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Gnarliest P pickups (also NBD)

#41
playsthespace said:
hello all,

Serial talkbass lurker here, (just saw I’ve been here for 10 years!) thought I’d pick your collective brains before I pull the trigger on some pickups for my new Player Series P.

First, I want to echo some of the other great reviews I’ve read here and elsewhere about these basses. The fit and finish are really stellar, and for a bass that retails under $700 it’s even more impressive. The neck feels great, and if I didn’t know the MIM tells, I’d guess it was MIA, and I’ve played a few US made P’s over the years that I didn’t like as much as this one. Anyway, there’s plenty out there to read/YouTube about them already. Stringthrough wrote a great post about his, and reading it was the last push I needed order mine.

All that said, I’m not in love with the pickup. I bought this bass specifically for a punk band I’m in with a bunch of other guys that are too old to be in punk bands, and I’m looking to get as aggressive a tone as possible out of it. I’m leaning pretty strongly towards the Geezers, but wanted to see if you all had any other options to check out first.
Click to expand...
I don't :D
 
#45
The encased late 70's Dimarzio model P's I've always found extremely aggressive. ... On the right bass they work really well but, on the wrong bass they're just nasty. ... They mostly came in a cream colour but, I do own a pair of black ones.
 
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#48
While I'm eager to give another vote for Dimarzio Model P, because I have it and see no need for something different, try connecting your current pickup straight to jack first. With no pots there's no treble cut at all, and then you'll discover how bright the pickup really is - Model P is EXTREMELY bright like that. If you need controlled sounds too, install a switch or a push pull pot so you can switch pots in and out of circuit. I have an Ibanez with a Model PJ set, and that's how I set it up on mine, two way switch for either P straight to jack, used 90% of the time, or J with pots for other sounds.
 
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#49
I absolutely love my Geezer Butler EMG's. I have 2 P-basses, one fretted and the other fretless, and both of them have Geezers in them. What I especially like about them is they sound great for all types of music. It's like putting a hot rod engine in your P Bass. Rock on!
 
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#51
You should also look into these:
DiMarzio DP127 Split P Replacement Pickup for Fender P Bass
41RB8u6qUTL._AC_SX522_.jpg

They come in black, also
 
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#53
playsthespace said:
View attachment 3628064

I’ve always bought subdued/classic colors (white, black, burst, etc) and I was looking for loud and obnoxious this time. When I saw fender put this hideous green out I had to have one
Click to expand...
Awesome HNGD! I’ve had my eye on that color as well, electron green right? - is that photo a good representation of what it looks like in person?
Some photos online seem to show it looking just like this, almost subdued, and other photos show a green that’s about 2 steps away from neon, brightly colored almost like a circuit board. I figure one has to be a trick if the camera but can’t tell which it is.
 
#54
playsthespace said:
hello all,

Serial talkbass lurker here, (just saw I’ve been here for 10 years!) thought I’d pick your collective brains before I pull the trigger on some pickups for my new Player Series P.

First, I want to echo some of the other great reviews I’ve read here and elsewhere about these basses. The fit and finish are really stellar, and for a bass that retails under $700 it’s even more impressive. The neck feels great, and if I didn’t know the MIM tells, I’d guess it was MIA, and I’ve played a few US made P’s over the years that I didn’t like as much as this one. Anyway, there’s plenty out there to read/YouTube about them already. Stringthrough wrote a great post about his, and reading it was the last push I needed order mine.

All that said, I’m not in love with the pickup. I bought this bass specifically for a punk band I’m in with a bunch of other guys that are too old to be in punk bands, and I’m looking to get as aggressive a tone as possible out of it. I’m leaning pretty strongly towards the Geezers, but wanted to see if you all had any other options to check out first. I’ve always been more of a “big, fat, smooth” kinda guy when it comes to my tone so I’m a little out of my wheelhouse. I tend to like my mids, so my preference is nothing too scooped, but I’m open to any suggestions.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Add a stingray pickup wired in series or a t-bird pickup just behind the p pickup ... and a preamp to boost mids

5s%20001.jpg
 
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#56
sikamikanico said:
that’s a good first step! even more punk would be wiring direct to output! (And even brighter!)

In terms of actual pickup choices, I think two standard responses are DiMarzio model p and Duncan quarter pounders, which may work well and not cost too much (also easy to find used). I would also suggest Wilde p46, it’s a very full sounding yet bright and aggressive pickup (if you want it to be) and for me it does what I thought the DiMarzio should do (but imo, ime doesn’t - I found it too dark sounding; I have limited experience with Duncans). Wilde is very affordable and they have a [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]going on right now for $58 (no affiliation, just a happy customer).

aside from pickups and electronics, setup and strings are key too, and of course technique...
Click to expand...
Put a Wilde Pickup in my MIM 50's P. Love the rich tone, really balanced out my strings too. Now my MIM is competing with my Am Std for playing time.
They were a very tight fit in the pick guard and the wiring is different. Once I got them in it was worth the extra effort.
 
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#57
andrus108 said:
While I'm eager to give another vote for Dimarzio Model P, because I have it and see no need for something different, try connecting your current pickup straight to jack first. With no pots there's no treble cut at all, and then you'll discover how bright the pickup really is - Model P is EXTREMELY bright like that. If you need controlled sounds too, install a switch or a push pull pot so you can switch pots in and out of circuit. I have an Ibanez with a Model PJ set, and that's how I set it up on mine, two way switch for either P straight to jack, used 90% of the time, or J with pots for other sounds.
Click to expand...

I have a mid eighties Charvel 3B bass that is wired like this with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder P/J configuration and a switch to bypass the controls. It gets a monstrous tone with my Tech 21 gear, especially the dUg Pinnick DP3X pedal and the Ultrabass head when I owned one.

Kipp Harrington said:
You should also look into these:
DiMarzio DP127 Split P Replacement Pickup for Fender P Bass
View attachment 3629130
They come in black, also
Click to expand...

I have four basses with these installed in them and they all get gnarly tone just by opening up the tone control. They also get more clear and mellow as the tone is rolled back. They are two humbuckers and respond like hot guitar humbucker pickups to volume and tone control changes. Be warned they are very high output at wide open on the volume control. Here is a pic of them mounted in my Hohner Headless P type bass.

1213190022.jpg


The passive Dimarzio are what I use for aggressive P type sound. They excel at midrange growl. Especially the model P and the Will Power P pickups. The Split P is just over the top and has more of it all, lows, mids and highs. The Quarter Pounder sound best straight to the output jack to me. This is just my take on the pickups I have in my basses. Good luck with your tone search.
Peace,
Mike
 
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