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New to bass upgrade help..

Discussion in 'Pickups & Electronics [BG]' started by dstark84, Apr 22, 2012.

  1. Apr 22, 2012 #1
    dstark84

    dstark84 Guest

    Apr 22, 2012
    Hey, I'm a drummer turned guitar player and now I'm messing around with bass, I bought a cheap squier p bass from my buddy and thought to myself with alittle upgrading this could be a sweet bass.. Now I know a huge difference in fender and squier is pickups so I'd like to upgrade the pickups but I don't know what to look for in bass stuff.. I'm a rock guy and love power I like humbuckers but not sure who makes good bass pickups.. Help in that area would be greatly appreciated.. Also I heard in an article online that squier volume pots are bad and I want to get a good one but I don't know anything about volume pots... Can someone help explain what I'm looking for in that regard.. And lastly I've heard of tone caps(capacitors) do basses use those and if so do I want one?... Thanks soo much for the help I can't wait to get into the bass!
    -Devin
     
  2. Apr 23, 2012 #2
    wcriley

    wcriley

    Apr 5, 2010
    Western PA
    Changing pickups isn't always an "upgrade". Usually it's just a "differnent" sound. If you tell us what you don't like about the current pickups, maybe someone can help you decide what to replace them with.

    There's no need to replace your volume pot if it's functioning.

    You already have have a cap on your tone pot. There's no need to replace it unless you want the tone control to affect different frequencies than it currently does.
     
  3. Apr 23, 2012 #3
    dstark84

    dstark84 Guest

    Apr 22, 2012
    Ahhh... Good call... Overall the guitar has good tone, but it just seems like I'm missing output from my pickups.. I want more punch and power..
     
  4. May 4, 2012 #4
    WildWes

    WildWes

    Feb 5, 2011
    Southeast GA (Wayne Co 2b exact)
    Same here dstark84, drummer turned to bass (owning?). Of the 2 basses I own, one has a better sound and volume output then the other. Unfortunately, I prefer the neck on the other bass. Do I change the pots or the pick-ups?

    PS: When I say "I", what I mean is who do I pay for this service :-O
     
  5. May 4, 2012 #5
    funkingroovin

    funkingroovin Conquering A-D-D,and all the other notes as well!

    Apr 19, 2009
    Hawaii
    For punch and power at an affordable price,the Seymor Duncan 1/4lb III is pretty hard to beat. I put one in my Squier P and was quite impressed with the punch and attack..almost as versatile as my Jazz basses now..Great 'Rock' p'up!
     
  6. May 11, 2012 #6
    dstark84

    dstark84 Guest

    Apr 22, 2012
    Thanks guys, funkingroove so you'd say the Duncan 1/4lb was worth it?.. A guy at guitar center said they were about the best for the money. But I didn't know if he was just trying to sell me.. Lol.. Is the sound way better than the stock p'ups?
     
  7. May 11, 2012 #7
    Tommygunn

    Tommygunn

    Nov 8, 2008
    Houston, Tx
    I have them in my Squier Pbass as well. They ARE amazing for the money. IIRC they're around $70, but you should actually look used, you can get ones that are basically new for a lot cheaper.

    And I kinda disagree wcriley. You might want to look into 500k (and I think they make 1000k?) volume and tone pots, they greatly increase the output of your guitar.