Every stock Am Pro II I played sounded like garbage. Those pickups aren’t good. Wish they kept the CS60s in the Jazz and the CS62 in the P.
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This Lollar P Pickup is worth it
- Thread starter Evan J
- Start date
Every stock Am Pro II I played sounded like garbage. Those pickups aren’t good. Wish they kept the CS60s in the Jazz and the CS62 in the P.
Yeah that’s an interesting question. 2017-18 was when they first released the Player series so maybe that’s why.
Regardless of year though, I never had a bad sounding Player bass ever.
Sometimes I wonder if manufacturers hide behind low mids to cover up poor sounding gear
Fender has been dropping the ball on quality as of late. I’m not overly inclined on the Player IIs or the AMIIs or whatever else they will be releasing.
My 2018 Player P is perfect. Hopefully my incoming 2018 Player J will be the perfect partner to the P.
Right! That’s what I was thinking.
I have played a decent amount from a few different years… some have been 10/10 and some have been pretty rough. The necks are especially hit and miss, which makes sense. But I wonder if pickup construction is in the quality control category as well.
Generally through, I think player series is a great line. Best P’s and J’s in $500-$1000 range.
Yeah the neck upgrades are kinda nice… but besides that the Player 2s are pretty meh
I have a 2018 player J neck on my P bass right now. Feels awesome. Way better than the 2021 neck that came with the P. That neck would not stay put
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I owned a 2020 P whose neck felt pretty thin for a P neck. I measured it and my 2018. The former was 1.615” nut width and the latter was standard 1.625”.
Crazy. The 2020 almost felt like a Jazz neck.
I found them to be very balanced compared to some vintage pickups. But agreed they don’t hit the same sound category. I had great preference for the Lindy Fralin for awhile. I’ll definitely check out Lollar in the future.
P pickups! WOW! It's a matter of choice, I guess. There's gonna be agreement and disagreement on this subject.
I've been a member of TB for well over 10 years. Now, I don't know if opinion has changed recently but over those 10+ years of being a member of TalkBass and reading endless opinions on P pickups................IME, these have been the 3 most popular P pickups (might be different today, don't know).
Not in this order.
Fender Original Precision Bass pickup.
S. Duncan SPB-1
EMG Geezer
For me, just about any AlNiCo 5 magnet P pickup with no more than 10.5k ohm is going to sound good for me. The lower the ohms, the better I like the sound.
Best sounding P pickup I ever heard was a 9k ohm MIJ AlNiCo 5 that I bought used for $25.
Let your ears be your guide for choosing the so called best sounding P pickup. There is no definite answer on this subject.
IMHO!
I've been a member of TB for well over 10 years. Now, I don't know if opinion has changed recently but over those 10+ years of being a member of TalkBass and reading endless opinions on P pickups................IME, these have been the 3 most popular P pickups (might be different today, don't know).
Not in this order.
Fender Original Precision Bass pickup.
S. Duncan SPB-1
EMG Geezer
For me, just about any AlNiCo 5 magnet P pickup with no more than 10.5k ohm is going to sound good for me. The lower the ohms, the better I like the sound.
Best sounding P pickup I ever heard was a 9k ohm MIJ AlNiCo 5 that I bought used for $25.
Let your ears be your guide for choosing the so called best sounding P pickup. There is no definite answer on this subject.
IMHO!
I've got the CS60s in one bass. Love them. I've got the Geezers in another. Love them.
I replaced the stock Gibsons in my '18 TBird with Lollars, and they transformed it by adding clarity and a more open sound.
I replaced just the neck pup I'm my Gibson NR TBird (it died) with a Lollar, and again, very happy with the result.
I replaced the neck pickup (it also died) in my Rick 4001 with a Lollar "Broiler Bass". Outstanding!
I wouldn't hesitate to try the Lollar P pickup when/if the need arises. They do great work and are great to work with. Good people and fast shipping.
I replaced the stock Gibsons in my '18 TBird with Lollars, and they transformed it by adding clarity and a more open sound.
I replaced just the neck pup I'm my Gibson NR TBird (it died) with a Lollar, and again, very happy with the result.
I replaced the neck pickup (it also died) in my Rick 4001 with a Lollar "Broiler Bass". Outstanding!
I wouldn't hesitate to try the Lollar P pickup when/if the need arises. They do great work and are great to work with. Good people and fast shipping.
Oh yeah the Fralins are awesome. Those probably sound a little closer to the v mod’s than the Lollars do in regards to warmth and pillowyness
Fascinating… I think I need to learn more about the actual science behind all this, but it’s very interesting.
Totally agree about the popular pickups and how the sounds is very subjective. Especially in regards to genre and use case.
What are you hearing in the lower ohms that you enjoy? Is it the “weak” pickup effect that adds some vintage mojo and keeps clean top end?
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Yep. Numbers-wise, it doesn’t LOOK like a major difference but feel wise, totally.
I didn’t mind it though. I sold that bass to fund a roadworn 60s Jazz. I kindddd of regret selling that P. I should’ve swapped the necks with my 2018 one but I have major sentimental feels to the 2018 neck soooo…
Ime, I would rank from best to meh:
Geezer Butler pickup
PV63
Player series pickups
CS62 fender
SPB-3
I absolutely love the PV63 in my bass. The mids are godly.
Geezer Butler pickup
PV63
Player series pickups
CS62 fender
SPB-3
I absolutely love the PV63 in my bass. The mids are godly.
Mine were stock winding. If I had money to burn I’d get em in the over wound and under wound version to compare.
Big difference for me too, though the bar was already pretty low compared to what would've been more readily appropriate for my main band.
I've got a standard wind Lollar split P in my Player P; The original pickup sounded ok, but the best pickup height range for tone with nickel rounds was narrow and it didn't match the best pickup height for unity volume across the strings; I couldn't get that pickup out fast enough.
Next up was a Duncan Quarter Pounder; I actually liked it. It just wasn't a good match for my main band, band backing an acoustic guitar and sax player.
The Lollar split P seems to match my needs well; It's balanced, articulate and responsive to dynamics. It also packs a classic P bass punch without being completely over the top.
Some sample clips from a gig last December running through an Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 and 210 cab:
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