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Replacement pickup for Squier Classic Vibe Precision 50s bass

BigBluez

BigBluez

Jan 12, 2020
402
778
Planet Earth
#1
I have a Squier Classic Vibe Precision 50s bass that I really, really enjoy playing. I just wish the pickup had a little more output; I do like the tone, though. In particular, the E string sounds quiet to me.

I've heard great things about the Fralin '51 P bass split coil pickup, but I'm on a budget, and it's a bit pricey. Any cheaper options that might give good tone and better output than the stock?
 
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#2
If you like the tone but you wish for a bit more output, I think you can experiment with height adjustment under the strings - raise the bit under the E string a bit more unless it gets counterproductive or pops badly when thumping on the string - and/or adjust your preamp gain accordingly to get more drive. I've yet to find a non defective pickup or bass which can't be driven to reasonable dB levels by preamps, IMO, YMMV...

Having said that, you can consider (which is probably what you're doing) an objective upgrade staying in that sonic ballpark within a reasonable price range. In my experience SPB1 Duncans are a good choice. For more push with similar tonal qualities, many here swear by the Geezer by EMG, never tried myself but I'd be confident enough to trust all feedback.

Honestly, I don't know if you'll end up having more output than now, but I probably wouldn't steer from that design - I put your "I do like the tone" statement on top of all priorities. A SPB4 Harris pickup has more push and output staying in a similar sonic territory, but mids end up hotter in the whole spectrum.

What are your reference tones, artist/song/album-wise?

Does your wish for more output stem from direct A/B comparisons with other Ps?

Having said that... I have NO PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AT ALL, but there's some commonly shared good feedback on Alnico V based pickups by brands like Tonerider, Wilkinson's... which are more than reasonably priced and seem to do their job.
 
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#3
EmaTheMirror said:
If you like the tone but you wish for a bit more output, I think you can experiment with height adjustment under the strings - raise the bit under the E string a bit more unless it gets counterproductive or pops badly when thumping on the string - and/or adjust your preamp gain accordingly to get more drive. I've yet to find a non defective pickup or bass which can't be driven to reasonable dB levels by preamps, IMO, YMMV...

.... What are your reference tones, artist/song/album-wise?

Does your wish for more output stem from direct A/B comparisons with other Ps?
....
Click to expand...

Yes, I think I will attempt to adjust the height, especially under the E. I'll see what that gets me...

Yes, my wish for more output is somewhat based on the "usual" P sound with the split pickups. And most of my reference tones are from artists that use that style of P, honestly. Though I do like the sound of Sting's bass, and the ZZ Top/Dusty Hill sound...
 
#8
BigBluez said:
Yes, my wish for more output is somewhat based on the "usual" P sound with the split pickups. And most of my reference tones are from artists that use that style of P, honestly. Though I do like the sound of Sting's bass, and the ZZ Top/Dusty Hill sound...
Click to expand...

How do you relate "the usual [recorded, I guess] P sound" with the millivolts produced by their respective pickups?
 
#11
Before you go throwing your hard earned money at pickup vendors whose PU's you've never played or heard before, spend the time to adjust your pickup height and get your setup dialed in. Also, maybe try a new set of strings...you'd be surprised how a different brand or gauge of strings can often dramatically change the sound of your bass.

You have to remember, a single coil P-Bass does NOT sound like a post '57 split coil P-Bass. It's its own thing. The original SCPB pickups were not high output. Don't equate output with tone. If you dig the sound of Sting's '56 P, then stay away from hotter pickups like the Duncan Quarter Pound (it sounds like crap anyway, IMO). A pickup is just magnets and wire spun on a bobbin. If you can get the pickup you already have to sound good with a little tweaking (this includes amp tweaking as well), there's no need to spend money to replace something that doesn't really need replacing.
 
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#12
MrMoonlight said:
Before you go throwing your hard earned money at pickup vendors whose PU's you've never played or heard before, spend the time to adjust your pickup height and get your setup dialed in. Also, maybe try a new set of strings...you'd be surprised how a different brand or gauge of strings can often dramatically change the sound of your bass.

You have to remember, a single coil P-Bass does NOT sound like a post '57 split coil P-Bass. It's its own thing. The original SCPB pickups were not high output. Don't equate output with tone. If you dig the sound of Sting's '56 P, then stay away from hotter pickups like the Duncan Quarter Pound (it sounds like crap anyway, IMO). A pickup is just magnets and wire spun on a bobbin. If you can get the pickup you already have to sound good with a little tweaking (this includes amp tweaking as well), there's no need to spend money to replace something that doesn't really need replacing.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm starting to think that the first thing I'll do is fiddle and see what I can get.
 
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#13
I would first check the pickup height. If that is not satisfactory, try different strings. Then, if you like a gamble, try this:

upload_2020-8-5_16-29-34.png
 
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#15
MrMoonlight said:
Before you go throwing your hard earned money at pickup vendors whose PU's you've never played or heard before, spend the time to adjust your pickup height and get your setup dialed in. Also, maybe try a new set of strings...you'd be surprised how a different brand or gauge of strings can often dramatically change the sound of your bass.

You have to remember, a single coil P-Bass does NOT sound like a post '57 split coil P-Bass. It's its own thing. The original SCPB pickups were not high output. Don't equate output with tone. If you dig the sound of Sting's '56 P, then stay away from hotter pickups like the Duncan Quarter Pound (it sounds like crap anyway, IMO). A pickup is just magnets and wire spun on a bobbin. If you can get the pickup you already have to sound good with a little tweaking (this includes amp tweaking as well), there's no need to spend money to replace something that doesn't really need replacing.
Click to expand...
The key to making the SCPB-3 Quarter Pounder sound it’s best is to lower more than normal and still gat a fat tone out of it with clarity
 
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#16
Question: "I know without a shred of doubt that the Jason Lollar 50's pickup is exactly what I need and it's $95. So what should I do?"
Answer: Look at 10 other pickups online and think about it for a long time, pull the trigger on 3rd place option because you already know Fralin is close 2nd place for that pup and costs a little more. Wait a while longer and upgrade your upgrade to the Lollar.
Result: Exactly what you wanted.
 
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#17
Killing Floor said:
Question: "I know without a shred of doubt that the Jason Lollar 50's pickup is exactly what I need and it's $95. So what should I do?"
Answer: Look at 10 other pickups online and think about it for a long time, pull the trigger on 3rd place option because you already know Fralin is close 2nd place for that pup and costs a little more. Wait a while longer and upgrade your upgrade to the Lollar.
Result: Exactly what you wanted.
Click to expand...
I have to ask, if you know without a shred of doubt then why not just get them?
 
#19
BigBluez said:
I have a Squier Classic Vibe Precision 50s bass that I really, really enjoy playing. I just wish the pickup had a little more output; I do like the tone, though. In particular, the E string sounds quiet to me.

I've heard great things about the Fralin '51 P bass split coil pickup, but I'm on a budget, and it's a bit pricey. Any cheaper options that might give good tone and better output than the stock?
Click to expand...

I have a Warmoth '54 Precision partscaster that I bought used offa TalkBass several months ago that I simply love. It has a Nordstrand 51P4S hum-cancelling 50's style P pickup which is the one to get, IMHO ...

51P4S Hum-Cancelling

According to the guy I bought the bass from (who was the original owner who built it), the pickup is Nordstrand's stock wind yet it has about the same output level as most of my post '57 style split coil P pickups (FCS '59 & '62, Lollar, Seymour Duncan Antiquity II and Fender "Original" '62) which makes it a bit hotter than your typical fifties single coil Precision pickup. In addition, it has the best string to string balance of any pickup of this type that I've tried due to its staggered pole pieces that seem to match up perfectly with the 10" fingerboard radius of the Warmoth Jazz width TeleBass neck on my '54 P. * NOTE: I seem to recall that the fingerboard radius on those Squier Classic Vibe 50's P-Basses is 9.5". I saw a post somewhere that suggested that you can order them with their pole pieces staggered for a 9.5" fingerboard radius if you order it directly from Nordstrand ($123 which ain't bad for a top shelf pickup like this one). Lastly, it's "as quiet as a church mouse" with it's hum cancelling design.

* I've played several fifties style P-Basses that had Lindy Fralin's single coil and hum cancelling versions of the fifties style P pickup that had wonderful tone. However, their choice of raising the A string pole piece higher than any of the other pole pieces (for vintage correctness sake, I assume) was a total show stopper for me. It made the A string noticeably hotter than the other strings with modern string sets which do not have the lower response problem that the fifties A strings had that Fender was trying to compensate for.
 
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#20
MrMoonlight said:
Before you go throwing your hard earned money at pickup vendors whose PU's you've never played or heard before, spend the time to adjust your pickup height and get your setup dialed in.
Click to expand...
Fantastic piece of advice and one I endorse fully.

Last year I recorded clips of different single coils in a 51 P-bass, one of them being the £8 Ali Ex @Joybass posted.
There were singles,split singles, ALNICO 5, ceramic ,stock/ off the shelf and custom builds.

I didn't name any of the pickups, just asked folks which was the £8 from China.

Voting was interesting, nearly every pickup had the same total of votes.

What did I take from this ?

Simply that pickup position was the important thing. Brand name,number of winds, split/single etc. None of these altered the character of the tone by a huge amount.

To increase the output of E, get a tiny disc magnet and place it on the bottom of the pole piece.
 
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