I play the same music you play and the Bartolinis are perfect since they have a nice edgy grind to them. I also use a little bit of overdrive as well.
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Putting together a parts P
- Thread starter mistergoats
- Start date
I play the same music you play and the Bartolinis are perfect since they have a nice edgy grind to them. I also use a little bit of overdrive as well.
I'm not a fan of them myself but I have a couple of friends one that plays hard rock/metal and another that plays hardcore and they both swear by the Duncan SPB-3 Quarter Pounders. (Although admittedly only the metal guy is a real gearhead/tonehound)
Personally I put them in the "Great for the price" category but I also don't play P-basses or that style of music.
Personally I put them in the "Great for the price" category but I also don't play P-basses or that style of music.
I have SDQPs in my Jazz. I love those pickups.
I have to say that I'm REALLY impressed with the Lollars.
FWIW, I ordered an Aguilar 4P-60 for my 08 Am STD Precision based on it being compared to the Lollar and it's a very nice pickup. I am curious now how the 4P-Hot compares to the QP's... may be something to consider.
Not to mention (and this was REALLY cool in my opinion), I called Aguilar to verify they had the 4P-60 in stock (since I was ordering through GC I wanted to make sure before handing over my money, lol). I got their main number and the woman on the other end said, "wait just a moment and I'll transfer you to someone who can tell you if they're in stock." Next thing I know a familiar voice comes on the line saying: "This is Dave Boonshoft, how can I help you?" Not often do you find the president of a company takes phone calls from customers. VERY cool.
I will ring this bell until I die; Aguilar has the single greatest customer service you will find in the industry. Period.
Not to mention (and this was REALLY cool in my opinion), I called Aguilar to verify they had the 4P-60 in stock (since I was ordering through GC I wanted to make sure before handing over my money, lol). I got their main number and the woman on the other end said, "wait just a moment and I'll transfer you to someone who can tell you if they're in stock." Next thing I know a familiar voice comes on the line saying: "This is Dave Boonshoft, how can I help you?" Not often do you find the president of a company takes phone calls from customers. VERY cool.
I will ring this bell until I die; Aguilar has the single greatest customer service you will find in the industry. Period.
Wow that's cool. Aguilar pickups have definitely sparked my interest. Sounds like the customer service is like Hartke. Larry Hartke used to provide his personal phone number in his ads and even here on this site.
Adding a couple more things... last week, I picked up a case from L&M for this bass. Perfect fit Yorkville P-case. It looks, feels and smells exactly like my Gibson Thunderbird case, so I assume they are made in the same Canadian factory.
And here's a nice low-light shot of it hanging on my rig.
And here's a nice low-light shot of it hanging on my rig.
And then I got this headstock decal last night in the mail. I'm still iffy on it, but it's nice and subtle and kind of weird and quirky.
I like the decal for sure. It is subtle. And you can see it and it looks good but it doesnt stand out super crazy. What bridge do you have on there? A Hipshot? Looks great man!
Also, can you tell me where you got that string tree please?
Yep, it's a Hipshot "A-type" chromed brass. There's an aluminum version that is lighter, but I have no trouble with the heft. That string tree is also a Hipshot. Fender used to use them on the high end stuff in the 80's, and they regularly appear on 5 strings with a similar one that has two slots.
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I see. Cool. Can I ask where you ordered it though, I would like to get one
Sure! I got it from hdcustomguitarsupplyonline on eBay. I think it was $15. He supplied a tonne of parts for me.
And lastly, here's an iPhone video of me playing it through a Yamaha THR 10c amp, EQ flat on the bass setting.
No problem at all! Thanks for following this post. If you have any other questions, let me know.
Thanks man! I'm pretty happy with the overall build. It came out pretty much exactly the way I had pictured it.
I am able to comment on the Aguilar Hot. I currently own this pickup and I have owned the 4P-60 in the past. Note I sold this pickup to test something else not because I did not like it. In fact I liked it a lot.
Both pickup are really different. The Aguilar 4P-60 sounds a lot like a great vintage sounding pickup. To compare it with currently available pickups I would say it sounds a lot like a Lollar which is a feat since Aguilar is new to the pickup world. In general the 4P-60 is warm sounding with nice highs and perfect balance. The Aguilar Hot is a completely different animal. It has the biggest bass I've heard on a P bass pickup. The highs are limited but it's not completely absent. It's super musical and has nice punch. Live, it can overwhelm the mix with the amount of bass, you have to cut down the bass on the amp to bring things back in balance. For studio or for living room playing this pickup is a joy because it almost acts like a loudness correction. Instant big bass at moderate volume.
I often see pickups as tone correctors for instruments. So, if you have a bass that lacks bass frequencies, this pickup would fix it. It's not a middle of the road pickup but it sounds really beautiful and it's very good at what it's intended to do.
Kudos to Aguilar for another success and for creating something different.
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Mistergoats: congrats on the gorgeous build!
Do you hear the tonal impact of the ebony fretboard or it is pretty neutral? I would love to read your thoughts on this question.
Do you hear the tonal impact of the ebony fretboard or it is pretty neutral? I would love to read your thoughts on this question.
Thank you, Laurent. No, I don't think I hear the impact of the ebony on the bass as a whole. I don't personally subscribe to the "tone woods" debates simply because when it comes down to what I play, any element of subtle tone is lost in the mix. I'm pretty dang far from Jaco.
I have 5 basses with the following boards - maple (Jazz), baked maple (G3), rosewood (Thunderbird), rosewood (Dan Armstrong), ebony (P-build). The thing I notice about the ebony the most is the smooth feel. As for hardness, effect on tone and brightness, etc., I don't honestly notice if it's slappier or livelier. I wanted it for the look and for the feel.
The comment I hear most about ebony (or fret boards in general) is "ya, but you don't touch the fret board so why do you care how it feels?" Admittedly, the different fret boards feel different with the string sandwiched between the board and your fingers. I've been playing that Fender Jazz since I got it in 1994 and it was my main instrument for years. Ash body, maple board. I had a couple of basses before it with rosewood boards. I have always hated the way the maple felt for two reasons - one). maple has to be sealed, so there's a finish coating over top of it and it is shiny gloss poly and I really don't dig the feel of it until some of the fret board finish wore off beneath the strings I played the most and two). I always felt like the board was too bright in both appearance and "sizzle".
Then in 2012 I finally got a Thunderbird and that brand new rosewood board I found to feel "softer" than the maple of my Jazz. I fell in love with it immediately (the whole bass, not just the board). Then I got the baked maple G3 and it felt great, too. I noticed it to be a bit harder than the rosewood, and the feel was much more familiar than the Thunderbird.
When I got the Dan Armstrong last year, I was in love with the feel of the 1970 rosewood board. Soft, worked in over the years and felt natural to play on.
Skip to now with the P and the ebony board, nothing feels like that. I use round wound strings, so they are zingy to start with, and the ebony board seems to really like them. I find string bends to feel amazing with the ebony. The neck is chunky and hefty, but the ebony makes getting around the face so smooth and fast. It is definitely a harder wood, more like maple, but it doesn't require a finish, so it feels like wood instead of a product on top of wood. Now that I've written that, I feel like that's the answer. Ebony is akin to unfinished maple. It's fast and smooth, tight grains and natural. It feels like home.
