Ya, I second changing the tone cap. I had (have) a really bright Jazz. It was over-the-top singing with highs. I dropped a new 0.1uf tone cap in it and that sorted it out. Nice round bottom now. And it was cheap fix.
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P bass, too bright.
- Thread starter PointBlank
- Start date
Ya, I second changing the tone cap. I had (have) a really bright Jazz. It was over-the-top singing with highs. I dropped a new 0.1uf tone cap in it and that sorted it out. Nice round bottom now. And it was cheap fix.
Wow thanks guys. That's some fast useful info!
I been playing this Bass only at home only occasionally for about a year. Been wanting to take it to church but I need to control the brightness first.
I forgot about the capacitor trick, did it on a lot of electric guitar's in the day. Always wanted to try the Lawrence and Fralin pup. I love the standard Fralins in my Lakland Jazz skyline w/ Audere preamp, those Fralins have nice balance. Never knew about the Geezer or Aguilar set. Again thanks TB.
I'll try the cap then different pups if it needs it.
I been playing this Bass only at home only occasionally for about a year. Been wanting to take it to church but I need to control the brightness first.
I forgot about the capacitor trick, did it on a lot of electric guitar's in the day. Always wanted to try the Lawrence and Fralin pup. I love the standard Fralins in my Lakland Jazz skyline w/ Audere preamp, those Fralins have nice balance. Never knew about the Geezer or Aguilar set. Again thanks TB.
I'll try the cap then different pups if it needs it.
Your pickup choice is fine... adding a Stellartone will do it for you. Bass 10 model with the .1µF capacitor range. KILLER!!!
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I LOVE the nords in the Ibanez. So I put nordstands in a CV jazz thinking it would kill and it wound up sounding virtually the same as the stock pups.
That's because I had the OP's same problem with the AmStd Precision with the 62 Original it used to have. Tried the Tonestyler for a while and it does work pretty nicely, but when I switched to the Geezer, I didn't need it anymore because it took down the brightness to a comfortable level. Still there, but not as overbearing and slicy as the 62 Original.
First off welcome back to the P-bass world. Try installing a .1 uf tone cap. Yours probably has .047 uf. Cost? About $1.50 and 20 minutes to install. Easily reversible if its not your cup of tea. Do you play finger style or with a pick? If you must replace the pickup, dont overlook the Kent Armstrong VPB. Endless thick lows and adequate controlled highs. Sounds so sweet..
I've read this before about some '62 Originals but they had flat poles, the ones with beveled poles don't seem to have this problem? I wonder if there wasn't some mixup with these or a re-design at some point? I believe they make/made a "Vintage" pickup with flat poles that I've heard described as sounding thin on the D/G strings. I realize just a bevel isn't a big deal but my '62's highs are very smooth and musical.
Anyway... The Geezers do sound fantastic and I don't think you could go wrong choosing them.
The 62 Original was a redesign, and a mistake as far as I was concerned. Not familiar with their newer pickups that they just came out with, but I had a 62 reissue pickup that I bought in 2001 or 2 that was much better. Beveled poles, too 
Almost as good as the Geezer, but the Geezer has this midrange thing going on that the 62 reissue doesn't, and I find it quite pleasing. The midrange in the Geezer sounds slightly more prominent and even and makes it to where I can hear myself easily without having to dial in an ugly amount of midrange.
Almost as good as the Geezer, but the Geezer has this midrange thing going on that the 62 reissue doesn't, and I find it quite pleasing. The midrange in the Geezer sounds slightly more prominent and even and makes it to where I can hear myself easily without having to dial in an ugly amount of midrange.
The 62 Original was a redesign, and a mistake as far as I was concerned. Not familiar with their newer pickups that they just came out with, but I had a 62 reissue pickup that I bought in 2001 or 2 that was much better. Beveled poles, too
This is just speculation, but I'll throw it out there. You have them so you'd know better than I , but from what i can tell, the Geezers are quite similar to the original 60's P pups but hotter -- which in turn brings out more mids.
Slightly hotter than your average currently-made vintage style P pickup, but not ridiculously so. It's based on the pickup in one of Bobby Vega's vintage Precisions, I think it was a 60 Precision.
I also concur on the Fralin +10% - a little more mids, a little less treble, good bass, and a little smoother articulation from vintage diameter and gauss of the magnets. Do you have good 250 kohm pots? If the pots are 500kohm, it will raise the resonant peak of the pickups. Not much, but can be noticable. The La Bellas can be bright, even for flatwound strings. GHS are the darkest - I'd try those. If the .047 is too bright half rolled off, and the .1 is too dark half rolled off, you have to look for it, but if you can find it, there is a .068 cap out there.
My main P is an 80's MIJ. Excellent bass, but I was NEVER satisfied with the pickup. I've felt that it was too harsh and grindy in the upper mids and highs.
Recently, I installed a Nordstrand NP4v. After MUCH deliberation, I chose this pickup over the NP4 because of its smoother tone.
I can't stop loving this pickup. I now get exactly the smooth yet full classic sound that I want. I notice it EVERY time I plug in.
I've been loving the P sound more and more lately. However, some P pickups have that harsher tone which I'm not a fan of. This pickup's smoothness lets me boost the upper Mids and Highs to be present in my band's mix without any of that harshness.
I found out after receiving the pup, that this model, the NP4v, is the model of Sadowsky's P pickup now. Nordstrand makes Sadowsky's P by starting with their NP4v, and custom shielding it (copper tape) to Roger's specifications. I can understand why Sadowsky would choose this pup.
Recently, I installed a Nordstrand NP4v. After MUCH deliberation, I chose this pickup over the NP4 because of its smoother tone.
I can't stop loving this pickup. I now get exactly the smooth yet full classic sound that I want. I notice it EVERY time I plug in.
I've been loving the P sound more and more lately. However, some P pickups have that harsher tone which I'm not a fan of. This pickup's smoothness lets me boost the upper Mids and Highs to be present in my band's mix without any of that harshness.
I found out after receiving the pup, that this model, the NP4v, is the model of Sadowsky's P pickup now. Nordstrand makes Sadowsky's P by starting with their NP4v, and custom shielding it (copper tape) to Roger's specifications. I can understand why Sadowsky would choose this pup.
The Antiquity, even the Antiquity 1, is bright. If you have one and it's too bright, the pickup has to go.
I recommend one more turn with vintage-class winds, but a less trebly pickup. My favorites are the SPB-1 and the Lollar.
If you go with a hotter wind you make it sound more aggressive. Sure, the treble is gone but now you add spikes elsewhere. It's not just a matter of spectrum what is aggressive and what is not.
Dibs on your pickup if it is an Antiquity 2?
I recommend one more turn with vintage-class winds, but a less trebly pickup. My favorites are the SPB-1 and the Lollar.
If you go with a hotter wind you make it sound more aggressive. Sure, the treble is gone but now you add spikes elsewhere. It's not just a matter of spectrum what is aggressive and what is not.
Dibs on your pickup if it is an Antiquity 2?
HOLD THE BUS! I just found this diagram. I had forgotten I worked on a friend's early '70's MusicMaster bass some years ago. A pot died, and he wanted it exactly fixed, not simplified. So I drew this diagram off the old tone pot so I would know how to wire in the new one. Notice the .02 capacitor off the side of the pot (now it would be .022), giving a permanent rolloff at a higher hinge frequency, in addition to the primary .05 (now it would be a .047) tone pot.
Remember that MusicMaster basses used the same pickup as the guitars, essentially an under-wound Strat pickup with small magnets under the cover. So it is just about as bright a pickup as a player can stand to be in the same room with. But the bass does not sound bright, and this is why. This may be the least expensive solution to the OP. A $1 .022 capacitor from Radio Shack.
Remember that MusicMaster basses used the same pickup as the guitars, essentially an under-wound Strat pickup with small magnets under the cover. So it is just about as bright a pickup as a player can stand to be in the same room with. But the bass does not sound bright, and this is why. This may be the least expensive solution to the OP. A $1 .022 capacitor from Radio Shack.
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But you've only played this bass at home.
Why not see what it's like with the band at church? You can always roll off some treble on the amp if it's still too bright.
A lot of the time P basses only make sense when they're in a mix.
Why not see what it's like with the band at church? You can always roll off some treble on the amp if it's still too bright.
A lot of the time P basses only make sense when they're in a mix.
Yes I would have normally agreed with this. But the Church's PA system (I'm running straight to the board, no Bass amp) is pretty bright of course because of the acoustics of the room. I have 1 bass that is alot darker than the rest, that barley works with the Church band. It is mud compared to the bright P-Bass on my Bass amp at home so I'm just guessing.........
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I understand the room issues. I played guitar for three years at a "contemporary" service in the "family center" of a church (read: gymnasium with maple basketball floor and metal beams and lots of windows) and the room was so bright I had to put away all my hard plastic Fender 351-style picks and use Dunlop nylon picks to take the edge off the articulation. The guitar I used has a maple neck with macassar ebony fingerboard, and a purpleheart block under the bridge - on purpose to make it bright. I had to tone down that instrument as well, with softer picks, a POD 2.0 set to Blackface Deluxe (one of the few Fender amps that did not have a "bright" switch but did have a mellow 12" speaker) running through a digital board.
Yes, that maple-necked bass will be bright, hence my posting of the Musicmaster tone circuit.
If you have room issues you should get a real EQ, and I mean more than one randomly placed "bass" control.
Something like a dedicated bass 7-band graphics EQ, or a 2-band full parametric each.
You can't fix rooms with pickup changes.
Something like a dedicated bass 7-band graphics EQ, or a 2-band full parametric each.
You can't fix rooms with pickup changes.
