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Recommend me a replacement P pick up

J.Wolf

J.Wolf

Supporting Member
Commercial User
Apr 29, 2003
9,074
9,790
Asheville, NC
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Contributor- Bass Musician Magazine | Marketing Manager- Trickfish Amplification
#1
Looking for a new P pick up for my Wilkins. Believe it has the Seymour Duncan it which is very grindy and mid forward. Looking for something deep and rich with a Woody hi end. The bass itself is pretty lightweight and not the deepest acoustically, so a little bit of additional depth from the pick up would be a good thing.

I’m familiar with a lot of the stuff out there, just wondering what comes to mind for folks when I mention these attributes.

Fire away! And thanks :)
 
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#2
I'm a fan of Aero pickups.

Aero Pickups

From what you're describing the "Pe bass" type 1 or type 2 could be worth checking out. Depending on the characteristics of your particular bass body and fingerboard type 2 may be what you want as it may bring out a transparent tone highlighting the woods of your instrument. That said, you stated you're thinking the lightweight bass itself may be part of the issue.

Might steer you more toward an Aero type 1 which should give you more of a vintage thump.

Larry is the owner and maker of all of his pickups, and is very responsive and extremely knowledgeable. The pickups are not badly priced either. I'm sure he would be happy to guide you more towards what you're looking for if you shoot him an email.

[email protected]

Also, SD pups are generally very good too. Have you considered a pot swap and /or lowering the pickup you have? Which duncan is in your bass?
 
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#3
Thanks I’ll check that out. I’ve had a couple of aero pickups in the past and they really are great.

I’m not sure what model is in it. Pat just said it probably had the Duncan P pickup he sometimes uses. Maybe I’ll mess with the height some more and see if i can get some of the mids to chill a little.
 
#4
I just edited my original post after rereading your post. You can also back off the volume to about 8 or 9 and that may reduce mids. I have an SB-2 and it has a remarkable effect on tone just backing off the volume.

That said, if you've got pickup GAS in addition to just wanting a solution to the tone change, by all means, have fun and get yourself a new pup!
 
#5
Yes and no. I’m not nearly the tinkerer I was a few years ago (kids!) so if I can get there with the current setup I’ll try. Might also do well with some different strings. I’ve got medium nickel rounds on it now. Those can be pretty mid-full in my experience.
 
#6
J.Wolf said:
Looking for a new P pick up for my Wilkins. Believe it has the Seymour Duncan it which is very grindy and mid forward. Looking for something deep and rich with a Woody hi end. The bass itself is pretty lightweight and not the deepest acoustically, so a little bit of additional depth from the pick up would be a good thing.

I’m familiar with a lot of the stuff out there, just wondering what comes to mind for folks when I mention these attributes.

Fire away! And thanks :)
Click to expand...
To be honest I have put a lot of standard Fender P Bass pups in a lot of instruments! They are always good! Punk, Grind, Funk and Jazz! The standard type sold in US around $60 to $70 are in fact standard 62'a that are put in almost all Fenders now made anywhere, according to an email I received 12 to 14 months ago. Change your sound according to your strings and intonation.The following people I have confidence in when I need stuff made: I use a great guy in the US name of Michael Muhr and he has a FB page. He is a great communicator which is hard for some winders! Seymour Duncan are great for one off's I found but unless you buy instantly or your big business it's harder for them to give up time (understandable). With Michael you can establish a relationship to help sculpted your pups. I also have had 2 or 3 sets from Bloodstone Guitars in the UK. Again nice people to deal with. Those guys also make wiring harness if you need that! I'll include one other from here in Spain. His name is Jess Loureiro, He has produced both P 51 Single Coil and Split P Bass. Jess is a great pup winder and take serious care of his builds but you need to do all your talking before each build. Once it's shipped to you he honors his guarantees (I never had a problem) but he is a crap communicator once its posted, till the next build when he becomes 100% your attention! So there you go. Cannot be more honest than that! Good Luck!
 
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#7
J.Wolf said:
Yes and no. I’m not nearly the tinkerer I was a few years ago (kids!) so if I can get there with the current setup I’ll try. Might also do well with some different strings. I’ve got medium nickel rounds on it now. Those can be pretty mid-full in my experience.
Click to expand...
Totally get it as a Dad myself. But I still like to tinker around. Different strings can make a huge difference. Flats will really darken it up. Two cheap and easy things that might also be worth a try:

1. the ol' Jamerson piece of foam between the strings and the bridge.

2. Magnet swap in your current pup.

Also for the heck of it I installed this $10 pup in a Squier Jag PJ, and it's actually pretty decent, IMHO not too heavy on the mids but your setup and bass may sound different:

Amazon.com: Customer reviews: 1set 4 String Noiseless Pickup Black for Precision P Bass Replacement

For $10 shipped might be worth a try.

-Ted
 
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#10
Foam string mutes might do the trick. Or flats, maybe tapes. It may help to have a decent pup, I'd go vintage voiced (not hot). Maybe SPB1, unless that's what you have?

Though nothing is as woody as hollowbody...
 
#11
I have a 73 precision that needed refreshing. I bought a set of the Fender Custom Shop 62 pickups, plus a wiring kit from The Art of Tone. Friend of mine did the soldering. Very happy with the results. Classic tone, sounded exactly like what I wanted. Not sure they would be exactly what you are after, but I think they fit the bill for deep and rich for sure.
 
#14
+1 on the Nordstrand NP4.

I have this in a mutt P-Bass and I absolutely love it. It's not too punchy/grindy/clangy... and it's not Plain Jane. For me, it's that classic Fender P tone, just turned up a notch or two. Carey and the boys make an exceptional product.
 
#17
I have an NP5 in a custom lefty P I bought, and compared to my Am Pro 4 string P, both with GHS Precision flats, I don't hear a huge difference in tone (which is a good thing to my ears). Definitely not grindy, and while I always play with the tone rolled off, it does have a good sound when mixed in. Not sure if the NP4 and NP5 are different at all aside from string count, but if not, I can recommend the 4 for sure.
 
#19
So many decent options.

Oddly (for whatever reason), after gigging the P bass last night, and assessing "whats missing" I'm coming around to the aguilar 4P Hot, to try to bring out the meat and body of the notes. I played a rock gig in a giant concrete bunker of a brewery, with a pair of CN210 cabs and my Sonic Farm tube DI with a 1000w amp. The sound had plenty of "bass" (the cavern effect helped no doubt), and plenty of grindy highs, but I had a hard time getting the meat of the sound to come forward. It was like it sounded big and empty (again, possibly the room). I didnt have my para EQ on the pedal board, which usually remedies this stuff, so I had more time to perceive it in real time.

I usually shy away from "hot" pickups as it often brings too much of good things to the table, and I also don't want to turn this P bass into a "rock" bass, but it seems like it needs some help in the oomph dept, as well as moving the treble out of the "grindy" dept and into the "woody/airy" dept.
 
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