I've never heard the DiMarzio P Pups, but if their other pickups are anything to go on you would not be sorry. DiMarzio just rules, hands down. And its not that I dislike Seymour Duncan, but I've been impressed time and time again with DiMarzio's. Guitar and Bass pickups alike.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Agathis or Alder. .. REAL difference?
- Thread starter Mr_Sore_Fingerz
- Start date
I have an agathis bodied Ibanez RD300. Sounds fantastic.
Don't buy a bass with agathis if you want sustain though.
Don't buy a bass with agathis if you want sustain though.
+1 - I too have not tried the DiMarzio P pickups, but use their Model J in my Squier VM fretless, and they are awesome. I found the description of their tone on DiMarzio's website to be pretty accurate. I've read many people posting about the quarter pounders who do not like them for being too bright, whereas I understand the Model P is more full range, with an articulate bottom end.
I don't know about that - my Squier VM fretless has plenty enough sustain, and it is a fretless.
My LTD has crazy good sustain. As with any wood, it depends more on the chunk(s) they used to make your bass.
On my LTD, even after pulling the frets and lowering the action for max mwah, notes just sing. Sustain was even longer when it had the frets and normal action.
oyo
Hey, the b155 stock electronics arent great, but if you want to make a great upgrade cheap. Add the G & B 3 band electronics ESP puts in their 3band models. I like it a lot. Then add a better set of pickups. They are only $49 here!!
Invalid Link Removed
As long as we are talking about all this... I had two near exact basses, same electronics, very similar necks (one was Warmoth with the steel inserts, one not.) Active jazz pickup configuration. Recorded on both of them. The 3 piece Alder bodied one was more thick/muddy. The 1 piece Swamp Ash body was more defined/thin. I use a positive and a negative word to describe... because depending on what sound you are after it is a good thing or a bad thing.
Another test... two different 34" scale basses, same electronics. One sounds full, bassy, and the other sounds extremely articulate, thin. Did recordings... even people with no musical ability can tell the difference and have a preference. Wood matters.
Another... same semi-hollow body, same electronics. One made of Mahogany, the other maple. Plugged in, with flatwounds, sound very similar. Unplugged, the Mahogany body screams and sounds like it must be twice the size of the maple body. But who cares.. since I don't play it unplugged.
People will try and tell you since we play electric instruments the wood is all hype but it isn't - unless you are processing your sound into oblivion maybe... it really matters. The hype comes into play when people talk about how Alder is "the best" or "Mahogany cannot be beat for sustain." Or "Asian wood sucks". Only YOUR ears can tell YOU what sounds good to you.
I've been surprised by Asian guitars just as many times as disappointed by American or European ones. The wood doesn't know or care where it grew up or who cut it... it just does what it does.
Another test... two different 34" scale basses, same electronics. One sounds full, bassy, and the other sounds extremely articulate, thin. Did recordings... even people with no musical ability can tell the difference and have a preference. Wood matters.
Another... same semi-hollow body, same electronics. One made of Mahogany, the other maple. Plugged in, with flatwounds, sound very similar. Unplugged, the Mahogany body screams and sounds like it must be twice the size of the maple body. But who cares.. since I don't play it unplugged.
People will try and tell you since we play electric instruments the wood is all hype but it isn't - unless you are processing your sound into oblivion maybe... it really matters. The hype comes into play when people talk about how Alder is "the best" or "Mahogany cannot be beat for sustain." Or "Asian wood sucks". Only YOUR ears can tell YOU what sounds good to you.
I've been surprised by Asian guitars just as many times as disappointed by American or European ones. The wood doesn't know or care where it grew up or who cut it... it just does what it does.
I once had played two basses (Fender J) that usually sounded very much the same. But that time one had fresh strings the other had totally dead strings (no, not D-E-A-D tuning, they were just dead). The one with the dead strings sounded totally ******. I think this is something every bass player should experience so they get a feel for when strings are so dead that they give a totally different tone to the instrument. Especially newbies would never think about it and may miss out an otherwise good instrument.
As long as we are talking about all this... I had two near exact basses, same electronics, very similar necks (one was Warmoth with the steel inserts, one not.) Active jazz pickup configuration. Recorded on both of them. The 3 piece Alder bodied one was more thick/muddy. The 1 piece Swamp Ash body was more defined/thin. I use a positive and a negative word to describe... because depending on what sound you are after it is a good thing or a bad thing.
Another test... two different 34" scale basses, same electronics. One sounds full, bassy, and the other sounds extremely articulate, thin. Did recordings... even people with no musical ability can tell the difference and have a preference. Wood matters.
Another... same semi-hollow body, same electronics. One made of Mahogany, the other maple. Plugged in, with flatwounds, sound very similar. Unplugged, the Mahogany body screams and sounds like it must be twice the size of the maple body. But who cares.. since I don't play it unplugged.
People will try and tell you since we play electric instruments the wood is all hype but it isn't - unless you are processing your sound into oblivion maybe... it really matters. The hype comes into play when people talk about how Alder is "the best" or "Mahogany cannot be beat for sustain." Or "Asian wood sucks". Only YOUR ears can tell YOU what sounds good to you.
I've been surprised by Asian guitars just as many times as disappointed by American or European ones. The wood doesn't know or care where it grew up or who cut it... it just does what it does.
i won't argue that your two identical (other than wood) basses sounded different, but there's more than just electronics and the body. the pickup heights could be different, hell the hardware could have an effect as well as different strings, or even the string life. but really as others have said, i believe it's the piece of wood that you have way more so than the species of wood
Reserve judgment on the white body until you see it under stage lighting. A friend of mine has a white SX Jazz, (nice axe for 89 bucks), and my first reaction to the color was "So what?" .
The first time I saw it changing color under the lights, I thought "Cool!".
Just a thought.
oyo
The first time I saw it changing color under the lights, I thought "Cool!".
Just a thought.
oyo
- Jun 19, 2004
- 4,782
- 83
- 42
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist, Schroeder Cabinets
IME, pickups & FRETBOARD material make a much bigger difference in tone than body material. I think I read on this board somewhere that Roger Sadowsky agrees re: fretboard wood having a bigger influence on tone than body wood.
I know that different woods have different tones, but a lot of that stuff gets lost in the mix. I'm sure if you made a recording with an alder bodied jazz bass, then swapped out that body for an ash body and recorded an identical piece you might notice a tonal difference. The trick would be that, other than the body, everything else would have to be identical. Pickups, strings, even the particular piece of maple that the neck is made of can affect tone. Most of those differences get lost in the mix.
Justin Chancellor of Tool liked the Wal he had so much he had them make him an identical one. When it arrived it sounded quite different from the other one, although it was made of the same woods, had the same pickups and strings, etc.
Justin Chancellor of Tool liked the Wal he had so much he had them make him an identical one. When it arrived it sounded quite different from the other one, although it was made of the same woods, had the same pickups and strings, etc.
About the p bass. I own the squire vm p bass and love it. Before I bought it I was trying out other p basses at guitar center. And the mim p bass didnt sound as good as the squire vm p bass. And I replaced the pickups with duncan spb3s since the stock pickup was missing that punch the p bass is known for. With duncan spb3s and a badass2 bridge this p bass growls. I dont really think the wood matters that much in the tone. For me the color was another thing I liked about it. Ever since I bought my jazz I have wanted a white bass im not really sure why. I cant belive that the squire vm p bass pretty much replaced my mim fender jazz bass. The buzzing of the single coils made me hate that bass.
If you can test both, I suggest you try the heavier one between the two... I have no experience with Agathis, I only tried a few Squier Deluxe Active Jazz V's unplugged, and the sound and weight were somewhat similar to my old Rockbass Streamer LX 5 (light, small Carolena body, softy type). On the other hand, I saw both light and very heavy alder bodies, and I have to say I liked the sound of the heavier one better. I also think that lighter basses feel cheap and toyish, but that's just me (and the other big guys on the forum here).
Apart from the sound, if you're gonna mod it it's better to have a solid frame, so that's another reason why I'd recommend the heavier one (it's probably harder too). Sure, there are people on this forum that say they have no reliability issues with agathis or basswood bodied basses, but the fact is that they are softer woods. There's a reason why we build houses using oak, fir or cedar and not basswood. (actually, if you don't like to work your ass off, you may be better off choosing the lighter one. Nothing beats the feeling you'll have when driving screws thru the body with your bare hands or a flimsy screwdriver
)
).Apart from the sound, if you're gonna mod it it's better to have a solid frame, so that's another reason why I'd recommend the heavier one (it's probably harder too). Sure, there are people on this forum that say they have no reliability issues with agathis or basswood bodied basses, but the fact is that they are softer woods. There's a reason why we build houses using oak, fir or cedar and not basswood. (actually, if you don't like to work your ass off, you may be better off choosing the lighter one. Nothing beats the feeling you'll have when driving screws thru the body with your bare hands or a flimsy screwdriver
)
