How Come Old P Basses Sound So Good?

[Davo-London]

I don't agree with much here.

The 50's were the original handmade basses. That is the original sound.

The 60's were still handmade up to 65. But even when CBS took over it took a while for the grey suits to mess things up. This is the classic alder/maple/rosewood sound.

The 70's were very mixed but is the period of the worst made Fenders ever. There are still good 70's basses but they were possibly the exception.

The 80's MIA was a slow period of improvement. Whereas the MIJs were brilliant from the start and this is their period. 80's basses are best sought from Japan.

By the 90's the MIAs were catching up and so there's little to separate them. However, neither are vintage nor classic.

00's are clearly not vintage and outside the scope of this debate.

This is all IMHO although I do own a 1 x 60's, 2 x 70's and 1 x 80's MIJ Fenders.

Davo

 

[TrevorOfDoom]

since we're just patting each other on the back and asking Johnk_10 about P bass pickups, i'm curious how he feels about the Nordstrand NP4's.
they've been my go-to since they brought a mid-90's fretless P to life for me and i just put them in my new Roger Waters sig.
John, thoughts?

 

[johnk_10]

i really like Carey's pickups (i have a fsome of them in my basses), but IMO, his P is more 'polite' sounding than the duncan. i think the nordy's sound a bit more modern, which is great if that's what you're going for, but i just personally prefer the exact vintage 'vibe' of the duncans.

 

[svtb15]

Does anyone have direct experience to describe . if any... the sonic and physical differences between the DUNCAN spb-1 P pup and an Antiquity II P ?

Are there any differences besides the cosmetics

 

[johnk_10]

AFAIK, duncan slightly demagnetizes the antiquitys and slightly oxidizes the wire. i believe that they go thru some hot and cold temp changes too, and all of those things 'loosens them up a bit' and makes them have a little more high end.

 

[trkelley]

(Best read in a hushed voice)

Here we see a herd of Fender P-basses. (snip) Yes it's inevitable now, the Ibanez is rapidly closing in, going for the kill.
:::Scare chord:::
Well that was a grisly scene. But life is brutally hard out here in the plains of low frequencies.

LMFAO - Read it in a British accent. For many from the States, nature shows are FAR more serious and real in "British".

 

[svtb15]

Thank you..

AFAIK, duncan slightly demagnetizes the antiquitys and slightly oxidizes the wire. i believe that they go thru some hot and cold temp changes too, and all of those things 'loosens them up a bit' and makes them have a little more high end.

 

[Emilym80]

(Best read in a hushed voice)

Here we see a herd of Fender P-basses. They're on alert because a 7 string guitar was spotted in the area. Yes they're definitely spooked. P-basses are always cautious when predators encroach on their frequency range.

They've spotted the 7 string. It looks like an Ibanez! They're very fast. The herd is already edging away...no they're fleeing the area now! The Ibanez is giving chase. Already, one P-bass has fallen behind. I can see now that it has been injured already, the D string is missing, and its neck is bowed. Yes it's inevitable now, the Ibanez is rapidly closing in, going for the kill.

:::Scare chord:::

Well that was a grisly scene. But life is brutally hard out here in the plains of low frequencies.

Hahahahaha! Too funny

 

[denton57]

All this talk about the SPD-1 has me intrigued. I have been using a Lollar for a while and I have no complaints....but for $60, I may try the SD out

 

[kraigo]

Does anyone have direct experience to describe . if any... the sonic and physical differences between the DUNCAN spb-1 P pup and an Antiquity II P ?

Are there any differences besides the cosmetics

When I A/B'd them I couldn't hear enough of a difference that I could conclusively attribute to the pickup. The Antiquity II is in my P-Bass, which is a Tokai from the mid-80's, the original '57 reissue: Alder body, maple fingerboard. The SPB-1 was in a Yamaha BB-300 with a Mystery Wood (tm) body and a Rosewood (tm) fingerboard, pickups reversed so the E and A were closer to the bridge, D and G closer to the neck, Leland Sklar style.

They were very much in the same ball park. I could hear a difference, but they were so close to sounding the same and I really had no preference for one over the other. The Yamaha got sold, the P-Bass is still with me, but that has nothing to do with which pickup was in which.

If I had to replace the Antiquity II I'd lean toward replacing it with the SPB-1. I probably wouldn't buy another Antiquity even though it's a great pickup.

KO