Are pickup upgrades really worth it?

[KevInDaBassment]

I always recommend changing strings before pickups...much cheaper in many cases and can make as much or more difference in the overall sound. That having been said, pickups can make a huge difference in sound as well but there are sooo many things to factor in.

What's the best height for this pickup? What will it sound like with that particular set of strings? Will it be too hot for your amp's input? Does it play well with your effects pedals? How are you defining "better" (i.e. - Looking for a boost in certain frequencies or a unique, quintessential tone)? Is something else holding the bass back (a preamp or incorrect pots)?

My method is always to go with the cheapest routes first. Change the setup (adjust string height or pickup height), change the strings, change the pots if passive, change the preamp since they can typically adapted to other kinds of basses, then change the pickups. Also, try fiddling with different amps/cabs to see if it's an amplification issue. Crappy results with 5'ers can typically be chalked up to sub-par cabs trying to reproduce a note that low.

 

[BulbousMoses]

I've never upgraded pickups in any bass I've owned. Recently, though, I was out seeing a band and the bass player was playing a Yamaha RBX 270J. Pretty inexpensive bass, right. The tone, however, was amazing. Chatting with the guy on a set break and asking about the bass and he told that he swapped out the stock pickups with a Nordstrand P/J set. Now, as I never heard the bass with the stock pickups, I can't say how much of an improvement there was but HE said it was massive and I believe him. Having said that, he probably paid more for the Nordstrands that the whole bass cost new.

 

[JimmyM]

Well. But im curious. Can you tell me which stock pickup (in a series bass) have better quality than any pickup made by a pickup brand/builder?

I'm quite happy with the 62 Original, which comes stock in AmStd Precisions as of last year. And like I said earlier, other than the polepieces sticking up too far, the SX P pickup is excellent. Lakland pickups are pretty well regarded as well. And MusicMan fans love their stock pickups.

 

[awamori]

Almost none of my basses have stock pickups other than AMD J and P. Other than those the Ibanez and ESP basses have aftermarket pickups. Due to them both having really poor dynamics.

 

[BrandonBass]

I swapped my MM stingray stock for a nordstrand 4.2 and tbh the stock PU was much better.

I did play my friend's jazz bass with nordstrands and it sounded pretty good

 

[gregmon79]

To me, it's worth the extra cash I pay to put in better sounding pups. My first bass, still have it and use it, is a squire P I put EMG's in to replace the stock pups that were in there. I barely knew what I was doing back then and I still noticed a huge different. I'm actually about to take the EMG's out and put some pups in from SGD Lutherie. And I think it'll well be worth the price tag. I honestly think I would've sold the P long ago or it'd be collecting dust in a closet somewhere if I hadn't of replaced the stock pups.

 

[mpdd]

i really like the custom shop 60s in my mim standard jazz bass, because they get near the territory of the vintage basses i had in college (without the mud)

not to mention i just can't see myself paying 1500 bucks or more for a bass

 

[Finneus]

I've got an old Peavey B-90 from the 90's that I covered in stickers because it was hot pink... Plays nice, but electronics are not particularly good. Was considering new pickups and/or pre amp, not sure which would make more impact to get a "modern" sound.

 

[Marial]

Do you feel most Pickup upgrades are really worth it? Do you hear your moneys worth?

In my case, absolutely. I replaced the stock pick ups in my Hwy One Jazz with Lollars and the tone of the bass improved dramatically. So yes, I definitely believe so.

That said, you have to do your research. You need to figure out what tone you're really going after and then read, read, read, and hopefully, if you can, listen, to as many pick ups as you can. I knew, for instance, that Delanos would not provide the tone I was looking for, nor would Bartolinis or EMGs. Fralins might have, but in looking for a really warm vintage tone it seemed to me that Lollars were probably my best bet. Turns out they were and I couldn't be happier.

YMMV.

 

[Technotitclan]

I had a long post going and messed it up so here it is short and sweet. Do you feel most Pickup upgrades are really worth it? Do you hear your moneys worth? I changed out my 87' Squier MIK E series pups with tiny wire with magnets on the bottom for a sweet set of SD Antiquity II P pups. The Duncan's sound fuller, a tad tighter but it is not allot of diff for $110.00 set of pups over the old stock ones. I have had this happen in the past also.

On the other hand one bass I owned an old MIM P I put a set of Fender 62 RI in and it came alive over the stock pups.

I am mostly talking passive basses and I use P basses but wonder how some of you out there feel. Is there a big enough difference to buy a Fralin,Fender,Lollar,Bart etc over stock? Or is it a gamble a kind of expensive one at times.

I think the problem your running into here is that your replacing a stock pup with a pup designed to mimic a different model stock pup. If your looking for really noticeable change try a totally different designed pick up. My Ibanez SR400 come with pretty boring P/J pups. Not bad, just run of the mill. To change things up I put in DiMarzio Model P/J's into it. BAM instantly a whole new instrument.