P,J,Humbucker pickups

[Headless horse]

Why? There are plenty of P+HB basses out there, let alone HB+HB as the P is a HB.

Nope - p is not humbucker and will never be.

 

[Snert]

p is not humbucker and will never be.

Yes, it is a series humbucker. The two sections are RWRP.

 

[Headless horse]

Interesting, why typical hb sounds 100% different than a standart p?

 

[CallMeAl]

My favorite bass pickup is a P, followed closely by PJ or Jazz. But I also like humbucker near the bridge ala Stingray. Many flavors of the bass rainbow, but I always say if you’re not sure start with a P. Or just test a bunch and get what tickles you!

For reference, my favorite guitars are dual humbuckers, especially semi hollows. But I do also enjoy classic single coil Tele & Strat tones too!

I’d say on a bass, I value a little more articulation, and on guitar I value a little more warmth, overtone character.

 

[ctmullins]

Interesting, why typical hb sounds 100% different than a standart p?

Because “humbucker” isn’t a specific tone. “Humbucker” simply means that the pickup contains an even number of coils, half of which are reverse wound with reverse magnetic polarity (RWRP) to the other half.

That’s all that “humbucker” means.

There are humbuckers that sound like single coils; there are humbuckers that sound like split coils; there are humbuckers that are deep and smooth and bright and aggressive and scooped and mid-focused and dynamic and sluggish and everything under the sun.

“Humbucker” isn’t a specific tone.

 

[Deleted member 365158]

I don't think a humbucker and p pickups would sound good together. Better - hb + sc.

They can sound great together.

 

[iiipopes]

I do not run single coil pickups on stage. I always use humbuckers, usually EMG soapbars, for their low noise floor and hum and electrostatic noise rejection. You can get close to any "vintage" tone characteristic with the proper humbucker, and out front, folks, it just doesn't matter. I didn't say identical, I said close. I'm not going to waste bandwith as to why; that has been addressed in many other threads over the years. That way I don't have to deal with mains hum, neon electrostatic noise, or anything else that gets in the way of my band's digital Behringer board and laying down the proper foundation.

 

[iiipopes]

Interesting, why typical hb sounds 100% different than a standart p?

This is because most soapbar-style humbuckers have two coils that sense all strings, similar to a typical Gibson-style guitar humbucker. So instead of a single point of string sensing, you have two, so you get all the same differences in tone due to the "window" of all strings being picked up with both coils: phase cancellation, "comb" filtering effect, reduced top end articulation, etc.

I don't think a humbucker and p pickups would sound good together. Better - hb + sc.

I respectfully and absolutely disagree. Since a P-pickup is inherently a humbucker due to the coils and poles being RWRP, wired in series, if you put a single coil J in the bridge position, by definition you add hum and noise when you roll on the single coil. So if a player desires a P/J setup, then some sort of a higher output humbucking J-bridge pickup is indicated to balance with the P-pickup, both in output level, and also will not induce hum or noise. That can be a stack or split-coil, because there isn't that much low end to lose due to the lesser string excursion at that point.

BTW - When Fender introduced the two-section P-pickup in 1957, they specifically did not mention that the pickup was hum reducing so Gibson would not complain that it infringed on their humbucker patent application.

 

[Jefro]

.....As I mentioned in other posts I am a guitarist looking to get a bass. On my guitars I am strictly a HB guy. I prefer classic /hard rock style of music....

For a first bass, for a more classic sound, stick with a Fender style P Bass, or Music Man (with 1 or 2 humbuckers), or G&L with 1 or 2 humbuckers.
For more tone variation, you could consider a PJ style Bass such as the Yamaha TRBX174 series. But the J pickup run by itself will have a bit of hum. (I changed out my J pup for a DiMarzio Ultra Jazz for great tone and zero hum).

I have several Yamahas that I am very happy with. Excellent quality.
My TRBX304 with 2 humbuckers is dead quiet, and sounds amazing.

 

[TheArchitect]

There's generally more variation in bass pickups than guitar. They all do the same thing, but slightly different versions of it.

Not helpful, sorry. Happy Thumping.

That's interesting... I was looking at P Bass pickups on the Big retailer sites and was surprised how few options there were. I come from guitar as well and they have endless pages of them... Bass players seem to be more discerning in general and more niche in their selections which in general is a good thing.

 

[ctmullins]

The Big Retailer Sites cater to the entire musician community, of which bassists are a relatively small slice.

Try this place: Bass Pickups | Preamps | Bartolini | Aguilar - Best Bass Gear