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Precision Pickup Paired With TI Flats

MoStevens

MoStevens

Feb 24, 2016
67
105
49
N. Texas
#1
Currently I have a SDQP in my favorite P Bass. I don't like playing roundwounds and found the QP to be too muddy with flats. This is primarily used for live playing in a TX Country band but may be used some in the studio as well. My live sound is primarily Bass>Cali76CB>JDI to FOH, so it's pretty much just the bass and strings that are being heard; for my amp it's a Mesa Walkabout head into a Mesa Subway 212, but those are just for me and the band. I'm thinking a pickup with some extra character but not too muddy when paired with TI Flats.

I'm contemplating Lollar or Lollar P90, or possibly Novak PBV or PB90/PB90CC. Any thoughts?
 
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#5
I don't know if things have changed but I've been a member of TB since 2008 and have read soooooo many threads and posts about P Bass pickups.

Since that time, the 3 most popular P Bass pickups that I have seen here are The Fender Original. The Seymour Duncan SPB-1 and the EMG Geezer.

I have TI Flats with the SPB-1 and the Fender Originals and I get excellent good balanced sound.

IMO and IME P Bass pickups with about 10K ohms give the best sound. Above 11.5K ohms start getting muddy. YMMV
 
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#6
I was digging through the TI threads but don't see any for TI/P Bass pickups specifically. I love the feel of them and want a pickup for live use when I'm plugged direct into FOH.

Does anyone have experience with a P Bass with a P90 style pickup and TI's? Would it be too much in the mids or would it compliment each other?

I can get Lollars at a great price and was leaning towards them (either vintage style or P90 style) but I'm also interested in Curtis Novak's pickups as well.

For further clarification, I have other P Basses with PV63, CS62, Aguilar 4P60, '75 gray-bottoms and the stock pickup in my '88 57RI. I'd like something "different" and "interesting" but that will still sound great in a mix.
 
#8
marchone said:
There are over 500 threads on Thomastik-Infeld JF344 with a mega thread in the Strings forum. I’m a convert. I have them on my Precision, Jazz and Sadowsky.

TI flats
Click to expand...

I have TI strings on all of my basses, including a '73 P with Quarter Pounders. I find the combination great! :)
 
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#9
MoStevens said:
I don't like playing roundwounds...
Click to expand...
just for the record, TI jazz rounds (JR344) are very different rounds than any other: the windings are smaller (closer together), and they feel smoother than other rounds. and the great sound is there, of course.

just throwing that out there. i know you're looking for a pickup solution (good luck! :thumbsup: ), but i thought i'd be remiss not to mention another great string that has "character" in spades, without any "mud."

i'm not a pickup expert by a long shot, but i put a dimarzio DP127 in my favorite P-bass (just for grins) and for the life of me: i can't get any mud, even when i want to dial some in! it's a hot pickup but it's hardly muddy IMO/IME.
 
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#10
JRA said:
just for the record, TI jazz rounds (JR344) are very different rounds than any other: the windings are smaller (closer together), and they feel smoother than other rounds. and the great sound is there, of course.

just throwing that out there. i know you're looking for a pickup solution (good luck! :thumbsup: ), but i thought i'd be remiss not to mention another great string that has "character" in spades, without any "mud."

i'm not a pickup expert by a long shot, but i put a dimarzio DP127 in my favorite P-bass (just for grins) and for the life of me: i can't get any mud, even when i want to dial some in! it's a hot pickup but it's hardly muddy IMO/IME.
Click to expand...

I love the sound of roundwounds but suffer from peripheral neuropathy. Sometimes the windings will trigger the nerves in my fingertips and the pain is excruciating; it's what led to my departure from playing acoustic guitar and my transition to bass. As it turns out, bass is much more fun!

So I've tried LaBella DTF, Fender flats, DR Legends, D'Addario Chromes and now TI's. I love the feel of the TI's the most out of all of them. I was also a big fan of the DR Legends but after ordering several different sets for other basses I was really disappointed in the consistency of them.

So, I'm looking for a pickup that compliments TI flats for a direct line in my live shows.
 
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#11
Strings are personal and obviously subjective. I love TI flats on my P and I find them more lively, bright but not brittle compared to other flats. I use LaBella on my fretlesses so I can compare pretty easily. With TI the definition is very good all over the neck.

And most of my P and J basses have Fralin pickups.
 
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#12
I've gotten lots of compliments on my sound with my P bass with TI's and a Fralin pickup. It's got great thumpy lows and low mids without getting muddy, and has a very clear top end, so it's easy to sculpt how much of what you want. Great for 60s thump, or modern pick attack, depends on how you eq and set up the bass.
 
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#14
Jazzdogg said:
I have TI strings on all of my basses, including a '73 P with Quarter Pounders. I find the combination great! :)
Click to expand...
I should put them on all of my basses too. I have them on one; the one that doesn’t like anything beyond 40-100 and they’re so spongy and fumbly. They sound amazing, but because they’re so light, my fingers fumble all over the place; so I end up playing them with a pick. Used to high tension Rotos… but the sound from the TIs is just incredible!
 
#16
Yes, no, kinda.... although I like em a lot, you don't want them on everything. They have their own sound and soon everything sounds the same. On my (fretted) Tony Franklin PJ, Ric and L1000 they're great. I didn't like em on a J-bass or Stingray. I prefer the J-bass growl I get with Roto-66's. AND not all P's need them..... I put them on an ULTRA P-bass and although it was nice, it was better with rounds so I changed it back to rounds.
 
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#17
I have a 2017 Fender American Professional P-bass, which has the "infamous" V-mod pickups. It's also strung with TI Jazz flats. I've read a lot of griping about these pickups. Not sure why, but to my ears, the combination of V-mods and TI's is fantastic. Clear, sweet, hefty all-P tone. Love it with fingers or pick. Given the amount of hate I've read here for these original V-mods, you could probably get someone to give you a set for free! Here's a (anti nuclear war) song on which I tracked this combination. 4-string P-bass w/tone knob on full --> Noble tube preamp/DI --> Focusrite/DAW. Zero EQ in the chain.

 
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#18
N. Kentucky Bass said:
I have a 2017 Fender American Professional P-bass, which has the "infamous" V-mod pickups. It's also strung with TI Jazz flats. I've read a lot of griping about these pickups. Not sure why, but to my ears, the combination of V-mods and TI's is fantastic. Clear, sweet, hefty all-P tone. Love it with fingers or pick. Given the amount of hate I've read here for these original V-mods, you could probably get someone to give you a set for free! Here's a (anti nuclear war) song on which I tracked this combination. 4-string P-bass w/tone knob on full --> Noble tube preamp/DI --> Focusrite/DAW. Zero EQ in the chain.

Click to expand...

Oh my god, that song is excellent!
 
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#19
Jimmy Howe said:
I should put them on all of my basses too. I have them on one; the one that doesn’t like anything beyond 40-100 and they’re so spongy and fumbly. They sound amazing, but because they’re so light, my fingers fumble all over the place; so I end up playing them with a pick. Used to high tension Rotos… but the sound from the TIs is just incredible!
Click to expand...

Thanks to the post, above, by JRA, I am considering a set of TI rounds on one of my basses; there are times a little "growl" would be welcome - as song as it isn't accompanied by the objectionable finger and fret noise I associate with rounds.
 
#20
It’s hard to recommend a string where the price is a factor.
But TI strings are the most well made ones I’ve ever played.
Extremely even up the neck, meaty, and with a signature sound to me.
Fortunately they are flats and we don’t have to buy them as often.
 
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