Ibanez SR100 P bass-- a Bartolini 8SU "Deep" pickup?

[alaskaleftybass]

Hi all,

A while back I bought a nice used Ibanez SR100 lefty with a P style pickup. I've been playing it at work for about a year now and it's really rock solid. I love the bass. The neck is 41mm and bigger so it's not so fussy about adjustment.

So I want to use it more for live performance. The problem is the Ibanez P style pickup is hot and had a strong mid-range thump. I would like to keep the bass passive and get a big round bottom and a touch of crispness and definition out of it.

So I've kind of decided on the Bartolini Original P bass 8SU. The description says it's designed for deep bass for bands like ska, reggae, etc. I don't want to have an undefined whoompy bottom end but I'll be using it passive so I want it to be very bassy by nature. Here's a link to the pickup.

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I'm also wondering, what kind of volume and tone pots should I put in there for the best signal out of the bass? I need to mention that I have a pair of Bartolini's on my active Ibanez SR500 and I love the tone. I tried to like the tone of the Nordstrands but they were too harsh for my ears. The Barts sound really vintage to me and put out a sweet crisp high end and well defined middle.

Here's a picture of my Ibanez. The Ampeg is long gone and has been replaced by a GK MB108, which is much more to my liking. Thanks in advance, guys.

 

[beans-on-toast]

For instrument and pedal pots, I look for Bourns, CTS, and Alpha in that order. It depends on the size and value. Sometimes you don’t have a lot of choice.

I use stranded and one conductor shielded PTFE jacketed wire that I buy from Apex JR.

As for the pickups, the Bartolini ones look like they would be a good match. I’d verify the pickup footprint and depth requirements. Sometimes when upgrading, routing is required. This can be done with a dremel and a template if necessary. Go with the recommended pot ballistics and values.

 

[ric426]

I think you're on the right track with the Bartolini pickup. I've got their 9S p pickup in a bass and like the smooth tone.
As far as pots, you can use the ones in the bass for now and replace them as you see fit. I'd stick with 250k ohm audio taper for the volume and 250k audio or linear taper the tone pot. The difference between the two is just the character of the change through the rotation. The overall range is the same. Personally, I favor CTS pots because they seem to be more forgiving to repeated heating from soldering and resoldering if you like to tinker like I do.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Thanks guys!

Any more ideas?

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Well, evidently my interest in Bart pickups is pretty uninteresting-- maybe more uninteresting is my Ibanez P bass.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

I think I'm going to go with the Bart 8S instead of the 8SU because I'm worried it will sound too muffled. Bartolini says that the 8S is very deep, rounded mids, and crisp highs. That should be sufficient. The Ibanez P-bass pickup is just too growly with that trademark Ibanez sound to inspire P-bass style sounds.

 

[mikewalker]

I think I'm going to go with the Bart 8S instead of the 8SU because I'm worried it will sound too muffled. Bartolini says that the 8S is very deep, rounded mids, and crisp highs. That should be sufficient. The Ibanez P-bass pickup is just too growly with that trademark Ibanez sound to inspire P-bass style sounds.

So, how did that 8S work out for you?

 

[alaskaleftybass]

So, how did that 8S work out for you?

Hi @mikewalker . Well, the J-bass got back-burnered. I ended up buying an SR300EL black sparkle with OEM Nordy style pickups. The bass is very solidly built but I don't know if I like the wonkiness of the pickups. I'm working on getting used to the tone, but I still prefer the Bartolini tone from my SR500L.

I have this thread subbed, if you sub, I'll be back in a couple weeks with a report on results after I've received the new pickup. Thanks for asking!

P.S. do you have one of these old Ibby P-basses?