Pups - what's your favorite flavor?

[Davbassdude]

I own a Ric and a Fender Jazz bass. However, I LOVE the sound of Dual Humbuckers (I won't cut into any bass to fit pickups and won't be talked into it)!

 

[whero]

I'm sure I've answered the same question at least twice already. What's the thread recycle rate currently running at on TB?

I'm very happy with my P/J. The P volume is close to full and the J is at about 20%. I'd like to try a P/J with a reverse P though.

 

[mongo2]

Other.

I'll never settle on only one bass but my current most frequently used are, in no particular order...

Hofner Ignition Club Bass I've converted to V/V/T
Silvertone Model 1444
Mustang P/J
DIY made using very light dual humbucker Telecaster guitar body, Squier Jaguar SS neck and Amazon $15 rail humbucking pickups.
SCPB converted to shortscale.

No real pickup pattern there.

 

[TrustRod]

but IMO placement is probably more critical to the sound than the pup itself.

That's how I feel also. I think any bass with 2 of the same pickups demonstrates this quite well.

 

[TrustRod]

Right now, I would do a P/MM. The MM right in it's sweet spot, the P smooshed right up on it.

I have that in my $115 OLP with a $20 Wilkinson P added in. I have over a dozen basses at the moment and this setup always kills it. I just love this setup, passive too. 1 volume, 1 blend, nothing else. Bridge in parallel. Coil choices on the MM would be nice but I could go back and do every gig and recording from my entire life with this setup without complaining.

Sometimes I see P MM set up with the MM closer to the bridge than the usual Music Man spot and it doesn't work as well for me.

If this was my only bass I would occasionally have a fling with a Jazz Bass. No one has to know....

 

[oZZma]

P...but reversed, for a more even tone and tighter lows.

Interesting... Could you explain this please?

 

[Kro]

Interesting... Could you explain this please?

Typical:

Reversed:

 

[oZZma]

Typical:

Reversed:

Yeah but what's the difference between the two? What happens if you reverse the pickups? Sorry I never heard about this before, I'm a newbie..

 

[deff]

Soapbar active.
Reverse P passive.

 

[TrustRod]

Yeah but what's the difference between the two? What happens if you reverse the pickups?

The original way the E & A are closer to the neck and the D & G closer to the bridge. So the low strings are a bit deeper toned and the high strings a bit brighter giving a wide range of tone difference. Reversing it brightens the bass strings and deepens the high strings evening out the notes across the strings. Subtle, subject to taste. I prefer the original probably because I've listened to it that way all my life.

 

[oZZma]

The original way the E & A are closer to the neck and the D & G closer to the bridge. So the low strings are a bit deeper toned and the high strings a bit brighter giving a wide range of tone difference. Reversing it brightens the bass strings and deepens the high strings evening out the notes across the strings. Subtle, subject to taste. I prefer the original probably because I've listened to it that way all my life.

Thanks!!
Then the original probably fits my needs better

 

[AdamR]

I voted P/J but I actually prefer a P and a Dual Coil. Specifically a Reversed P and a EMG DC

 

[Scoops]

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[Al Krow]

P vs reverse-P?

Be really interested to hear from any folk who have had basses both P and reverse-P what your experiences are and which you ended up going for?

 

[Al Krow]

I voted P/J but I actually prefer a P and a Dual Coil. Specifically a Reversed P and a EMG DC

Sounds good to me!

Does your current bass have that reverse P and dual coil in? If so, which make / model?

 

[mongo2]

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Nice.

 

[ctmullins]

P vs reverse-P?

Be really interested to hear from any folk who have had basses both P and reverse-P what your experiences are and which you ended up going for?

On a double P, the reversing makes a huge difference on the bridge pickup. Not so much at the neck, but I like symmetry, so...

As for the original question, you left out a whole bunch of choices, but my current fave is three narrow-aperture humbuckers.

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[bassdude51]

SCPB (single coil precision bass pickup)

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[4sight]

P/J. P because P and a bit of bite from the J bridge pickup.

 

[Al Krow]

On a double P, the reversing makes a huge difference on the bridge pickup. Not so much at the neck, but I like symmetry, so...

As for the original question, you left out a whole bunch of choices, but my current fave is three narrow-aperture humbuckers.

Thanks for the first point - what do you find is the key difference that the reversing delivers?

Yes it's interesting the US forum bass players seem to be going for a whole wider choice of pups than back in the UK (I've put the same poll for us on the UK sister thread), probably cos there are a lot more folk active on the US forum.

So if we re-ran this poll down the line, and bearing in mind that the bog standard J bass has only had 3 votes so far, which is a little surprising(!), what would be the additional pup options you would suggest including that are pretty commonly used?