Ultra boutique P bass pickups

[Snaxster]

Curtis Novak, David Allen Pickups, Van Zandt, Klein Pickups, Bullock Guitar Pickups, Bare Knuckle, Arcane Inc.

Anyone with experience with these boutique pickup makers?...

Laurent, here is a teaser pending a review:

Tonight installed one of the Arcane Inc. P pickups I got some weeks ago. I chose the 65 Experience one and paired it with the Klein Epic '62 J pickup I already liked in a P/J setup. They were perfect together.

The Arcane pickup is really, really good. I recommend that you try one.

 

[Laurent]

Thanks for the recommendation. I will be in Southern California next week and might pick one up.

 

[Laurent]

Picked an Arcane P 65 Pickup at the Bass Exchange now located in North Hollywood.
Thanks to Gary who owns the store for his recommendation and friendly service.
Super nice new store too. Highly recommended.

 

[Bass4LifeRS]

MY fav p pickup to date is a bill Lawrence p pickup. I liked the output and smoothness of the pickup, so hard to get now. is their a current production p bass pickup that sounds like a bill?
Sorry guys i guess this is not a Ultra boutique pickup. I have a stock 98 american ash p bass i was wanting to mess with. it sounds so good as is. Does fender not use good pu in american basses?

The family still makes them like before, just order at their site Home Page

 

[Laurent]

Well, I can confirm that Gary at Bass Exchange was absolutely right the Arcane P 65 is a gorgeous sounding pickup. It definitely has a vintage character and sounds somewhere between a Lollar overwound and an Aguilar. What this pickup does is growl, it has a unique growl in the low mids that is really nice. It's warm, not flashy sounding, has perfect string to string balance, a good amount of punch. This is a winner! Highly recommended.

 

[bassvirtuoso]

Well, I can confirm that Gary at Bass Exchange was absolutely right the Arcane P 65 is a gorgeous sounding pickup. It definitely has a vintage character and sounds somewhere between a Lollar overwound and an Aguilar. What this pickup does is growl, it has a unique growl in the low mids that is really nice. It's warm, not flashy sounding, has perfect string to string balance, a good amount of punch. This is a winner! Highly recommended.

Laurent, since you've played and heard my current favorite, the Novak PB-90, how do they compare?

 

[Snaxster]

Well, I can confirm that Gary at Bass Exchange was absolutely right the Arcane P 65 is a gorgeous sounding pickup. It definitely has a vintage character and sounds somewhere between a Lollar overwound and an Aguilar. What this pickup does is growl, it has a unique growl in the low mids that is really nice. It's warm, not flashy sounding, has perfect string to string balance, a good amount of punch. This is a winner! Highly recommended.

Laurent, I'm glad you like that pickup. I was prepared to feel guilty for a bad recommendation, but it turned out okay.

 

[Laurent]

Laurent, since you've played and heard my current favorite, the Novak PB-90, how do they compare?

Well they are very different. The Curtis Novak with its bar magnets has a stronger output and a bigger more modern tone. It's closer to my ears to a P bass pickup on turbo (think Lauzon, Bill Lawrence P46 or Quarter Pounders). The Arcane sounds like a great vintage sounding pickup the kind you hear once in a great while on a 60's bass. Many of these pickups are kind of lifeless or lackluster at this point. It's also important to mention that the basses found for sale in stores are not the best example of vintage and there are reasons why they end up on a retail floor.
I have not had a chance to A/B the Arcane with the other pickups I currently have but I expect it to be in the ball park of a Lollar Overwound with the extra growl in the low mids.

 

[Laurent]

Laurent, I'm glad you like that pickup. I was prepared to feel guilty for a bad recommendation, but it turned out okay.

No guilt here, I'm the one who handed my credit card at the Bass Exchange, and nobody but myself made me do it. I appreciate the recommendation that being said. You were the spark that reignited my interest. The builder had been mentioned to me by Scott at Dunlop MXR and he too was right. The pickup I have is number 52 so Arcane is obviously not making tons of these. Maybe I jumped on the band wagon early?

 

[Snaxster]

No guilt here, I'm the one who handed my credit card at the Bass Exchange, and nobody but myself made me do it. I appreciate the recommendation that being said. You were the spark that reignited my interest. The builder had been mentioned to me by Scott at Dunlop MXR and he too was right. The pickup I have is number 52 so Arcane is obviously not making tons of these. Maybe I jumped on the band wagon early?

Haha! Okay, good... I feel completely absolved now. Oh, and for the record: I'm pretty sure it was this thread of yours that introduced me to Arcane Inc. and some others. So I thank you for that.

My two Arcane Inc. P pickups have serial numbers very close to yours. Judging only by online presence, I think that, like other boutique makers I see, they are making lots of guitar pickups, but (sadly) few bass pickups.

 

[Laurent]

Laurent, today I bought one each of Arcane Inc. 57 and 65 model P pickups. They just shipped, so look for at least one review of mine in a week or so.

How do the 57 pickup sound? Have you had a chance to test them?

Spit coils late 50's pickups are generally not my cup of tea, the reissues I have tried (three or so) all had too much highs and not enough warmth for my liking. It might also have been the case of not pairing with the right instrument. I tested six different pickups on my homebuilt one piece body Honduran Mahogany P before finding the perfect match with the Arcane 65.

 

[themarshall]

Wylde P46. Only problem is they don't charge enough. If they worked a little cork sniffer vibe and charged more they'd probably be "wylde-ly" popular. And if you want to talk ultra boutique, Alembic should get a nod, on (outrageous) price alone. Honestly, what can you do to justify good-used-bass prices for a pickup?

 

[Laurent]

Wylde P46. Only problem is they don't charge enough. If they worked a little cork sniffer vibe and charged more they'd probably be "wylde-ly" popular. And if you want to talk ultra boutique, Alembic should get a nod, on (outrageous) price alone. Honestly, what can you do to justify good-used-bass prices for a pickup?

It's Wilde P46 (note slight difference in spelling) designed by the late Bill Lawrence. These pickups are indeed very good and relatively inexpensive. I have tested them in the past and liked them a lot.

You are right on the price, some boutique pickups cost almost as much as a brand new bass. I tested a FSR Yamaha which had a mango top and a mahogany body and this instrument sounded good and played relatively well for its price ($169 on sale). Plus it had a PJ configuration.

To me the justification for higher price is in the better tone. I am fortunate to be able to afford better pickups. It makes a difference to my ears so I spend the money in it. I have purchased $6 Chinese pickups that were not bad at all and certainly beat anything boutique to a pulp from a value stand point of view. I don't drive a fancy car and a luxury car is not worth the money to me. It all boils down to a matter of preference and personal choice.

 

[petrus61]

I'd also like to hear from anyone who's had a chance to try Aero's P offerings.

 

[Snaxster]

How do the 57 pickup sound? Have you had a chance to test them?

Spit coils late 50's pickups are generally not my cup of tea, the reissues I have tried (three or so) all had too much highs and not enough warmth for my liking. It might also have been the case of not pairing with the right instrument. I tested six different pickups on my homebuilt one piece body Honduran Mahogany P before finding the perfect match with the Arcane 65.

Not yet, Laurent. The bass housing the Arcane 65 now is my only test bass for P pickups these days. So I will live with the Arcane 65 for a bit longer. Then I'll find the time for swapping in the Arcane 57. (I will even try it before the Peter Florance P pickup I've been wanting to hear; I thought his J pickups were superfine, so I think his P could be, too.)

My two recent experiences with late 50s style reissue split coil P pickups were other than what you describe. One was the Klein 1959 Epic P (my review here); the other was the Flying Mojo The Duck Pre-CBS P (my review here).

Your point about pairing stands. But I think you might like the Klein 1959 P more than the other reissues you tried. And if you also tried the Klein 1958 P, then reviewed it here, I would be most appreciative.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

and this is my beef with clips and such; a pro payer on a pro gig through a pro system like you're gonna see a national act like mcmurtry use, you could shove a stock squier P into the guy's hands and i bet he would make it sound just as good.

This....

Imo, unless you have an A-B comparison to say a stock Fender P pickup or say a Duncan SPB1 (vintage P pickup), its not easy to hear things properly.

 

[themarshall]

It's Wilde P46 (note slight difference in spelling) designed by the late Bill Lawrence. These pickups are indeed very good and relatively inexpensive. I have tested them in the past and liked them a lot.

You are right on the price, some boutique pickups cost almost as much as a brand new bass. I tested a FSR Yamaha which had a mango top and a mahogany body and this instrument sounded good and played relatively well for its price ($169 on sale). Plus it had a PJ configuration.

To me the justification for higher price is in the better tone. I am fortunate to be able to afford better pickups. It makes a difference to my ears so I spend the money in it. I have purchased $6 Chinese pickups that were not bad at all and certainly beat anything boutique to a pulp from a value stand point of view. I don't drive a fancy car and a luxury car is not worth the money to me. It all boils down to a matter of preference and personal choice.

Wilde v. Wylde Doh! I should have known that. I have a P46 in a P5 and really like it.

Rerice I wasn't referring to basses or pickups that cost a few hundred - I too have basses that cost that (used) and pickups/preamps I've spent that on. I was referencing the list price of Alembic activator pickups which seem to be about $1K.

 

[Snaxster]

The bass housing the Arcane 65 now is my only test bass for P pickups these days. So I will live with the Arcane 65 for a bit longer. Then I'll find the time for swapping in the Arcane 57.

Correction: Sorry, I was very tired when I wrote that. In fact, I already have a separate test plan for 50s style split coil P pickups, using my Fender Custom Shop '59 Precision Bass with flatwounds. For now, that test will include the Arcane Inc. 57 Experience P and a retry of the Klein 1959 Epic P pickups.

 

[Laurent]

I spend some time comparing the Arcane 65 pickup with a group of quality pickups and the results were impressive.

Here is what I used as a reference group; all pickups are split coil sixties style pickups; basses are all P basses of various flavors and wood, strings are mosty round wound Ernie Ball Slinkies or Dunlop Roundwound:
Lollar
Lollar Overwound
Aguilar AG 4P-60
Aguilar AG 4P-hot
Fender Select (pickup from a Fender Select - not available for purchase as an after market pickup)

Tonally and stylistically the Arcane sat in between the two Lollars. It did not have the extended highs of the regular Lollar and it did not have quite the muscular output and the bass of the Lollar Overwound. The Arcane was hotter in output than the regular Lollar. The Fender Select stands in its own because of its somewhat glassy, punchy tone. It seems to have a bump in the high mids that gives it that cut through character. The Aguilar AG 4P-60 is quite warm and woolly. It has sufficient highs but it's kind of a gentle, polite sounding pickup. The Arcane has less of that aggressive character compared with the Fender Select and more than the Aguilar. The Aguilar Hot has extensive bass and a massive output and this pickup, although related to the Lollar Ovewound stands alone in this group.

All of these pickups are my favorites after testing through 20 some different P bass pickups and I was surprised how the Arcane shined in this group. It really delivered well by its overall balance. All of these pickups deliver a nice P bass tone but they all have their strength and weaknesses; their own character.

The Arcane is so balanced that when I started testing it, it appeared to be the middle of the road average P bass pickup. Upon further listening I came to conclusion that this pickup comes across as such because it's so balanced and so tonally elegant.

It's a beautiful sounding pickup that delivers a nice amount of growl on its low register. It is obvious that the people at Arcane have a great level of technical skills and great ears to deal-in such a quality great sounding pickups. I believe they are mostly noted as a guitar pickup builder. This is often the case because the demand for guitar pickups far exceed the demand for bass pickups. I am glad however that this company took the time to great a limited but well focused range of bass pickups.

Should anybody owning a Lollar, Fralin, Aguilar dump it to buy this, probably not, particularly if you are happy with what you have. However if you are in the market for a new pickup, Arcane should definitely be on your list as one of the best option available in the highest quality range of sixties style split coil pickups. This pickup would also be a great option for people restoring a vintage instrument and who need an authentic sound replacement to their original pickups. Needless to say, I am impressed and so glad I purchased this pickup.

 

[Mike_1978]

Laurent, since you've played and heard my current favorite, the Novak PB-90, how do they compare?

Well they are very different. The Curtis Novak with its bar magnets has a stronger output and a bigger more modern tone.

Paging Laurent and bassvirtuouso? I started a thread looking for Novak P90 reviews (here) and was kindly directed to this thread because of your experience with it.
I'd love to hear more about how the pickup worked out for you. Laurent, could you say more about what you mean by "more modern tone"? How does having a hotter output affect things (e.g., does it cause problems with pedals)? Some others I'm considering include Seymour Duncan Antiquity, EMG GZR-P, and Lindy Fralin, if you've used them.

If you want more info on the sound I'm looking for, see this thread or basically just this video.

Thank you!