R&B PICKUP POLL WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT SHALL BE.

[Fred Mott]

Hy guys its been a while, I would like to take sort of a poll. What would you guys consider, the best R&B pickup for a Fender P Bass. I am not real crazy about the stock Fender pickups, it is a American Standard P bass. I play a MarkBass Jeff Berlin combo , and a 350 SWR PRO head on a old SWR 410. I have tried Bartolini pickups did not work for me.

 

[walterw]

"R&B?"

does that mean otis redding, or does that mean beyonce?

 

[Munjibunga]

Lindy Fralin.

 

[noeinstein]

Lindy Fralin.

Mmm hmm, +1

 

[gary mitchell]

What do you think about Lollars for good R&B, yes Ottis and Aretha Franklin. And don't forget the Blues Brothers. I would like to get a Lakland like Donald Duck Dunn, but can't afford one right now. A good smooth low end.

 

[king_biscuit]

What don't you like about the stock pickup?

 

[electracoyote]

My Fender P Basses with stock pickups and a set of flats sound great through my CMD151P. Especially when I dial in some of that sweet thumpy VLE.

 

[RCCollins]

Try a Duncan SPB-1. It's smoother than the stock P pickups, made to vintage spec with Alnico magnets. Sure a Lindy Fralin would do the trick as well, but the Duncans are cheap and abundant. Replace stock capacitor with a .001uf and you're in business!

Or did you mean more modern R&B sound?

 

[SGD Lutherie]

Replace stock capacitor with a .001uf and you're in business!

Did you mean .1µF? .001µF will hardly roll off any top end.

 

[hdracer]

What do you think Duck & James used to record all the songs.

Hint,
A stock P pick up.



Change your amp & cab

 

[SGD Lutherie]

What do you think Duck & James used to record all the songs.

Hint,
A stock P pick up.

True, but that wasn't the same as the stock pickup you get today. This is not the same company, even if it has the same name. The quality is much less consistent, and some of the vintage specs are often wrong.

A Duncan, Lollar or Frailin are closer to the real stock pickup that they used back then because they are made the same way they were made back then.

As far as amps and cabs, all the Jamerson tracks were DI. I'd bet Dunn's were also.

 

[testing1two]

The Fralin P-pickup is a safe bet. The Lollar is awesome too but on the hotter side of vintage spec. My favorite though is Chris Klein's P-pickup (Klein Electric Guitar Pickups - Hand Wound Jazz Bass & Precision Bass Handwound Pickups). It just sounds "old" right out of the box.

 

[gary mitchell]

When I am at home are at a gig, I use my MarkBass JB combo by itself most of the time. I would like to add a MarkBass 210 cab. Maybe that would help me more then pickups.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

When I am at home are at a gig, I use my MarkBass JB combo by itself most of the time. I would like to add a MarkBass 210 cab. Maybe that would help me more then pickups.

What kind of strings are you using? Any one of those amps should do well. How do you have the tone set on the amp?

 

[gary mitchell]

I use Fender Flats. When I EQ the amp I try to EQ it to the room I am playing. My Jeff Berlin does not have a horn, so I set the highs about midway. I set the lows about 3/4,and the VLE 1/4. I want a MarkBass 210 with a horn, when I can afford it.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

I use Fender Flats. When I EQ the amp I try to EQ it to the room I am playing. My Jeff Berlin does not have a horn, so I set the highs about midway. I set the lows about 3/4,and the VLE 1/4. I want a MarkBass 210 with a horn, when I can afford it.

So what about your tone don't you like?

Have you tried a foam mute under the strings?

 

[RCCollins]

Did you mean .1µF? .001µF will hardly roll off any top end.

whoops

 

[RCCollins]

True, but that wasn't the same as the stock pickup you get today. This is not the same company, even if it has the same name. The quality is much less consistent, and some of the vintage specs are often wrong.

A Duncan, Lollar or Frailin are closer to the real stock pickup that they used back then because they are made the same way they were made back then.

As far as amps and cabs, all the Jamerson tracks were DI. I'd bet Dunn's were also.

The stock P pickups today don't use Alnico magnets, do they?

 

[SGD Lutherie]

The stock P pickups today don't use Alnico magnets, do they?

Yes, they still use alnico V magnets. But some of the cheaper Fender pickups use steel poles with ceramic magnets.

 

[RCCollins]

Yes, they still use alnico V magnets. But some of the cheaper Fender pickups use steel poles with ceramic magnets.

Yeah, I've seen stock pickups on MIM Fenders where there were ceramic magnets GLUED onto the bottom of the poles. They sounded fine, but that definitely seems cheap