Road worn vs mike dirnt 59 precision p bass pickups

[tortburst]

In case anyone wanted to know how these two compared under the hood...
Fender road worn 50s precision and roadworn mike Dirnt 59 pickups side by side.

 

[Laurent]

The Mike Dirnt is a muscular/beefy slightly modern sounding pickup.
The Roadworn is more along the line of a 50's pickup with a crisp top end and lots of details.
I am aware the M Dirnt is supposed to represent a 59 but it does not at least to my ears. I think it's more marketing than tonal reality.
Out of the two I prefer the Mike Dirnt and I have it loaded on one of my bass currently.

 

[tortburst]

That's interesting. I like the sound f the Mike Dirnt pickup as well. I wouldn't know which is a more legit 50s reissue pickup though.

What other pickups do you think are accurate, and what makes them so?

 

[Laurent]

Accurate for a 50's pickup or accurate tonally?
If you are looking for a 50's accurate pickup the Seymour Duncan SPB-1 delivers that 50's tone really well. It's a great value for the price point as well.

 

[tortburst]

Yes, I figured the bass is supposed to be a 50s re-issue, so why not try to get as close to the spec as possible.
That's why i'm trying the dirnt 59 pickup.
You're not the first to suggest the SPB1.

 

[tortburst]

I'm confused. The dirnt pickup looks squatter.
I was told the vintage p pickups had shorter poles, shorter than a jazz.
And that the modern pickups like the road worn, highway one, pre-2008 Mia were taller.

Granted, the guy that said that is banned

 

[RamonCorral]

I just keep thinking I should swap the pup from my Mike Dirnt, its articulated indeed, but low output an imbalanced volume, and sometimes it gets muddy on the bass response, no growl at all. Not a bad pup, theres a reason i have kept it, it has some sort of magic, but its just weak to my ears. maybe mine is just a bad specimen.

 

[tortburst]

I feel the same way. When I installed mine I expected it to be brighter and edgier, and it turned out to sound sweeter than the stock pup in my road worn p, which is an older Mia standard pup if I recall.

Either way I'm enjoying it.

It was the SGD Luthier guy who commented on the p bass pups in an older thread of mine. I was comparing the highway one pickup to fender original 62.

That comparison is very similar to conparing road worn to mike dirnt 59.

In fact I think the road worn and highway one might have had the same pickup.

SGD said the design of the real vintage pbass pups was a shorter bobbin with the winding protruding out wider. The highway one had a taller bobbin and he compared that to jazz bass pickups.

I believe he's correct.

If you look at the pics here you'll see that the 59 dirnt pickup is squatter.

Blah blah blah I like the way it sounds and it's road worn too so it matches the bass

I'd like to try antiquity 1

 

[Precibass]

First aftermarket p bass pickup I bought, was 59 from dirnts bass. After som time I disliked it because I thought it hasnt got character, just boomy, clanky sound with much undesirable output. Then, some time later with some other different p basses and pickups I realised it is not just about pickup itself, but the correct pickup height, strings and also instrument wood. You must find your sweet spot after changing strings, even by using the same brand and gauge. I wouldnt think I ever say this, but proper adjustments make your instrument and pickups shine. I hope you guys will find your 59 CS pickup to be the best choice as I did after so much searching around. I love its unique fast response when desired and also its mid bump to find comfortable place in the band mix. It is also great with Thomastik flats if you ask me. Best regards.