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Something my bass teacher said .
- Thread starter Hordehunterx
- Start date
No.
If you go from an EMG HZ to say a Bartolini pickup to a Seymore Duncan SPB, I can't think of many electric basses this won't make a difference that you can hear on. It's true that a lot of factors make up the tone you get but to say it doesn't make much difference as far as pickups is just wrong.
Just thought I'd bump up the topic just so everybody could try to stay on topic. ......
The suggestion to practice is a given but it doesn't really help the guy with his question.
I swapped them out for EMG's. I think the stock pickups were Ibanez DXP's but I could be wrong on that. It's been 15-16 years, so I could be wrong on what the stock ones were.
The easiest way to improve or just change an otherwise liked basses or guitars sound, is by pickup replacement. Sure take the same pup and put it in a mahogany bass, then put it in a maple bass, and your going to still have a brighter voice in the maple bass. You will still be putting the pups voice char in that bass. If you put a smooth voiced pup in either, you get a smooth voice pup sound char out of it. If you put a crunchy voiced pup in either you will have a crunchy voice char sound. If you put muddy sounding pups with poor articulation in either thats the sound char your going to get. Woods and construction do affect the voice. But not as much as the pups do.
Only if they're a bad teacher. It's possible for someone know about music and be able to teach at the same time knowing little, if anything, about the vagaries of how gear works.
In regard to the OP, you are learning to play the bass and learning about basses, so experiment. Do some learning on your own! If you feel up to the task of changing out the pickups, try it, you will learn a lot from doing it. I would suggest you try different types of strings as well. It is my opinion that a lot of your sound comes from your playing technique, or as others have said, your hands. But, every component on your bass contributes to the tone in some degree, large or small. But, if you are really into learning the bass, go for it! It is the only way to LEARN!
Yes. Total agreement. As long as the subject is the bass. But amp and speaker are very, very important also.
Speaking only from my experience......
Wood differences in the same brand bass are more noticeable in neck-thru basses where the nut, pickups, and bridge are all attached to the same block of wood and that wood is different from one bass to the other. Different wing materials, in most cases, make very little difference if the centerline of the bass (draw a straight line from the tip of your headstock to the bridge) is the same. This is the vibrating mass.
Changing pickups in the same piece of wood will make a difference, whether it's a bolt-on instrument or a neck through. I replaced stock MIM pickups with a name brand (I forget which now and I no longer have the bass). Big difference. How big a difference is probably a function of how different the two sets of pickups are. It's very possible to change pickups and get almost no change in tone. Your teacher saying it can not make a difference is just evidence that he doesn't know or hasn't experienced such a change.
If you are looking to change your tone and you expect to keep the bass you have, chances are you CANNOT change the wood but you CAN CHANGE the strings, the pickups or the preamp. So whatcha gonna do? Does it really matter whether the wood has more impact than pickups if you are not gonna change the wood?
There are dozens of approaches to changing tone, including
* fingers and plucking attack style, location where you strike the string (I change this in the middle of songs sometimes to get a different tonal effect....more thin near the bridge, more full near the end of the fingerboard)
* on-board hardware like strings, pickups and preamps,
* off-board hardware like effects pedals, preamp and amp EQ.
Bottom line, figure out what you like and don't like about your tone and figure out which of the above has the most impact on changing that for you. Do not under-estimate how much difference you can make with your fingers.
Wood differences in the same brand bass are more noticeable in neck-thru basses where the nut, pickups, and bridge are all attached to the same block of wood and that wood is different from one bass to the other. Different wing materials, in most cases, make very little difference if the centerline of the bass (draw a straight line from the tip of your headstock to the bridge) is the same. This is the vibrating mass.
Changing pickups in the same piece of wood will make a difference, whether it's a bolt-on instrument or a neck through. I replaced stock MIM pickups with a name brand (I forget which now and I no longer have the bass). Big difference. How big a difference is probably a function of how different the two sets of pickups are. It's very possible to change pickups and get almost no change in tone. Your teacher saying it can not make a difference is just evidence that he doesn't know or hasn't experienced such a change.
If you are looking to change your tone and you expect to keep the bass you have, chances are you CANNOT change the wood but you CAN CHANGE the strings, the pickups or the preamp. So whatcha gonna do? Does it really matter whether the wood has more impact than pickups if you are not gonna change the wood?
There are dozens of approaches to changing tone, including
* fingers and plucking attack style, location where you strike the string (I change this in the middle of songs sometimes to get a different tonal effect....more thin near the bridge, more full near the end of the fingerboard)
* on-board hardware like strings, pickups and preamps,
* off-board hardware like effects pedals, preamp and amp EQ.
Bottom line, figure out what you like and don't like about your tone and figure out which of the above has the most impact on changing that for you. Do not under-estimate how much difference you can make with your fingers.
