Pickup swap that made the biggest difference in your tone?

[Lardass5000]

Pulled the EMGs out of a Fodera Monarch before i got rid of it....

....I would have missed those pickups

 

[wideload]

I'm stuck with the stock pups in my bass, because anytime you swap out Alembic electronics, a kitten dies.

 

[gregmon79]

Stock Squier P pups to EMG PAX's.

 

[DanAdams]

Pull out active EMG's and all circuitry pertaining to them, then return to original stock early 80's Ibanez super P4. Voila!

 

[KevinOn10]

I took the stock pups out of my LTD B4E and put in a Seymour Duncan SSB set. MUCH BETTER TONE

 

[Jakeman]

Putting Novaks in my Gibson Midtown was a game-changer.

 

[ejaggers]

Biggest difference?

I've had a 1967 Fender Coronado II since I was a kid, and I started playing in clubs at age 17.
I've played many, many gigs with it over the years. In the late 80's the bridge pup went out,
so some music store sent the pup to me rewound somewhere in California.

Well it sounded awful because it was way too hot. In 2009 I sent the complete wiring harness to Lindy Fralin
and was advised to only fix the bridge. The difference was night/day and now my CII sings again.
Since I sent both I should have had both redone in hindsight, but the neck still sounds good as always anyway.

The neck pup is over 50 years old while the bridge is a mere baby at 9.

057912

 

[ultra60]

Earlier this year, I installed a Nordstrand Nordenbocker on my almost 40 year old Ric 4001. The reason that I bought this pickup is because one of its claims is that it helps minimize noise - and it delivers on that promise perfectly as long as you're using both pickups and have the gains set approximately the same. What really surprised me about this pickup is that it sounds very much like a genuine Rickenbacker pickup, except with more gain thanks to its more powerful magnets. My Ric has a wider palette of tones and it has no negatives whatsoever. The Nordy fit in the stock location perfectly and the bass looks great with it installed. This was a fantastic purchase!

I installed one of these in a 4003. Really makes a Ric come alive. I think it makes the overall sound a bit brighter, but it's well worth it. I like this pickup so much that after selling the one I originally bought, I had to get another. I thought I wanted to go back to the stock Ric pickup. I was wrong.

 

[Doug Parent]

Biggest difference has been between ceramic blade pickups (also those with an internal preamp, low impedance.. like EMG) to an Alnico 5 platform. Tons of pickup choices and manufacturers that span those two different designs.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

What pickup swaps have had the most dramatic effect on your Basses tone?

Not a bass, but ungluing the ceramic bars on the back of a set of cheap Strat pickups and replacing the pole pieces with alnico ones. All my basses already have alnico slugs in the pickups.

 

[Pandastylebass]

Stock Fender to Fralins in a Road Worn P bass...
Custom Shop 60's in a Jazz...

SAME TO BOTH!!!!!

 

[J-Mags]

I replaced a non-functioning Squier P pickup in a Squier with a GFS P pickup. Made it infinity percent louder and clearer!

 

[ctmullins]

A pair of DiMarzio Model Ones to a pair of TV Jones Thunder'Blades.

Huge difference, not surprisingly.

 

[Nev375]

The best pickup I ever installed was a Lace TransSensor J neck that I installed in a Hoppus body parts bass.
Bought it for $5 on Ebay. Very hard to find. I guess they were the precursor to the Alumitones.

 

[chadds]

'51 RI MIJ swapped out OEM pu for Rio Grande Muy Grande. Sounds original with more highs & lows.

Roscoe: love Keith's spec'd Barts but while searching out a minor malady we swapped for Classic Barts. Wow just wow. I'm not recommending this Carte Blanche but with this particular wood combination and AG pre they are open and fresh. Again only on this one in my experience.

 

[ThaCoast]

Anything stock to Duncans - on bass. Guitar i prefer Dimarzios - should try Duncans, but i never found a tone i liked with em in a guitar.

But I just swap pickups here & there until i hear the tone i've got in my head - usually twice is the most i need to swap until i get there.

 

[Real Soon]

Stock Washburn Taurus switched to DiMarzio Model J. Went from pretty neutral to total donut midsection girthiness.

Ironically, it was part of my set of mods to make the bass more versatile...so it became a bass with huge jazz tone that could also be a bass with EVEN MORE HUGE JAZZ TONE

 

[daveman50]

Fender humbucker to Lace Alumitone. Totally different. Plus a weight savings!

 

[Bigpig]

What pickup swaps have had the most dramatic effect on your Basses tone?

Squier stock for Bartolinis - warm, meaty tone and goodbye buzz - lovely!

 

[carsbybigd]

Alembic P in place of stock MIA P