Fender Precision pickups... blah?

[Cebe]

Or maybe you bought bass which has bad pickups.
When they make hundreds of pickups, not all can be same.
Some are better, some are worse.

When you try few same instruments, not all sound same.
Maybe you`re unlucky.

 

[markdavid]

i could best describe it as a 'cardboard' tone. Just cheap-sounding. I play a 2001 Ibanaz Ergodyne, and the tone is so bright and exciting. The Fender, on the other hand, just sounds like a $79 starter bass in comparison.

I use if for practice around the house because the pop and feel is just so good. But when I plug it in, I wince.

What you've said suggests that you are more into a more modern bass tone , maybe a set of Seymour Duncan SPB-3 Quarterpounders or a Dimarzio split P may be what you need as either of these will give you a more modern bright tone.

 

[chiplexic]

I personally like a Precision solo. But I also like a few different P tones. I like a Jamerson-Babbitt tone...but I also like a brighter more agressive 70's tone too.

Take a listen to this P on Youtube and tell me what replacement pickup brand and model would accomplish this tone. No this is not me...I just stumbled onto it and it's one of the tones I like.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=g8BBOlQqCmo

 

[cmhgreg]

I swapped the MIM pickups that came on my Highway 1 (pre-upgrade) with Original 62 Reissues. I found the MIM's to be "blah" much as the OP described. The 62's are . . . . . "schwing!", or whatever the opposite of "blah" is.

 

[BassBallz29]

you should try getting either a jazz bass or a p-bass with a bridge pickup.

 

[ninerfan]

+1. I'm not a fan of the P + roundwound sound either, but for a classic old school P thump this is the magic combo.

+2

I LOVE my Jazz and wanted a P for the Old School thump. I got a USA with rounds on it was was unimpressed. I got a 62 RI pup and put a set of Fender 9505's on it and it came alive! It has P tone to spare. I labored over the decision of which pup to put in it. I LOVE the Nordstrand NJ4's in my jazz and at first wanted a PJ4. After listening to sound samples for days, I decided I liked the tone of the 62Ri's a little more. I couldn't be any happier now. If it's P bass tone you want, the 62RI pup with flats will give it to you in spades!

 

[cmhgreg]

If it's P bass tone you want, the 62RI pup with flats will give it to you in spades!

+11

What flats are you using? I'm using TI flats.

 

[bassbully]

I personally like a Precision solo. But I also like a few different P tones. I like a Jamerson-Babbitt tone...but I also like a brighter more agressive 70's tone too.

Take a listen to this P on Youtube and tell me what replacement pickup brand and model would accomplish this tone. No this is not me...I just stumbled onto it and it's one of the tones I like.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=g8BBOlQqCmo

Take some Fender 62 re-issue pups ad some flats (me chromes) = that tone in the vid

 

[ninerfan]

+11

What flats are you using? I'm using TI flats.

I went cheap for my 1st set and got Fender 9050 ML's. I'm finding that I really like them though. From what I've read they are among the best for classic P bass tone plus they're only $22 a set and available at my local GC. I've read they are very high tension, but the ML's seem fine to me.

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

I had the exact opposite experience -

I loved the sound of my beat up MIM P even before a pickup upgrade, but when I borrowed my friends Ibanez Ergodyne (I believe the same era - the ones with the weird plastic body if I'm not mistaken) I was severely underwhelmed - even with new strings it sounded brittle, and the tone lacked character, harsh and artificial sounding.

I think it might be more what you are looking for in a bass than a problem with the pickups, though MIM pickups are not top notch by any means (an SD QP will improve it immensely). You might just not be a P bass kind of guy Different strokes, as they say.

Definately agree with the different strokes comment, but depending on which ergodyne it was, they sometimes needed a bit of dialing in.

I have the EDA series, which had a soapbar and piezo pickups, too much peizo was harsh and brittle, too much soapbar was just bland, needed to play about to get a good mix of the two

Also, if looking at new P-bass pickups, Nordstrand might be the way!

 

[bassbully]

I went cheap for my 1st set and got Fender 9050 ML's. I'm finding that I really like them though. From what I've read they are among the best for classic P bass tone plus they're only $22 a set and available at my local GC. I've read they are very high tension, but the ML's seem fine to me.

Those strings do thump real nice ....classic tone but i think the tension is way to high for me. Chromes are real nice and i love the feel. I want to try TI jazz flats but at that price and what i hear about slack tension i fear to do so.

 

[air_leech]

Those strings do thump real nice ....classic tone but i think the tension is way to high for me. Chromes are real nice and i love the feel. I want to try TI jazz flats but at that price and what i hear about slack tension i fear to do so.

Bully, don't fear the reaper...errr I mean the TI Flats....
they are as good as people claim they are - punchy and smooth like only flats can be but musical and singing like a good set of broken in rounds.

they do slack more than the average flatwound strings but you get used to it pretty quick and I find that I use a much lighter touch when playing them and thus have better control over the dynamics of my playing, this actually improved my techinque on my other basses which aren't stringed with TIs.

 

[fuNKmaster83]

in all the years i play bass i have tried different things from jazz to MM to soapbars.... when i first bought a cheapo P bass copy i was blown... i knew that this is what i was looking for... and i have never looked back ever since!!!

now i have 4 different cheap P basses each is a world of its own... one is all maple with pyramid pure nickel rounds(for slap work), two with rosewood fingerboard with pyramid gold(all round bass, set like Jamerson's) one is fretted one fretless... then there is a P with Gibson EB0 pickup

i don't have any knobs or controls on my basses and they are all passive... i have yet to hear a louder bass!!!

it sits in the mix in every situation i just have to chose the right one... i know i wont bring the one with rounds to brass orchestra

if any bass player can't get good tone or play good with a P bass then there is something wrong with the bass player!!! it is the most simplest bass ever and you just cant go wrong... there are no variables apart from how you apply your fingers...

P basses kick other bass BUT 24/7

 

[bassbully]

Bully, don't fear the reaper...errr I mean the TI Flats....
they are as good as people claim they are - punchy and smooth like only flats can be but musical and singing like a good set of broken in rounds.

they do slack more than the average flatwound strings but you get used to it pretty quick and I find that I use a much lighter touch when playing them and thus have better control over the dynamics of my playing, this actually improved my techinque on my other basses which aren't stringed with TIs.

A local shop carries them here and i am tempted although i love chromes. What gauges are best for my P basses? I usally use med gauges in all my basses i think thats a .105 E. I play country music now and some classic and southren rock nothing heavy. I'm scared really scared to try them...I need held

 

[cmhgreg]

A local shop carries them here and i am tempted although i love chromes. What gauges are best for my P basses? I usally use med gauges in all my basses i think thats a .105 E. I play country music now and some classic and southren rock nothing heavy. I'm scared really scared to try them...I need held

That's funny because after I read your post above, I decided to whip out a set of Chromes I had and take the TI's off for awhile. I have a love/hate relationship with the tension of the TI's. I love how they make me play with a lighter touch, but I hate how they react when I dig in. I already have a set of TI's on my P/J, so I figured I would give the Chromes some love on the P and see what happens. I already am digging how they dig, if you dig.

 

[air_leech]

A local shop carries them here and i am tempted although i love chromes. What gauges are best for my P basses? I usally use med gauges in all my basses i think thats a .105 E. I play country music now and some classic and southren rock nothing heavy. I'm scared really scared to try them...I need held

I believe the TI flats I have are of a weird gauge - the E is .97 if I'm not mistaken. I dont know if they come in any other gauges, I got them on a bass I bought from a TBer.

anyway, dont worry - they sound fuller and bassier than most
.105-.050 rounds.

 

[joelb79]

I personally like a Precision solo. But I also like a few different P tones. I like a Jamerson-Babbitt tone...but I also like a brighter more agressive 70's tone too.

Take a listen to this P on Youtube and tell me what replacement pickup brand and model would accomplish this tone. No this is not me...I just stumbled onto it and it's one of the tones I like.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=g8BBOlQqCmo

Fender 9050ML strings as much as a nice 62' RI pickup. I think that the Duncan Antiquity II P will do that well too. Myself I like the top/mids of the 62' RI but I want a little enhancement to the highs and lows, so my weapon of choice is a Nordstrand NP4.

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

My P-Bass is a 2002 MIA Standard. I wasn't blown away by the sound of it's stock pickup. To me, it's lows sounded a little undefined. I replaced it's stock pickup with a Nordstrand NP4 and I couldn't be happier. IMO the NP4 has a fantastic vintage-type sound.

 

[chiplexic]

Fender 9050ML strings as much as a nice 62' RI pickup. I think that the Duncan Antiquity II P will do that well too. Myself I like the top/mids of the 62' RI but I want a little enhancement to the highs and lows, so my weapon of choice is a Nordstrand NP4.

I played a few 62 RI P's in stores and though the stock pickups (I imagine they were the same 62 pickups you'd buy in the box), they seemed limited to mid range tone, as you say. The Nordstrand NP4 may also be a better choice. Then I'd have the option of dialing in more available tones.

 

[bassbully]

That's funny because after I read your post above, I decided to whip out a set of Chromes I had and take the TI's off for awhile. I have a love/hate relationship with the tension of the TI's. I love how they make me play with a lighter touch, but I hate how they react when I dig in. I already have a set of TI's on my P/J, so I figured I would give the Chromes some love on the P and see what happens. I already am digging how they dig, if you dig.

AWWW crud now ya did it I was thinkin...well try the TI's you never know. now your sayin you swaped out some TI's threw on a set of chromes you had layin around and your diggin it...man!

You know i dig pretty hard when i play so that is the reason i have stayed away from TIs. Thanks for the post and info. I think chromes will be where i will be stayin.