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P-Bass humbucker modification

handofdoom95

handofdoom95

Nov 7, 2018
10
2
#1
I’m currently playing a Fender Roger Waters signature that is set-up in C Standard, I play a lot of stoner/doom and am looking for a insane heavy and deep, dark sound! I was thinking of putting a humbucker at the neck to achieve this. has anyone done this? I’m not really familiar with pickups so any tips on pickups that can achieve this would be appreciated!
 
#2
First thing's first: That split pickup in your P-bass already is a humbucker. Are you looking at something more like a dual side-by-side coil pickup?

Are you thinking that you want to put another pickup between the split pickup and the neck, or are you saying that you want to replace the split coil pickup with something different?

Edit: Also, what amp, cab, and pedals (and any other equipment) are you using?
 
#4
Warpeg said:
First thing's first: That split pickup in your P-bass already is a humbucker. Are you looking at something more like a dual side-by-side coil pickup?

Are you thinking that you want to put another pickup between the split pickup and the neck, or are you saying that you want to replace the split coil pickup with something different?

Edit: Also, what amp, cab, and pedals (and any other equipment) are you using?
Click to expand...

Sorry I wasn’t clear, I want to add another humbucker to the neck position. I just recently dived into pickups so my knowledge is still very basic to none lol. I want to add more thunder to my low end to make it really deep, dark and huge. I play an Ampeg Micro SVT stack and use a Megalith fuzz, a Rat, a bass wah and a boss dd3
 
#8
Try the DiMarzio Model P in lieu of what's there now. It'll be heavier, and a little too loud even.

I have a bass with a mudbucker smack up against the neck, it's honestly too much. Now, that's *not* what you're asking for in your words, but it's just too much.
 
#10
gfen said:
Try the DiMarzio Model P in lieu of what's there now. It'll be heavier, and a little too loud even.

I have a bass with a mudbucker smack up against the neck, it's honestly too much. Now, that's *not* what you're asking for in your words, but it's just too much.
Click to expand...

Too much is kinda what I’m going for, I might switch out my p pickups first and see what that brings me
 
#11
An alternate way of getting lots of deep tone is to install an onboard preamp, and cranking up the bass knob. John East (BTB-01) and Aguilar (OBP1) both have thick, deep bass boosts.
 
#14
96tbird said:
Have you tried simply plucking right at the end of the neck? That’s where the thickest sound lives. Plus if you ever need a percussive sound you can (finger style) play ON the neck and smack the strings down on the frets with your fingers.
Click to expand...

Yeah I normally play at the neck for heavier parts so I thought why not put a humbucker there lol
 
#17
I really think (know) your idea will not deliver the results you are looking for. The only thing a bridge pickup will bring is a slightly more defined attack and some brightness to the sound. And that will be after shelling out $300 between the pickup and the installation.
First of all, make sure you have top notch amp to handle those low frequencies. That is the MOST important and it is where you need to start. After that, there is an after-market split-coil that works fantastic to handle low frequencies and that would be just a swap with your current pickup, it is the Delano Big Pole Split-Coil. But honestly I heard some stock standard PBasses that sounded fantastic once tuned in C. Just make sure you use something like a .115 or .120 E string set or you'll get a muddy sound.
 
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