Big Block P help!

[BlackHandBass]

Hey All! I have recently gone from playing in rock projects to playing in a jammier band, and as such the move necessitated customization of my Fender Big Block P. I have plenty of fat low end with the 18v humbucker in there, I would like to balance it with something with center or center/neck positioning. I need something with a cleaner and thinner sound. Not super thin, but enough to balance out the heaviness of the stock pickup. Any thoughts are much appreciated! Thanks!

 

[line6man]

I thought that pickup was passive?

 

[BlackHandBass]

Nope active 18v... unfortunate in this case, wayyyyyy too hot

 

[fenderphil]

Pickups get bassier the closer to the neck that they go...

I used to own a big block p bass and I was able to get some stingray sounding tones that really cut through..

 

[eddododo]

I thought that pickup was passive?

its active





OP: not exactly sure what you mean by 'thin' but im not sure a sweetspot pickup is the way to go

 

[Stranger Danger]

Hey All! I have recently gone from playing in rock projects to playing in a jammier band, and as such the move necessitated customization of my Fender Big Block P. I have plenty of fat low end with the 18v humbucker in there, I would like to balance it with something with center or center/neck positioning. I need something with a cleaner and thinner sound. Not super thin, but enough to balance out the heaviness of the stock pickup. Any thoughts are much appreciated! Thanks!

Nothing that would be closer to the neck would be thinner. Quite the opposite actually. I'm not really sure what jammier means but if you want to alter the tone of your bass, try the eq on the amp. Adding treble and mids and backing off the bass knob may help. Good luck.

 

[fenderphil]

Well, the preamp is active... its still a passive pickup.

Traditional 4 wire dual jazz pickup. Wound very hot.

Maybe a coil split switch would be a good mod. A single coil has a quieter output than a humbucker...

 

[LowB-ing]

BlackHandBass and eddododo,

Have you checked the wiring inside the bass to make sure the pickup itself is actually active. It should then have battery leads going to the pickup itself. Are you aware of the difference between an active bass with passive pickups feeding an onboard preamp and an active bass with actual active pickups?

Please bear with me if I come off as condescending, it's just that a lot of people seem to be confused about this.

I'm with line6man (EDIT: and fenderphil) here. It would be a bit surprising if the pickup is indeed active.

 

[line6man]

Since the bass has a two-band preamp, it seems very unlikely that the pickup is also active. Active pickups are a rarity.

The reason this is significant is that you will need the output impedance of both pickups to be similar. There are only a handful of active pickups on the market, so a passive pickup will need a buffer to lower the output impedance to match the pickup that's on the bass now, if it is active.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

The pickup is passive. It has a switch to select coils. You will never find that on an active pickup.

 

[fenderphil]

The pickup is passive. It has a switch to select coils. You will never find that on an active pickup.

The switch isn't a coil splitter... its passive EQ contour switch... I think it was set to scoop the mids

 

[SGD Lutherie]

The switch isn't a coil splitter... its passive EQ contour switch... I think it was set to scoop the mids

No such thing as a "passive EQ contour" switch. Not without using a choke like a Varitone.

It's a coil splitter using a .1µF cap to split the pickup in the high end but not the low end, like on a G&L. So it already has the coil split mod.

See here:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PBassBigBlock/

Pickups: Double Jazz Bass humbucking pickup
Pickup switching: Mini-toggle pickup coil selector switch
Controls: Volume, treble boost/cut, bass boost/cut

And here:

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Pickup switching: Mini-toggle pickup coil selector switch

And here:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/fender-big-block-p-bass-guitar

Pickup split switch

Better yet, let's look at the wiring diagram, shall we?

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

It's a pickup split switch, and a passive pickup. You can see the wires from the pickup going to the switch. It uses a .1µF cap to split the pickup the same way that G&L does.