SPB-3 vs. DP122 vs. '62 Original

[FirewalZ]

I just swapped out the pickups in my American Special Nitro P bass with the original 62's. The stock pickups are the pre-2012 AM standards and are somewhat scooped and "modern" sounding. The 62's defiantly have more mid's and clairity, they really nail that classic Fender P tone, which is what I was after. I have yet to gig with them, so ill post a review later.

 

[vistacruiser]

I went through this series of pick-up swaps in a P/J with LaBella flats, which has become my go to blues/rock bass.

Quarter pounder SPB-3/SJB-3
SD hot SPB-2/SJB-3
DiMarzio Model P/Model J
SD vintage SPB-1/Model J

Could have stayed with the Model P but the SD vintage really gets the old school tone I wanted. Much like the Fender '62 would have.
But at the same time I needed the Model P for this project, and the quarter pounder found a home here too...

 

[vistacruiser]

I went through this series of pick-up swaps in a P/J with LaBella flats, which has become my go to blues/rock bass.

Quarter pounder SPB-3/SJB-3
SD hot SPB-2/SJB-3
DiMarzio Model P/Model J
SD vintage SPB-1/Model J

Could have stayed with the Model P but the SD vintage really gets the old school tone I wanted. Much like the Fender '62 would have.
But at the same time I needed the Model P for another project, and the quarter pounder found a home here too...

 

[Freddy Munoz]

Thanks !! It was very helpful

 

[sheltjo6]

The '62 sounds great. The SD and Dimarzio were a little too bass heavy.

 

[descendent22]

I've actually used and been through Seymour Duncan sb2, 62 FCS reissues, and now I'm currently using the dimarzio dp122. It's all about preference and what you want tone wise. The Seymour Duncan's were great pups and I liked them but a little to hot. Then after a while I went with the 62 fender pups and used those for a looong time until they failed me and stopped working. for whatever reason they stopped producing tone/power and yes I tried everything ! They were shot! I used stock pickups and liked them but after everything I been through I still wasn't getting the tone I wanted. I had come close but this time I did extended research and sought out info and opinions. It came down to either EMG active pups or the dimarzio dp122. I really wanted the EMG but budget wise I wasn't there at this time. I bought the dimarzio's and I am VERY pleased thus far.Simple enough installation with PLENTY OF tone. You can install them to have each individual pup work unlike the usual precision pickups, you can adjust the Allen screws heights, and the magnetism is the strongest I've seen from a pickup. Even though I do play with both pick and fingers I primarily play with a pick and these pups were perfect for that. They also are great for your finger playing and even pop and slap. Plenty of lows,mods and highs.

 

[Hillsidebass]

I'm in the Dimarzio camp. Have been for years. I've tried many, many P pickups over the years. I like most all of them when I've taken the time to Eq them to my liking. If whatever pups you are using are too "bass heavy"' adjust your amp/preamp. Some pups are bass heavy....some are mid heavy....some are treble heavy.....ADJUST YOUR AMP.
I landed on the Dimarzios with TI Flats after getting many compliments from stage and studio sound men, but I always take the time to adjust my rig(amp) to to what fits the room or the particular stage or studio.
I'm tired of changing pups.....just saying.

 

[descendent22]

I'm in the Dimarzio camp. Have been for years. I've tried many, many P pickups over the years. I like most all of them when I've taken the time to Eq them to my liking. If whatever pups you are using are too "bass heavy"' adjust your amp/preamp. Some pups are bass heavy....some are mid heavy....some are treble heavy.....ADJUST YOUR AMP.
I landed on the Dimarzios with TI Flats after getting many compliments from stage and studio sound men, but I always take the time to adjust my rig(amp) to to what fits the room or the particular stage or studio.
I'm tired of changing pups.....just saying.

I'm tired of the pup changes as well. It's costly, annoying soldering and installing the whole z9

 

[Pbassmanca]

I have a 50's Reissue P-Bass that came pre-modded with a Seymour Duncan SPB-3 pickup, Badass II, and a Dunlop straplock set. I felt that it needed something different. I bought the DiMarzio DP122 (Creme color) and a Fender '62 Original pickup to tryout against the SPB-3. Below is my review.

Seymour Duncan SPB-3
The Seymour Duncan is a good pickup, but it doesn't do the gritty/ballsy thing as well as the DiMarzio and it's not very vintage sounding either. I felt the string balance was below average and the overall output was not very punchy. This pickup has a massive bottom end, but it can be a bit boomy. It lacks a lot of midrange and is a bit bright. It doesn't have much tone that I would consider tight, but it is smooth like a baby's butt, that's for sure. It's just not the right tone for me, I think

DiMarzio DP122 (Creme)
First off, this pickup is not as good as the Fender '62 if all you want is the finger tone. If you are in to strictly using your P-Bass for blues and motown covers, the '62 is your pickup. The DP122 is certainly worth your while and has a great and distinctively p tone. The difference with this pickup is that it does everything really well. It's got the punch that the SPB-3 lacked, but also has a great slap tone. This is a 4 wire pickup and I ended up installing a DPDT switch for Series/Parallel operation. I find the Series to be much better suited to most styles, but the Parallel can be better for Slap with the right EQ'ing. It's got a lot more mid range, in general, with certainly more high-mids than I was expecting. It's a very cutting tone and I find it to be better at rock, pick, and "The Who" style stuff, rather than Motown. It can do Motown and Blues stuff, but it's easier to remove edge than to add it, which is why I stuck with this pickup in the end.

Fender '62 Original
This pickup is arguably better than the DP122. I liked the tone only a hair better, but the tone was a bit uneven across the strings. It had a decent amount of punch, but the output overall was less than the SD or DiMarzio. This pickup lacks the midrange I was looking for, but it I also have a GK rig that is a bit more neutral and crisp, rather than gritty or midrangy like an SVT. The slap tone wasn't very good and it lacked the grit and overall character of tone that the DiMarzio had. It did the Motown thing better overall than any of the others. If that's all you want a P-Bass for, go for this pickup.

Sound Clips
The sound clips that are included are in the format.
1st Section: It's like "Ain't To Proud To Beg", but I improvise a bit so that all the strings are touched. Tone set at 0%.
2nd Section: Pick style with tone at roughly 20-25% where I thought it sounded good for each pickup. A quick riff that touches all strings.
3rd Section: Slap style with tone at roughly 40-50% depending on the pickup. "Forget Me Nots".

I actually love the stock pickup that came in the Classic 50's Pbasses. If you can get your hands on one, I think it even outdoes the original 62'. I actually really like the fender original 62 Precision pickup, I have one in one of my P basses although I'm swapping it out for a Klein epic 1962. The only thing I don't really like about the original 62' is that it seems to have way more treble and high-end going on than I particularly like. I like a precision bass pickup that has a more subdued treble response.

 

[Pbassmanca]

I'm in the Dimarzio camp. Have been for years. I've tried many, many P pickups over the years. I like most all of them when I've taken the time to Eq them to my liking. If whatever pups you are using are too "bass heavy"' adjust your amp/preamp. Some pups are bass heavy....some are mid heavy....some are treble heavy.....ADJUST YOUR AMP.
I landed on the Dimarzios with TI Flats after getting many compliments from stage and studio sound men, but I always take the time to adjust my rig(amp) to to what fits the room or the particular stage or studio.
I'm tired of changing pups.....just saying.

I'll never tire of changing pickups, NEVERRRRRRRR!!!!!!

 

[FirewalZ]

I have one of the FSR nitro satin honey burst P's that GC had a few years ago. I opted for the original 62 p-up, with rounds it is really ganky and super grindy, very 70's sounding. They seem to have a bump in the upper Mids and highs....cuts through like a razor and great for 70's rock

 

[Erable]

12 years later still a solid review, thanks for you efforts!

 

[Sergi]

Yes, still very useful!

 

[_Obra_]

I'm to late for the party, but bringing some nice addition for the topic:

 

[FirewalZ]

I have one of the FSR nitro satin honey burst P's that GC had a few years ago. I opted for the original 62 p-up, with rounds it is really ganky and super grindy, very 70's sounding. They seem to have a bump in the upper Mids and highs....cuts through like a razor and great for 70's rock

While I still think the original 62’s are great pickups for the price….I swapped them out for GZR’s, I find they have better lows and a more useful top end.