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Newbie question about pickups

#61
As must have been stated on tb a gazillion times... Just tweaking the tweeter on a speaker or pressing a bass boost button on an amp or rolling off one of your pickups will probably have a more dramatic change in sound than replacing one decent pickup with another decent pickup.Playing near the bridge or the neck will offer much of the same and let's not forget strings .From my experience if I haven't managed to make friends with an instrument then no matter how much I f**k with it, it seems to never change my basic impression enough to make it into a keeper .If you have the sound you are craving in your head and can't get it with eq or your fingers then look for another bass .
 
#63
Here is a extensive comparison. These chaps agree, pickups make a big difference on this bass.



I went to bed thinking I would spend part of Easter switching my PUPS back just to post clips. My only hesitation was that some would still argue not to bother even given evidence. Thankfully Lee has provided this comparison and commentary for us.
 
#64
If you bought the MIM because of what it felt and sounded like, why the need to swap pups? I just swapped a set of Duncan's for my generic pup in my SX simply because the Duncan's had rails instead of poles(my SX's pups were misaligned and that was an easy fix). The Duncan's definitely sounded fuller and punchier, but that wasn't the real reason for the swap. I was just as happy with the stocker's, just hated the offset look of them. This will always be a "to each his own" kinda answer anyway, so what I just said really wont matter...just though I'd put it out there.
 
#66
SurferJoe46 said:
So do different strings, different fingernail lengths and how much fried chicken fat is in the strings.

It's all so subjective, that there isn't a real answer and the audience doesn't care only that someone makes boom-boom noises.

We tend to play for each other's vanity. Don't get sucked into this too deeply until you know what you are hearing.
Click to expand...
Wow...sounds like you need a new gig...
 
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#67
Another one in the don't change unless/until you know that the sound you want to get will get closer with a pickup change. On my Squier Standard PJ changing the strings that were on it to TI flats made enough of a change that I have no need to change the pickups.

OTOH, the Epiphone EB-0 was like an entirely new beast once the Dimarzio Model One went in there.

Lastly, while the 62 pickups might sound like a great deal, just wait. Eventually Guitar Center will send you a coupon for another 20 percent off and then you should think about it. Or look into the classifieds on this site and buy a used pickup. Many folks swap parts out and put the old ones up for sale. Worth a look if you go down the part changing path.
 
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#68
Michael B said:
Good gear doesn't mask bad technique.
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Agreed, in fact I think it can amplify your bad technique.
Put a graphite neck bass in the hands of someone like that and they will be begging for their old gear back.
 
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#69
TonyP- said:
Agreed, in fact I think it can amplify your bad technique.
Put a graphite neck bass in the hands of someone like that and they will be begging for their old gear back.
Click to expand...

Yup and who hasn't had the experience of having a cheap instrument early on that made it difficult or impossible to play correctly.

In this case it may stay sound ok but the potential is to sound great.
 
#70
If all you're after is some thump, then maybe. I've had basses from Squier to Pedulla and amps from Crate to Ampeg SVT. Pickups make a difference. Tuners make a difference. Bridges make a difference. It may be subtle, but how do you price subtle? I like the carcasses to put good electronics and tuners in, and it makes it better for me, and I usually leave in the better stuff when selling. If my ears and fingers are happy, my bass playing is "happy"...
 
#71
I used to think it didn't matter. My first good Precision was an early MIM Classic 50's. I loved everything about that bass and didn't find it lacking for anything. A guy who played guitar in my band at the time was also an amp builder and had a good relationship with Lindy Fralin. He was having some pickups rewound and suggested I give one of Lindy's Precision pups a try. Not really being as knowledgeable as I am now about the inner workings of my bass, he assured me that the mod was completely reversable if I didn't like it and was getting them at a great discount. He put me on the phone with Lindy himself, who asked me a few questions about what I liked or didn't like about my current pickup and gave me a neat history of pickups and explained what set his pickups apart from what I had in my mass produced P bass. A couple weeks later, my friend installed the pickups for me and I really wasn't expecting to notice any difference, still somewhat reluctant about changing out something that I already really enjoyed. Those pickups were like an epiphany for me. It sounds very cliche, but it was as if a blanket had been lifted from the tone of my bass. Something sounded more open
about the tone. My tone was balanced from string to string and had a sweet richness to the upper mids, where the old pickup sounded harsh by comparison. It's really hard to describe the magic of those pickups and I don't know how he does it, but after using many of his sets since, both P and J, it's what I understand to be his calling card...that rich glistening quality of the highs and upper mids wrapped up in a fluffy blanket of tight low end. (I almost cringe as I write this knowing how spammy and mushy it is, but its just my experience.)

So yes, I could have gone on happily playing my bass without a care and been content with what I had, but after trying those pickups I didn't want to use anything else. The only way to find out if it makes a significant difference to you is to just try it. If you make the swap to another set, whatever they may be, and you don't like it, Talkbass classifieds is always hungry for more P bass pickups! I look at pickup swaps in much the same way as I view string changes. Highly subjective, very personal and completely reversable.
 
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#73
yodedude2 said:
biggest factor i can think of right away are strings. second would be speaker/cabinet voicing. third would be amp voicing and/or pickups; pickups are the "microphone" for a typical electric bass guitar. so, changing pickups on a bass can be like changing microphones for a vocalist (sorry non-vocalists for the unclear analogy).
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Hey, that's my SIG!!!!
 
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#76
There is a lot of thought put into pickups, and if there were zero difference, then there would only be one or two pickup manufacturers, period.

Like anything else, there is of course a limit to differences, starting with P bass pickups. One configuration, and all you can really do is vary windings and pole pieces. I find, that you can open up a P bass a bit by changing the pickups (I just did that on one bass, going from stock to Dimarzios) but at best you will gain a bit more high and definition. I use La Bella Flexible flats, so the differences I will notice are not as much as if I used round wounds. But I definitely have some more frequency range.

For J bass pickups, well, you can get a wide range of differences, including from single coil to noisless. And, you have large poles, angled poles, two poles per string, ceramic, not ceramic, and heck, even blade style. Again, remember, this is a bass, so at some point it will still be variations on a theme, that thing called bass.

Swapping electronics and wiring I have found makes a slightly better difference. Using high quality pots, getting good wire, is as refreshing for a bass as changing pickups or strings. Its just like cars. They all run, and a Ferrari is about as fast as a Corvette, but its the little things that make a huge difference.

Also, if you are looking for a more vintage tone, then yes, replacing pickups with a high quality, specially wound pickup will get you closer to the tone you want. If you want to sound like Jamerson, then you need a '62 Pbass wound pickup with Jamerson gauge La Bella flats, dip them in all kinds of sweat, grease and funk, and then set your action high, and I don't mean your high, I mean old school, serious high.

Pickups are one of the best and most cost effective upgrades around. So if you think you like it, go for it. You can always have the others put back in if you don't like it.
 
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#77
bogie1519 said:
Just bought P Bass Made in Mexico. Workmanship is very good. Very happy i went with that model. so is my wallet. But does changing out the pickups make that much of a difference. Guitar center has a a set Fender has released a 1962 reissue for 79.95 for the P Bass. would it be worth the extra cost. it's not so much i'm wanting vintage pickups. just asking. i did just buy a Fender Rumble 200 combo cabinet. i know some will hate it others won't. but for 479.00 so far i am very impressed with what i'm hearing.

Thanks for any advice you might have....
Click to expand...

I would first ask what it is that you don't like about the current pickups that you want to fix by using other pickups.
Pickups can make a big difference... not necessarily for the better.

When I got my MIM Classic 50s series Precision, I expected replacing the pickup going from some reviews I read. As it turns out, I love it and it stays.
I have replaced the pickup in other Precisions when I wanted something a bit darker, or punchier, or more mellow... depending on the sound I was going for with that bass and what the bass sounded/felt like... and sometimes I got it right straight away, others it was a costly experiment :D

Don't let others tell you you need a pickup upgrade or whatever... use your ears and only make that decision if you want it.

Having said that... I really like the 62 reissue type pickups ;)
 
#79
When I was building Basses for myself I used ONLY Fender '62 P Pickups. When I switched to 5 string I went with a Bill Lawrence / Wilde P-46 pickup ( [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] ) which now is my pickup of choice... I wonder though, do you really NEED to change pickups ?? I'm of the camp that believes that string brand changes are the smartest and most economical way to change the sound of a Bass. After a few years of string hoping I settled on.D'Addario EXL170TP Round Wound Bass Guitar Strings 2-Pack and D'Addario ECB81 XL Chromes Flatwound Bass Strings (These are just MY choices, not , maybe , your's). I put a set each (at different times :) ) on a Squier PJ and loved both sounds.... that made (for me) pickup replacement un-needed, that is unless I don't get "my sound" with "my strings", then .... maybe a pickup replacement could be in order (If I absolutely LOVE the Bass). Or... it may be time for a Bass replacement.

Of course YMMV
Best of Luck :)
 
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