I bought a spiffy red Sire P-bass recently, and as good as it is stock, I've been threatening to replace the pickup. The stock pickup is not bad, but has a character in the mids/upper mids that I find a bit shrill. Like I say, it doesn't sound bad, and I've played a couple of gigs with it, but I thought I could do better.
I already knew from past experience that I like the Seymour Duncan SPB-1 and SPB-3, having used them before. I would also have been happy with a pickup from and old American Standard or American Series P-bass, that used to be thick on the ground. However, they don't seem to be so available at this moment. So I started watching all of the comparison videos I could find on YouTube to see what the current crop is like. It turns out there are many choices.
In the past, I've tried the aforementioned SPB-1 and SPB-3, as well as an Antiquity 1, DiMarzio Model P, Bartolini 8SU, Fender American Series, some sort of Fender reissue-type pickup, Lindy Fralin, and the mighty GFS P pickup. They were all OK in their own way.
After spending way too much time watching the comparisons, I've come back around to the SPB-1. As far as I'm concerned, it's a solid, authentic-sounding Precision bass pickup. That's what I wanted. It sounds great, and for me, better than the Sire.
I already knew from past experience that I like the Seymour Duncan SPB-1 and SPB-3, having used them before. I would also have been happy with a pickup from and old American Standard or American Series P-bass, that used to be thick on the ground. However, they don't seem to be so available at this moment. So I started watching all of the comparison videos I could find on YouTube to see what the current crop is like. It turns out there are many choices.
In the past, I've tried the aforementioned SPB-1 and SPB-3, as well as an Antiquity 1, DiMarzio Model P, Bartolini 8SU, Fender American Series, some sort of Fender reissue-type pickup, Lindy Fralin, and the mighty GFS P pickup. They were all OK in their own way.
After spending way too much time watching the comparisons, I've come back around to the SPB-1. As far as I'm concerned, it's a solid, authentic-sounding Precision bass pickup. That's what I wanted. It sounds great, and for me, better than the Sire.
