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DiMarzio's Billy Sheehan 'Relentless' pickups

#201
thrashingbass said:
The new "Relentless P" on a 40th Anniversary Squier Gold Edition. The original pickups were truly excellent, and there was no need to switch them, but I wanted a Model P style of Precision bass. Excellent pickups! Haven't tried a Relentless Middle, but this is great as it is-sounds similar than the many original Relentless sound samples, but very versatile (not that the Relentless Middle isn't-just that it does sound "like a P bass", but with lots of girth, without losing much clarity.) Haven't tried them with my amp yet.

Recommend you try them for yourselves. Same price as Relentless Middle. :bassist: Definitely top-notch pickups! "Super P Bass" vibe-not vintage, but not too modern sounding (remember it's based on the original Model P.) Love them, alongside my humble Squier. View attachment 4898428 View attachment 4898429
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The Squier CV 70's is a great bass (i have one in walnut). The Relentless P in gold is a worthy compliment of a solid workhorse in black!

Edit...it just hit me that it's a 40th anniv edition. But i think they may be similar. Either way what a great combo! :)
 
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#203
4stringz_77 said:
The Squier CV 70's is a great bass (i have one in walnut). The Relentless P in gold is a worthy compliment of a solid workhorse in black!

Edit...it just hit me that it's a 40th anniv edition. But i think they may be similar. Either way what a great combo! :)
Click to expand...

Indeed, they are very similar in specs! I was looking into the possibility of an Squier CV70, among other affordable basses back then, but the Black Friday sale came up, making the 40th Anniversary basses *even cheaper*. Hard to pass! It really looks like a "souped up" CV70 (yours-walnut-looks *great* as well.)

Was just playing it today. Just an awesome, humble bass. Black+gold is epic-though I am certain gold hardware is a no-no for perhaps the majority. I am very, very grateful to Mr. Larry Dimarzio-and Mr. Sheehan!-for these beautiful pickups, also offered with gold-plating. Sound is *great*, as you know or can imagine, and both looks and tone keeps me hooked.

The regular price of these nifty basses has now been lowered from $599.99 to $499.99-the included pickups are great, it being a lovely, solid P bass tone, but I purchased the bass and the Relentless P pickup the same day-wanted to match it all along.

Thanks to Mr. Evan Gluck in NYC for the great installation during my busy holiday season! With work and family visiting, I would have needed to wait until January. Very grateful for his excellent, *above and beyond* work! :bassist::thumbsup:

TL;DR Thanks so much for the comment, I love these pickups and bass! Would recommend the Dimarzios to anyone familiar with the original Model P who wishes for something-quite-"extra".
 
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#204
As Borat might say, “High five - Much success!!”

Finding time between the 24 Hours of Daytona and the NFL playoff games, I completed the swapping of pups in my Squier Jaguar and it sounds awesome! I absolutely LOVE the look of the smooth, nickel/chrome look of the P pickups, and I went with the black J bridge pickup to match the bass’s body coloring. I was a bit nervous as I did this mod, but am happy to learn how to work on my own instruments myself.

I appreciate all of those that gave me tips and info!

BDFD0725-F08B-4147-9868-B42686B30608.jpeg
 
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#206
Kdog said:
As Borat might say, “High five - Much success!!”

Finding time between the 24 Hours of Daytona and the NFL playoff games, I completed the swapping of pups in my Squier Jaguar and it sounds awesome! I absolutely LOVE the look of the smooth, nickel/chrome look of the P pickups, and I went with the black J bridge pickup to match the bass’s body coloring. I was a bit nervous as I did this mod, but am happy to learn how to work on my own instruments myself.

I appreciate all of those that gave me tips and info!

View attachment 4952142
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Should sound terrific! And great color matching. :bassist:

Love that Dimarzio produces these in several colors, even though they could just make them all black and call it a day.
 
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#208
greenscharlie said:
they can be used as a finger ramp, but when a string touches the pickup it does give a clicking noise
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greenscharlie,

Haven't tested it, but my strings do not touch the pickup under normal play (Relentless P, not Middle, with exposed pole pieces). These pole pieces have negligible noise when touching them with your fingers, but in actual playing it is a super quiet pickup-unless you crank up several effects, as it's a loud one. Perhaps you can lower them a little further, even though they are designed to be played closer to the strings.

Do they click even when they touch the steel plate, or are they touching any protruding pole pieces? Genuinely curious-I am away from my bass right now.
 
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#209
i have to lower the bass site a bit, but then the E strings sounds too quiete, so have to lower for the A string as well. Dont know if that curved top is actually such a good thing...maybe only good for the radius of the yamaha attitude bass. On this Harley Benton mustang it just doesnt seem to fit
 
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#210
greenscharlie,

It is designed so it can adjust to any radius. I have it installed on a humble Squier P bass. If you have the Relentless P, I would try adjusting the pole pieces individually. But even if you have the Relentless Middle, I am sure it could fit your bass well. Would not give up yet unless you do not like something about it!

Best wishes! Hope someone can assist you better than I did. Feel bad for you, but also believe the situation must not be a problem with the bass, especially if the stock pickups worked normally. The radius system should not get in the way of anything.

(If there is not enough output with the Relentless pickup, something is off.)
 
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#211
Just as thrashingbass mentioned, I never really make pickup contact with my strings during my normal playing. I certainly CAN make them touch, but it definitely isn't an issue for me; hopefully you will be able to find a good solution!

I think the radius design is fantastic and I love not having the usual screw mounting protrusion when my thumb rests there!

-Kev
 
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#212
its not a big problem and I will find a work around.
Havent found the perfect setup yet.
I just wanted to mention it, because the marketing...is marketing :)

and the black paint can easily get scratched off using the screwdriver.
A trade deal between europe and Usa. All that american stuff would be less expensive over here.
 
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#214
JEDI BASS said:
Has anyone determined (or asked) if the Relentless Middle is a bar magnet versus the typical P bass double pole design?

I ask because I plan to build a bass that needs a bar magnet, due to string spacing.
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They are individual pole pieces but just like the previous Will Power pickup, there are more of them packed right next to each other than a typical p pickup so you get full coverage of the string width. This is what the underside looks like:
RelentlessUnderside.png
 
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#215
JEDI BASS said:
Has anyone determined (or asked) if the Relentless Middle is a bar magnet versus the typical P bass double pole design?

I ask because I plan to build a bass that needs a bar magnet, due to string spacing.
Click to expand...

Rarely is a bar magnet necessary “due to string spacing.” A row of polepieces usually works fine.
 
#219
ctmullins said:
Radical? Now I’m even more intrigued!
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I’ve always wanted to build a 3 string bass, mainly just to (jokingly) prove a point to my 5 string addicted friends. I’m also itching to do an octave bass. So… now I’m thinking - 6 string octave bass. But, I seriously doubt I could figure out a way to use one of the Relentless pickups for this. If each half could cover the span of all the strings, I’d be able to pull it off. But, I’ll probably have to go with EMGs or TV Jones blades.
 
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