EMG P or SD Quarter Pounder SPB-3 for P-Bass?

Adding a passive tone knob is not difficult and shouldn't be used in the consideration between going EMG or SD.

If you want a good in-your-face tone with good bottom...passive may be the way to go...and SD QP is a good choice for this...

The EMG will give you a slightly more "high tech" sort of sound. IMO, the sound is very good and well balanced, but may lack some of that "oomph" in the lower end that you be looking for.

I have an EMG in a P-bass and I think it sounds very good, but I don't think it would cut it as well as a Seymour Duncan for the stuff you're looking to play.

Word of warning...tone is a completely subjective thing...it has to do with filling that sound in your head...

and guess what? "that sound in your head" is likely to change over time, as well...

 

I have the Seymour Duncan quarter pounder in my P bass. One of my students has the EMG in her mexican P bass. Both basses are strung with TI flats. They both sound very good. Very warm, full sound and an upgrade over the stock fender.

With the same person playing each bass it's hard to tell the two apart.

 

I should add this-my Fender P has a Raven Labs active preamp added (no longer available) which gives a slightly more refined sound than stock passive. I added it after putting in the Duncan. It was a slight improvement over passive for live gigs. It sounds much better recording. Very even but still has that unmistakeable P bass sound. Engineers love it.

 

No matter which one you choose, consider wiring in the series/parallel switch for the two halves of the pickup.

After making a series of high quality recordings, I really like the crystal clear mode provided by Parallel wiring. There is a distinct difference in clarity (and loudness) between the two modes.

 

agreed...series is louder and a bit more punchy on the low end...parallel is a bit softer but more transparent (clean sounding)...

the same applies for humbuckers...

I'm not sure that the EMG can be wired this way, however...at least not easily, as everything (pups, battery holder, knobs, and jack) comes in a pre-assembled kit...

 

I slapped a quarter pound p-bass pick-up in my MIM P-bass and it was one of the best things I ever did for it... I think anyway...I love the sound of it...I also put a bad ass II bridge on there as well. I havent heard the EMG one but it's probably pretty good as well. The quarter pound will give that MIM p-bass a good kick in the rear though.

 

Personal taste is going to be the biggest deciding factor but my choice would be the Seymour Duncans.

I've tried a couple different models of EMG's and just never liked them, even though I love how they sound with others using them.

I also really like Barts!

 

I like EMG P's. I have an EMG 40 P5 on my bass that I really love the tone of. I also like Barts.

You can't wire an EMG P up series/parallel. I'm not sure how they have the two coils wired (I'd suspect it's parallel) but either way you can't change it.

You don't have to use the tone control on the EMGs if you don't want one... you can just remove it. It's a very subtle control anyway.