Do you anything at all about what you're suggesting? Just stop posting bad advice.
Everyone knows that Edam is the better option.
Get your facts right before you post.
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Stock vs. "upgrade" PU...
- Thread starter nitsuj
- Start date
Do you anything at all about what you're suggesting? Just stop posting bad advice.
Everyone knows that Edam is the better option.
Get your facts right before you post.
Do you anything at all about what you're suggesting? Just stop posting bad advice.
Everyone knows that Edam is the better option.
Get your facts right before you post.
Cheddar and Edam are cheese for "amateurs"!!
Permagiano Regiano, Pecorino and Grana Padano are cheese for real bass players! You both should get your facts right.
- Feb 3, 2005
- 7,331
- 10,198
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Bergantino Audio Systems and GHS Strings
Totally subjective of course. However, I've owned 3 different P's (98 Hot Rod P, 03 Am Std and 08 Am Std). I changed pickups on all 3.
Dimarzio PJ set in the Hot Rod. Improved sound, but wasn't more vintage. Very clear and bright.
Duncan 1/4 Pound in the 03. Definitely improved that bass. Made it a great "rock" P.
I routed my 08 for a PJ set and put in Lindey Fralin PJ's. Great, very big improvement for me. The stock P was a little on the hot side for my tastes. The Fralins go from vintage to really nice and clear. Sounds great strung with flats and rounds. I def recommend them.
Of course, to each his own. If you change, do it bc you are not satisfied with your tone. If that is the case, what are you going for more of? That should help you narrow it down.
Dimarzio PJ set in the Hot Rod. Improved sound, but wasn't more vintage. Very clear and bright.
Duncan 1/4 Pound in the 03. Definitely improved that bass. Made it a great "rock" P.
I routed my 08 for a PJ set and put in Lindey Fralin PJ's. Great, very big improvement for me. The stock P was a little on the hot side for my tastes. The Fralins go from vintage to really nice and clear. Sounds great strung with flats and rounds. I def recommend them.
Of course, to each his own. If you change, do it bc you are not satisfied with your tone. If that is the case, what are you going for more of? That should help you narrow it down.
- Feb 3, 2005
- 7,331
- 10,198
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Bergantino Audio Systems and GHS Strings
Oh yeah, some nice soft Brie.....
In all honesty, explaining maybe your tonal goals (I'm playing flats in an Americana band or want to sound like Steve Harris or Jamerson or wahtever may be more helpful than telling people off in your original post).
In all honesty, explaining maybe your tonal goals (I'm playing flats in an Americana band or want to sound like Steve Harris or Jamerson or wahtever may be more helpful than telling people off in your original post).
I understand you asked for advice and you kinda generalized the question a bit too much. I get that you were looking for a list of differences in things such as tone, output, etc...
...and since you put in that last bit about not wanting a certain answer, you must know that said answer is the stock answer on TB. It provides members here a sense of contribution without actually contributing.
To be fair to the nasty responders, because they can't just see something that bothers them and move on with life - they need to make sure you get berated for your behavior, you should have supplied more of what you were looking for and less of what you were not. I know, dbl-edged sword; doomed to get "whatever YOU like".
Now, to help you along - use your own ears and go to YouTube (not the best, but still the only) searching for bands that you know with bassists using a P in years past (older videos, such as Black Sabbath in Paris, etc...) and listen to some of the more modern P-Bass videos also.
Listen to many, many of both and then you will be able to start formulating your own opinions and will be able to avoid all the white Rasta dudes out there with their self-fulfilling need to feel like a part of a group by popping in and stating the obvious: "only YOU can tell what YOU want".
Dig 'rounds and play with a pick? probably leave pickups as-is
Love flats and that motown or Led Zeppelin sound? vintage pickups will do that trick
...and since you put in that last bit about not wanting a certain answer, you must know that said answer is the stock answer on TB. It provides members here a sense of contribution without actually contributing.
To be fair to the nasty responders, because they can't just see something that bothers them and move on with life - they need to make sure you get berated for your behavior, you should have supplied more of what you were looking for and less of what you were not. I know, dbl-edged sword; doomed to get "whatever YOU like".
Now, to help you along - use your own ears and go to YouTube (not the best, but still the only) searching for bands that you know with bassists using a P in years past (older videos, such as Black Sabbath in Paris, etc...) and listen to some of the more modern P-Bass videos also.
Listen to many, many of both and then you will be able to start formulating your own opinions and will be able to avoid all the white Rasta dudes out there with their self-fulfilling need to feel like a part of a group by popping in and stating the obvious: "only YOU can tell what YOU want".
Dig 'rounds and play with a pick? probably leave pickups as-is
Love flats and that motown or Led Zeppelin sound? vintage pickups will do that trick
So spend the darn time, homeskillet. You're young, you've got lots, it's not like you're gonna have to stop and look for your teeth in the middle of the process, amirite? And besides - learning to play bass took some time, didn't it? Learning to walk? Learning to read? What makes you think that developing your ears and honing your tone should be instantaneous? All good things in life require work, my man, and work takes effort and time. Get used to it.
Moving on, I might like one pickup over another; but that's in the rooms that I play, with the players I play with, through my rig, etc etc etc. Unless ALL of the variables are the same, including taste in music, callus thickness, and playing style, what I like has NO bearing on what you will like, except for coincidence.
Anyway, I wish I could help you out by posting oscilloscope shots of the two pickups; but unless you had my bass, with my strings, with my bridge, in my geographic locale, played with my fingers, through my cable, into my 'scope, THE RESULTS WOULD NOT BE THE SAME FOR YOU. (They'd be awfully similar, but not close enough to base a decision on, assuming you have the common sense and intellect of a doorknob.)
So play what you like, dudebro, and chill the hell out.
I think, slick nick, that you're being excessively rude here, and really ought to watch yourself - and no, I'm not threatening you, and no, we're not going to beat you up; but the simple truth of the matter is, people you insult are not people who in general will be willing to help you, later on. Compliments are easily forgotten; insults linger. So watch yourself, tiger, because this really is a fantastic community filled with all kinds of real-world experience at every possible level, and seven kinds of professional know-how 'till Sunday, and if you want to get anywhere in music or in life, being a member of such a community as this can be a great asset...
...but only if the other members are interested in helping.
So cool yer jets, hotshot.
You haven't bought the bass yet and you don't know if you like the sound of it?
Keep shopping till you find one you actually like
Keep shopping till you find one you actually like
it's not about NOT liking the stock...
It's about getting a description/comparison between the stock and vintage pups.
It's not even about which I prefer...
It's about getting a description/comparison between the stock and vintage pups.
"I think, slick nick, that you're being excessively rude here"---The quote you refer to was pulled off a joke site. Like an above poster said, "Get the humor"... and by the way---are you changing the bass, strings, amp, locale, fingers, etc. when YOU use these pick-ups? If the answer is yes, then you have a point. If no, you might be able to discern qualities the differ between the two... or maybe not.
It's about getting a description/comparison between the stock and vintage pups.
It's not even about which I prefer...
It's about getting a description/comparison between the stock and vintage pups.
"I think, slick nick, that you're being excessively rude here"---The quote you refer to was pulled off a joke site. Like an above poster said, "Get the humor"... and by the way---are you changing the bass, strings, amp, locale, fingers, etc. when YOU use these pick-ups? If the answer is yes, then you have a point. If no, you might be able to discern qualities the differ between the two... or maybe not.
A. Buy the bass and play it for a few months before you think of making any changes. You simply need to get to know what that particular bass (not a Fender American Standard, but the specific chunk of wood and metal that is YOUR bass) sounds like.
B. THEN come back with specific ideas of what you do and don't like about the sound of that bass. A poll asking people to make a choice between two different PUPs obscures your real question. If you wanted to know particulars of the sonic differences, instead of putting that part down as a seeming afterthought to the either/or nature of the poll, make that the question.
I simply can't recommend one over the other because I don't know what you want to change in your bass' sound. As for the subtleties of the differences, while people can make some vague generalizations, they're not likely to really help you any in making this decision. So, after you have a good handle on what you do and don't like about your new bass, then come and ask what will help it give you what it might be lacking. But it's entirely possible that it'll be perfect the way it is.
BTW, changing pickups is NOT an "upgrade" unless it actually improves something you want changed. For a lot of people a vintage-style pickup on a new American Standard would be a downgrade. It's all about what YOU want to hear when YOU play your bass.
John
B. THEN come back with specific ideas of what you do and don't like about the sound of that bass. A poll asking people to make a choice between two different PUPs obscures your real question. If you wanted to know particulars of the sonic differences, instead of putting that part down as a seeming afterthought to the either/or nature of the poll, make that the question.
I simply can't recommend one over the other because I don't know what you want to change in your bass' sound. As for the subtleties of the differences, while people can make some vague generalizations, they're not likely to really help you any in making this decision. So, after you have a good handle on what you do and don't like about your new bass, then come and ask what will help it give you what it might be lacking. But it's entirely possible that it'll be perfect the way it is.
BTW, changing pickups is NOT an "upgrade" unless it actually improves something you want changed. For a lot of people a vintage-style pickup on a new American Standard would be a downgrade. It's all about what YOU want to hear when YOU play your bass.
John
- Dec 21, 2007
- 15,233
- 45,123
- Disclosures
- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
Next time you're at Whole Foods, could you ask him about the best cheese for metal?
Here is the low down:
Stock Pup: more of an edge; slight boost in midrange; great for a more distorted use; "modern" sounding.
VDPUP: mellow, even sounding, more "flat", less "grind" than the stock PUPs.
And yes, they mentioned that each bass has differences, and though the stocks might sound great in one pbass, they might not sound as good in the bass next to it. Trial by fire I guess.
NOW, knowing my sonic preferences, and knowing the generic sonic differences between the pups (which I DID ask for in the original post), I can decide that it would, in fact, be worth TRYING the VD pups.
Interestingly enough, the customer service agent suggested I look into other pup manufacturers as there are some really good products out there.
Stock Pup: more of an edge; slight boost in midrange; great for a more distorted use; "modern" sounding.
VDPUP: mellow, even sounding, more "flat", less "grind" than the stock PUPs.
And yes, they mentioned that each bass has differences, and though the stocks might sound great in one pbass, they might not sound as good in the bass next to it. Trial by fire I guess.
NOW, knowing my sonic preferences, and knowing the generic sonic differences between the pups (which I DID ask for in the original post), I can decide that it would, in fact, be worth TRYING the VD pups.
Interestingly enough, the customer service agent suggested I look into other pup manufacturers as there are some really good products out there.
The vintage one will sound more vintage. That is all.
Not good enough? Okay, well, more specifically it'll be 'rounder', 'fatter', maybe a little 'brown', might have a touch less 'bite', but will probably have more 'growl' and 'thump'. It will almost certainly have less 'presence' and will probably have, by comparison, muted 'highs'.
Being more specific than that is, I'm afraid, either impossible or pointless (your choice) due to the fact that everyone has different technique, and plays different music through different gear in different rooms.
You're missing the point, dude. The point is that you and I do not play the same way, have the same ears, or use the same setup or rig; therefore, what sounds one way to me may not sound the same to you. Especially the ears: we could be in the same room, listening to the same bass with the same strings through the same rig at the same time, and we might still perceive what we hear differently.
You can make any bass sound bright and hi-fi by using modern 3-way cabs and high-end solid-state heads. You can make any bass sound vintage by pumping it through a 60's vintage rig. Assuming the rig is constant, you can make any bass sound bright by putting new high-tension stainless rounds on, or make that same bass through that same rig sound dark and vintage by putting on som TI Jazz Flats or some well-used Chromes.
The reason we say you need to go out and play it and pick what sounds best to you is not because we want to be lazy, unhelpful farts. It's because that's the only way to tell. I could, if I wanted to, send you oscilloscope plots, as could several other members on this board. But we won't, because they won't tell you anything useful, because what cab you have plugged into what head, in what room, or whether you play fingerstyle, slap, with a rubber pick, a celluloid pick, a plastic pick, a tortex pick, or a felt pick, will make worlds more difference than whether you're using the AmStand stock pups or the Vintages.
That's all, man.
By the way, thanks for clearing up your humour there; I was under the impression that you were trying to be obnoxious. I still think it's not in the best of taste, but hey; as I just spent ten minutes belabouring, my taste is not your taste, so it's all good.
I have to say that were I replacing the p'ups on a Fender, in 99 out of 100 times it would not occur to me to use another set of Fender p'ups. They are just not as good as replacement p'ups, at least in my experience.
Now, if I had an old Fender whose pickups had died and I wanted to keep it as original as possible, I'd either get the p'ups re-would *or* get look at a set of Fender replacements... but otherwise? I'd be looking at Nordstrands, SD, etc.
Now, if I had an old Fender whose pickups had died and I wanted to keep it as original as possible, I'd either get the p'ups re-would *or* get look at a set of Fender replacements... but otherwise? I'd be looking at Nordstrands, SD, etc.
Well, dual meaning---
The serious meaning refers to: Pickups, Precision Bass®, Original Vintage Design
Model : 0992046000
The joking--- well, in attempting NOT to offend anyone, you can define the acronym VD ( and P for that matter) for yourself.
instead of being so difficult and ignorant to others, why dont you try out the bass AFTER you buy the bass first and see if you like it or not. You might play it and find out that you wont need a replacement. Maybe itll suck to your ears and you try another pickup. That might not be what youre looking for too. Maybe a precision bass isnt for you? who knows but you? buy the bass first and post after..
