Nice Trebly Pickup

Youd actually be better off in my opinion by adding a nice 2 band active eq. The result is it will allow you to boost the treble (and select the treble center freq for doing that if you pick a preamp with that ability) as well as to cut bass output some when desired. Also it keep you from haveing to cut a route for the new pup. The sounds your after can, if the stock pups have plenty of crunch and growl available, be had to an extent equal to or better then adding another pup. Via a preamp. Std stacked two band eq's replace the instruments passive tone control. So no new holes need be made. Unless you want to be able to switch the bass between active and passive modes for the sound tweak that alone gives. Preamps convert the signal to HiZ which imparts a tad more bass articualtion and a little bit extended upper treble.

Picking a preamp that gives a 6Khz or within 5.5 to 6.5 khz for treble control is very useful for those types of sounds along with the elusive piano tone some talk about. Of course it also helps to roll your pup blend toward the bridge pup some when wanting that entwistle/squire type vibe. And very articulate, crunchy,growly pups as well. Just a bright trebly pup wont do it. Cause smooth sounding rather then crunchy/growly wont get it. Anyway such 2band preamps start at around $59 for very nice ones. My faves the basslines blackout 2band one. EMG would be my 2nd pick. And my pick if yoiu wanted 3 band that also had selectable mid center freq or sweepable mids. Which could also be useful for the tone your after in some cases. You will also need a heavy overdrive effect with your processor or a pedal for that. JE & CS didnt play clean, they used overdrive as basic part of their sound.

 

so dad will let you hack up a perfectly good hofner but wont let you buy a new bass?? makes no sence to me.

 

sorry, but you just have the wrong bass for that sound.

if you add a pickup, you'll just have the wrong bass but now with a hole in it so you can't sell it and buy the right bass.

you need to sell it (without cutting it up) and get a fender-style full size bass.

 

This.

Don't destroy a beautiful Hofner.

 

Use the money to buy an EQ pedal or some other form of pedal to change the tone. Unless you hire a luthier to do this work, you'll likely ruin the bass.

 

Walter and Capt do make a good point. Lol. Hacking it up would be a disaster. With maple body and top, and those type pups, there should be plenty of treble available from the bridge pup. Dont know why op would need more treble in its voice, unless the stock pups are just muddy. Though preamps with their HZ shift can add a nice little bit of extended treble to the voice.

Perhaps dad would let him trade it toward better one for the kid. Then someone else gets a hofner bass for used price, kid gets new better bass for him. And everyone wins including the traded in bass which gets nice new home. Lol.

 

I'll voice what other people have said. Try a preamp before routing a new pickup in ((unless the 3 pickup look is really important to you)). That being said, it is your bass and you can do whatever you want to it, regardless of who made it. Despite the vibe you might be getting from these people. Your bass, your money, your decision.
I applaud you for playing a hofner without the intention of copying a certain someone's tone. I think a seymour duncan quarter pounder P pickup in the middle position would generate some good, aggressive trebly tone and look awesome as well. I would personally then slap an abundance of stickers on there, take some pictures, and post them here to ruffle these peoples feathers.

Rock on

 

DiMarzio Split P

 

Do you have flats or round wounds on it? Round wounds would get you closer, and maybe some decent twang. I'm guessing you have flats, since that's what it comes with.

But I agree it's not exactly the right bass for that tone.

 

trade it in for a fender aerodyne j bass... its very light and j basses have that trebaly tone your going for right? When I think j bass I think more trebaly and clean. When I think p bass its growly and bassy mids. I also remember a Yamaha p/j model a few years back that was extremely light like 4 to 5 pounds. and it lit up when you plugged it in, maybe a Yamaha fanatic will chime in and tell you what model im talking about.


Or another idea the pickups look to be the size of rickenbacker pickups so if you were to get some rick pickups. pop those in there and you will definatly have a more trebaly punchy tone... pickofthericks.com sells pickups and all the hardware.

 

I Haven't investigated extensively, but it seems as though this guy could wind you a trebly pickup that would fit your bass.

It looks like he accepts Paypal, too.