Bass project input appreciated

[MisterEBlack]

Hi, i'm working on building a neck through 34 inch scale bass and i'm trying to come up with the kind of pickups and electronics to use. I could use some help with making a decision.

The tone i'm looking for is first and foremost is an agressive mid snarl but i still need responsive enough pickups that i can mellow it out with my fingers and have nice piano like chimes.

here are some combinations and some thoughts with them... sorry if i ramble.

#1
bridge pickup: musicman smb4a
i have loved the sound from every bass i've heard with pickups of this style and similar build. However i get contradicting views on what actual type of magnets to use, alnico5 or ceramic. I hear the ceramic is more agressive but i've always heard them as powerful yet fragile. also seymour duncan rates the alnico as higher output than ceramic.

#2
Bridge: music man
neck: quarter pound pbass
again, i love the bite and high end of the music man but i want people's internal organs to feel my depth. hence the pbass. however these can often feel incredibly woofy and emotionless. Would pairing these two provide a decent balance?

#3
bridge: q-tuner
neck:q-tuner
I am currently using the transensor jazz pickups in my bass right now and i love the transparency that they allude to. I'm a wood nazi so i really want the entire bass to speak. not just the strings and pickups. however i've heard that they are so responsive that a relative newb like me might not have any business using them within the next five years.

#4
bridge:music man
neck:q-tuner
would this combination help me get a balance of the colored music man pickup with the depth and response of a transparent pickup in the bassier position?

#5
active or passive for any and all combinations?
i never touch the tone knob. in fact i ripped it right out of the bass. if i didn't feel the need for an onboard volume control i'd just run my pickups straight to the jack. to compromize i am using 1meg pots(considering 2meg or just an off switch). having said that i do also wish i had a simple contour switch for slap style. This is where i could really use the agressive pickups or a boost to combat the tinny clicky slap bass tone that we hear oh so many bass players employ.

did you make it all the way down here? wow. you must be more obsessive about tone and gear then i am, which means i would very much value some insight from you. thanks

 

[kyral210]

Go for a winning combo:

Humbucking bridge and P-bass neck. By using a paning pot to select pickup, you can dial in a great combination of low end growl and trebble attack. I would say stick with Duncans here.

Although technically steel can be more powerful than Alnico (if it were highly magnatised, and the alnico less powerfully magnertised) one should generally assume alnico is very powerful. It has by definition the most magnetic potential of any non precious metal or alloy group. (it kicks ass). Ceramic is a bit less in your face and more common, and should allow you to mellow out nicely.

Use Stainless steel strings in combination with a 0.1uF orange drop capacitor in your bass. Its high capacitance will allow you to cut allot of the highs and mellow out down south with a glass of JD.