My 2017 Mod Shop P bass got some new toys. I had the pure vintage ‘63 pickups in there which were not bad at all. They were kinda clanky which was easily tamed with the tone knob, but playing mostly EMGs I have grown to not really like exposed pole pieces. They just bug me and get stuck under my nails sometimes. These are great even response with a buttery smoother sound. They still bark when you dig in but you don’t have that string hitting the pole pieces noise. I think sweetwater sold all of their stock to preorders! I was lucky to get a set. They were easy to install but had to add more foam, they didn't seem to want to come up when adjusting the height. Actually the first pickup solder job I’ve ever done. Great job Aguilar!
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New Aguilar DCB-P day
- Thread starter landrybass
- Start date
Sweet! Very jealous! I shoulda pulled the trigger before pre-orders ran out. I had no idea it would sell out. I needed a PJ set on my Aerodyne and a J set for my Jazz. Now I’m scrambling to find an alternative.
Let us know what you think! And how they compare to active EMGs (if you’ve tried those)!
Let us know what you think! And how they compare to active EMGs (if you’ve tried those)!
Do these have the same warm tone of Aguilar pickups or more clinical like EMG's?
Ceramic pickups have a certain tone quality to them.
The single clip I heard of these pickups sound very nice but the bass was going through the big Aggie tube amp and who know what else.
Ceramic pickups have a certain tone quality to them.
The single clip I heard of these pickups sound very nice but the bass was going through the big Aggie tube amp and who know what else.
They do sounds more on the warm side. They have the ceramic character but not the zippy edge like EMGs, I think because they're passive. They're like a ceramic version of a Fender P with tape over the pole pieces, think Joe Dart style. They really do shine with the tone down about half way to zero. I'll try to get some sound recorded sometime.
Sweet! I’m surprised it sounds very trebly! Quite the opposite of what I was expecting.
Granted this is on a new set of strings with just cleaned and polished frets. I usually prefer the sound of older strings on a P bass but changed them when I replaced the pickup.
I've been digging Aguilar pickups lately.
I have the overall sense that they make a good warm sounding pickup that is hot enough to drive an amp just right -- which sort of creates bark in the upper mids and treble when you dig in.
This gives the kind of dynamic range that I like on stage and in the studio -- more expression than I can get with either a snappy Nordstrand or with a more mellow vintage pickup with a medium output. Goldilocks zone.
(I'm basing this on my playing experience with an Ibanez 2400 with DCB soapbars.)
I have the overall sense that they make a good warm sounding pickup that is hot enough to drive an amp just right -- which sort of creates bark in the upper mids and treble when you dig in.
This gives the kind of dynamic range that I like on stage and in the studio -- more expression than I can get with either a snappy Nordstrand or with a more mellow vintage pickup with a medium output. Goldilocks zone.
(I'm basing this on my playing experience with an Ibanez 2400 with DCB soapbars.)
The demo sounds very crisp, in a good way. Aguilar has a bad habit of making demos that make their pickups sound very pillowy when the pickup doesn’t sound like that.
I have the chance to grab a set of DCB-PJ for my mellow sounding Aerodyne. Will that cure the mellowness? What do you guys think?
Thanks, I did intentionally play pretty hard with bright new strings directly over the pickup. You can always soften the edges and darken things up, but you cant always brighten it up!
For sure! I just think it’s funny the discrepancy between the tone you got your demo and the Aguilar demo. Your tone I like, their tone I didn’t. The best pickups are capable of many tones but they don’t do the best job demonstrating that.
