help with my tone

[InhumanResource]

My backup/beater P is a parts P that I've assembled and swapped over time.
It is currently a Squier body, Fender Neck, and Quarter Pounder pickups.

The tone, to me, is too vintage sounding: I would call it thumpy, bouncy, it invokes a rubber bandy noise. It basically sounds more in the direction of a Motown bass even with the tone knob up, and I'd prefer something a bit more aggressive - I'm in a band that tries to approximate 80's post punk.

The odd thing is, it has the Quarter Pounders, which I associate with more grindy/aggressive/modern sounding P basses.

Does anyone have any ideas for how I can add beef/dirt/tone that cuts through a mix a bit better? Should I be thinking about pickups? Bridge? New body? New bass?

The strings are not that old - let's say less about 20-25 hrs total nickel round wounds.

For reference , my "#1" is an American Professional - and it does this sound better, even with older strings.

Isn’t that kind of what the old punk bass tone was? I remember a lot of kind of dirty wunwubwubwub sound.


Based on what you’ve got, I would expect the tone you described (especially if your action is kind of high).

Low cost attempt at a solution would be to attempt a setup with power action and switch to steel rounds (nickel is a little tamer, I use them for that reason). If you’re ok with throwing money at it, ditch the quarter pounders as they typically scoop out the mids/growl and leave you sounding like a big fluffy pillow.

Something else to look at is the rest of your setup. What’s your amp and how is it set? Any pedals? Are you always using this amp or do you get the same issue when plugged into other things? Just thoughts around isolating the cause of your issue.

If all that doesn’t work it might be time to shop for basses. It could be that this particular one just doesn’t offer what you are looking for.

 

[Cave Puppy]

Nordstrands are generally more bright than your average p bass pickups. I also love the passive EMG GZR set as many here do. They are aggressive and a tad bright imo.

 

[Thumpin6string]

Since there is a general consensus here that tone comes from your finger, looks like you'll need to get new fingers.

 

[alex1fly]

Sounds like an amp issue. QPs plus nickels in a P should be able to get aggressive. Get weird with the EQ and gain controls. Also try different pickup heights… could be too low, could be too high.

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

No offense to those who enjoy quarter pounders, but I have personally found their tone with flats or rounds to be mediocre. Check out the sdp-1 or “vintage” style duncan. Nice clear tone at an affordable price. If you want something more aggressive I’d go emg geezer.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

I'd say get a new body. Ash wood. just my two cents

 

[aprod]

If its a basswood body that is the problem.

 

[Fynn]

You'll find that alot changes with the pickup position and the type of pickup. The exact model doesn't really matter thaaaat much. It's a bunch of marketing going into selling them as a specific type, with labels like "vintage", "modern", "classic"...
I would argue that strings don't really make that much of a difference either. Your best bet would probably be to either add another pickup, for example make it a PJ, because another pickup closer to the bridge will you give alot of that modern sounding tone, and try to use EQ to your advantage.
Scoop it a little, or play around with some treble and high mids.

 

[Rib 13]

The strings are not that old - let's say less about 20-25 hrs total nickel round wounds.

this is usually right when they start losing brightness for me - and off they go. Im a bright strings guy

 

[fhm555]

While my experience is with a J bass, it is along the same lines as I was looking for a way to get my passive standard J bass to sound more like my active J Plus. After the better part of 2 years of trying every idea and suggestion under the sun and a buttload of drop in preamps, aftermarket pickups, and many many many variations of pot/cap values, types, and wiring schemes, I wound up with the first set of aftermarket pickups I tried and the stock control plate, and a few setup tweaks to help with clarity. Some might think it was a waste of time and money, but my takeaway was no matter how you try to massage it, a standard J is pretty much going to sound like a standard J. It's possible to make it a many trick pony, but no matter how you load it up you will still have a bass that can be identified as a J. It might be a squeaky J or a dark J or a god of thunder J, but it's still a j bass and will always be in that particular ballpark with any mod short of relocating/adding/subtracting pickups. At this moment in the evolution of bass gear, I'd probably be going down a pedal rabbit hole if I was searching for ways to expand a palette beyond the primary sound a particular bass is known for.
Almost forgot, another plus of this search was learning to pluck anywhere between the 12th fret and the bridge. All other things being equal, plucking position relative to pickup placement delivered the most effective changes in what comes out of my speaker cabinets. It has greatly expanded the possibilities of any bass I pick up.

 

[pbass2]

I agree with others, the Quarter Pounders are more "wooly" than bright. Maybe try the Fender "Pure Vintage 63" pickups---I just took some out of one of my P's (replaced w Fralins) because they were too raspy/clangy on top and not warm enough in the mids for my purposes. Great for pickstyle rock or punk though.

 

[LoveThatBass]

Attached. Thanks all for help and input.

Your white pickup wire looks like it is holding to the Volume pot by just a couple of strands and about to break.

 

[Cloudspine]

Your white pickup wire looks like it is holding to the Volume pot by just a couple of strands and about to break.

Thanks for the heads up. I probably need to take it into the shop anyway since the volume pot set screw is stuck - I've tried everything - which prevents be from swapping the pickguard, something I'd like to be able to do.

 

[tbplayer59]

Maybe this is evidence that the neck and body do contribute to the overall tone. It's not just the pickup.