Good Passive Pickups

[EthanTheHeathen]

Hey there all. I've got an old Peavey that sounds really bad but feels really nice, so I'm thinking of replacing the pickups (and possibly electronics) to make it a usable backup bass. It's a Foundation and has two single coil pickups.

I was thinking of doing a little routing and putting in a couple of humbuckers (think MusicMan or G&L), but most of the pickups I can think of in this category are active. I'm not looking to drop a lot of money into this bass, so I don't need a fancy preamp. All I want is a couple of decent-sounding pickups.

Do the MM or G&L pickups have enough output to work passively (without any sort of preamp), and would they sound any good this way? Anyone have any ideas what to get/where to buy them? Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[BeyondSounds]

I have a bartolini passive MM pickup and it sounds great.
I live in the UK, so i had to get it imported from the US.
It was worth it though.

 

[jwymore]

I think any of the MM pickups will work in a passive application.

 

[mrufino1]

If you're planning to rout, check out the seymour duncan passive soapbars. I have them in my gecko bass, awesome sounding. I have them wired in series with only a volume knob (and I wouldn't have that if I had to do it again.) I read that they are the same pickups as the sadowsky soapbars, and I paid $120 for the pair direct from warmoth.

 

[Jonki]

what about DiMarzio Model Js? they are very hot! sounds great too!

 

[blindeddie]

the G&L humbuckers sound great. and i know they work in a passive set up. i guess you could buy them direct from the company. you may also want to try the Rio Grande Powerbuckers. you can order them direct or thru warmoth.com. those things sound great too.

 

[Clorenzo]

Do the MM or G&L pickups have enough output to work passively (without any sort of preamp), and would they sound any good this way? Anyone have any ideas what to get/where to buy them? Thanks in advance for any advice.

I have Seymour Duncan SMB-5A pu's in two of my basses (one active with bypass, one passive) and in fact they're hotter than a vintage jazz pu. The difference between passive and active is subtle but I actually prefer the passive tone, especially for fingerstyle.