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Definitely the neck pickup soloed, but this is a very different sounding pickup than a P-bass, which means it will never sound exactly the same.
Also, these basses don't have a passive tone control, which mean the tone controls will never sound/behave like a passive P-bass. Maybe the "fingerstyle" preset on the selector switch, which rolls off the highs, could be a step in the right direction?
If you want to nail the Motown tone your choice of strings will matter too of course. LaBella Deep Talkin' flats is the obvious choice but most "old school" flats can get you close. The problem with LaBellas and other old school flats is of course that they may not be ideal if you need more "modern" tones from this bass too.
I'm sure you can get "close enough" with some adjustments if this is just for the occasional Motown song but if you want to absolutely nail THAT tone you really need a passive P-bass with a vintage-voiced alnico pickup (which is of course not the answer you wanted to hear, sorry!).
Also, these basses don't have a passive tone control, which mean the tone controls will never sound/behave like a passive P-bass. Maybe the "fingerstyle" preset on the selector switch, which rolls off the highs, could be a step in the right direction?
If you want to nail the Motown tone your choice of strings will matter too of course. LaBella Deep Talkin' flats is the obvious choice but most "old school" flats can get you close. The problem with LaBellas and other old school flats is of course that they may not be ideal if you need more "modern" tones from this bass too.
I'm sure you can get "close enough" with some adjustments if this is just for the occasional Motown song but if you want to absolutely nail THAT tone you really need a passive P-bass with a vintage-voiced alnico pickup (which is of course not the answer you wanted to hear, sorry!).
