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P Pickup for Reggae?

tastybasslines

tastybasslines

Inactive
May 9, 2010
2,216
1,384
Los Angeles, CA
#1
Looking to replace the stock am standard pup in my Highway One P. It sucks. Little to no output and the tone leaves a lot to be desired.

Looking for a pup that will excel with big boomy lows for the express purpose of reggae. I do not care about mid range *that* much. It will be played with flats and the tone control mostly rolled back.

Suggestions?
 
#2
DiMarzio Model P or Duncan Quarter Pounder P. They're similar, very high output and attenuated highs, but the QP is a tad more mid scooped. I'm using the EMG Geezer Butler P, which is a totally excellent vintage-style pickup, but in your case, I think you'd be happier with one of the other two I mentioned.
 
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#6
Arvin said:
The SPB-3 Quarter Pounder, with either flatwounds or very dead roundwounds, and the tone control rolled back is about perfect for that. The QP with flats is a one-trick pony, but it's a pretty good trick.
Click to expand...

Not sure why but I always assumed quarter pounders were bright and grindy because all the punk guys signature basses have them
 
#7
sigmafloyd said:
Not sure why but I always assumed quarter pounders were bright and grindy because all the punk guys signature basses have them
Click to expand...

They have accentuated highs and lows, so they do sound kind of bright, but with a very fat low end. With flats and the tone control rolled back, you get a huge, fat tone, which might be perfect for the reggae sound the OP is looking for.
 
#8
I am mainly a reggae player and if I occasionally use my PBass for Reggae, this is my recommendation: Fender pure vintage 63 which is still a vintage sounding pickup but fatter sounding than a 57 or an Original '62. Most of all, I tried many different set of strings and Labellas Deep Talking FL760 will give you an authentic reggae sound right off the box. IMO stay away from the Quarter Pounders.
Now keep in mind a PBass is naturally more "middy" than a Jazz Bass.
 
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#9
Frenchy-Lefty said:
I am mainly a reggae player and if I occasionally use my PBass for Reggae, this is my recommendation: Fender pure vintage 63 which is still a vintage sounding pickup but fatter sounding than a 57 or an Original '62. Most of all tried many different set of strings and Labellas Deep Talking FL760 will give you an authentic reggae sound right off the box. IMO stay away from the Quarter Pounders.
Now keep in mind a PBass is naturally more "middy" than a Jazz Bass.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Glad to hear advice from a mostly reggae player. When you say "occasionally" you use your P, do you prefer a jazz for reggae?
 
#10
For reggae I tend to use my jazz basses because they have more lows. BTW It took me 15 yrs to find out the best reggae sound on a Jazz is to have the two pickups open at 70% unlike what you'll read sometimes on this forum where some will prescribe the use of the neck pickup with the tone rolled off. That set up is too honky and undefined for reggae. (they usually don't play reggae themselves but assume they know).
I recently saw Aston Barrett live in Santa Cruz, in a very small room. I was just in front of his rig. I can tell you that he does NOT have his tone rolled off (he acutally uses an active Jazz Bass Deluxe those days). His tone comes from playing lightly by the neck at low volume, using a lot of bass cabs (2x15 and 2x410). Most of his eq controls on his 2 amps are straight. I actually knew that from his interviews but got to observe it first hand this time. His tone is like what you hear coming out of a subwoofer. I realized when listening to him that 95% of reggae bassist play way too loud and it gets really obnoxious.

I have two Jazz Basses, one is a 4 string with flats and one is a 5 string with rounds. They both sound really legit for live and studio. My PBass works nice for live reggae work because it is so punchy and it is sometimes what you need in a live situation.
In fact, I love the bass sound of Sublime's bassist and I believe he uses a PBass so it should not be ruled out.

Another PBass pickup to consider is the Aguilar 60's (I forgot the model). Aguilar truely makes legit vintage sounding pickups.
 
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#12
Frenchy-Lefty said:
For reggae I tend to use my jazz basses because they have more lows. BTW It took me 15 yrs to find out the best reggae sound on a Jazz is to have the two pickups open at 70% unlike what you'll read sometimes on this forum where some will prescribe the use of the neck pickup with the tone rolled off. That set up is too honky and umdefined for reggae. (they usually don't play reggae themselves but assume they know).
I recently saw Aston Barrett live in Santa Cruz, in a very small room. I was just in front of his rig. I can tell you that he does NOT have his tone rolled off (he acutally uses an active Jazz Bass Deluxe those days). His tone comes from playing lightly by the neck at low volume, using a lot of bass cabs (2x15 and 2x410). Most of his eq controls on his 2 amps are straight. I actually knew that from his interviews but got to observe it first hand this time. His tone is like what you hear coming out of a subwoofer. I realized when listening to him that 95% of reggae bassist play way too loud and it gets really obnoxious.

I have two Jazz Basses, one is a 4 string with flats and one is a 5 string with rounds. They both sound really legit for live and studio. My PBass works nice for live reggae work because it is so punchy and it is sometimes what you need in a live situation.
In fact, I love the bass sound of Sublime's bassist and I believe he uses a PBass so it should not be ruled out.

Another PBass pickup to consider is the Aguilar 60's (I forgot the model). Aguilar truely makes legit vintage sounding pickups.
Click to expand...

Thanks man. One of the most helpful and complete responses I've ever received on TB.
 
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#13
If you're playing reggae you want some mids in your sound. Boomy low end is just going to muddy things up and obscure the notes you are playing. Lose the definition and you've lost a big part of what is defining the riddim.
 
#16
I should clarify. I love reggae and I play and learn reggae songs where I can. I'm going to be doing more of that for my new project and I've never really spent the time to "refine" a reggae sound. My first instinct was to go in the direction of balls deep bass with flats. I appreciate the info that pointed out the reggae sound lives in a different place. I'm going to give a few songs a listen and pay more attention to the sound than I have previously. Maybe a P isn't the best option. Coincidentally, I' about to starting building an ultra light active jazz.
 
#17
tastybasslines said:
Looking to replace the stock am standard pup in my Highway One P. It sucks. Little to no output and the tone leaves a lot to be desired.

Looking for a pup that will excel with big boomy lows for the express purpose of reggae. I do not care about mid range *that* much. It will be played with flats and the tone control mostly rolled back.

Suggestions?
Click to expand...


Hmmm...Ex-reggae player here. Do me a favor and don't get big boomy lows on stage. It'll just muddy up the sound, both on stage, FOH and in the studio.

It's been mentioned in this thread already but is worth repeating: Reggae bass tone is not just about lows. Family Man and Robbie Shakespeare both have quite a bit of mids in their tone. I hear a LOT of mids in the Taxi Gang produced stuff. Now, I'm not talking Jaco-ish mids, mind you. But you get the idea.

IOW, be open to "mids". If you are currently playing out live or recording listen out front during soundcheck/playback. Talk to the soundman/engineer. Tell them what you're looking for and who you're trying to copy. Be receptive to their ideas. Doesn't mean you'll always stick with what they have to say but it may take you in a direction that you would have not taken otherwise and that may end up being good.

With this in mind I'd say (for right now) keep your current pickup. Get some good flats ( I like DR's but there are many good brands out there) and work on getting a tone that will work "in the mix". "In the mix" may mean it will not sound that great to you on stage or soloed in a studio. But be aware that your role as a band/team member is to get the whole band sounding good and shaking some big, beautiful booties!!

Also, in general, it's not the tool you use but how you use it. A lot of different sounds can be had with the same jazz bass through an Ampeg 8x10 combo. Think of all the bass players in different genres that have used that combo with such incredibly different results.
 
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#19
tastybasslines said:
I should clarify. I love reggae and I play and learn reggae songs where I can. I'm going to be doing more of that for my new project and I've never really spent the time to "refine" a reggae sound. My first instinct was to go in the direction of balls deep bass with flats. I appreciate the info that pointed out the reggae sound lives in a different place. I'm going to give a few songs a listen and pay more attention to the sound than I have previously. Maybe a P isn't the best option. Coincidentally, I' about to starting building an ultra light active jazz.
Click to expand...

I think you're heading in the right direction. Jazz basses are surprisingly awesome with reggae and are sort of a standard these days.
 

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