it, anyway. I believe the recorded samples start somewhere around the 'teen pages.

 

[KingRazor]

The reason I mentioned that particular thread is because those basses went through different hands, with different playing styles and all of it's recorded. Or, at least, a LOT of it, anyway. I believe the recorded samples start somewhere around the 'teen pages.

I've been following that thread pretty closely since it started but never gave the recordings a listen to. I'll make sure to do that.