Ultra boutique P bass pickups

[PhatBottomBass1]

I have a PB-CC I put in a ‘73 P-Bass. Very solid full tone but I’m not able to get the bright higher end out of it when I’m a loud band setting. Currently has a .1 cap and bright rounds on it. Maybe the mids are pulled back to much for me. It sounds awesome when I’m in my garage playing through my PF20T and 1x15”

Since I have a bunch of Double P-Bass setups, I’m going to put the CC in the bridge position of one of my others, and I have ordered the PB-90 for the neck. Hoping that combo will be something special.

Cheers,

Have you considered a 500K volume pot and a 250K tone pot and perhaps a .033 cap?

This is a standard DiMarzio P Bass pickup wiring.

I have secured a PB-CC and will be using a standard Emerson Custom harness with two (2) 250K pots and a .047 capacitor.

I also did a bunch of reading last night about the original Charlie Christian pickup and it's characteristics in comparison to a P-90 single coil pickup. While I have heard the available audio online for the Novak pickups. I have only personal experience with the PB-V. I am expecting to switch the CC into the Ash body Tokai Hard Puncher and put the PB-V into the Roasted Alder body P Bass.

 

[Ringhammer]

I figure with everything dimed, the value of the cap and pots don’t matter, it’s still not in the range I’m looking for. It has a great sound no doubt, super full and big, but just lacks definition when in a loud band rehearsal. I’m betting it will be a good fit in the bridge position to beef up the weaker tone that you usually get from pickups at the bridge, while having their regular PB-90 at the stock/neck will be good for the mids and clarity with a good amount of growl. All with that bit of mid-scoop I like.


Funny, the ongoing effort that goes into trying to get each bass sound its very best.

 

[NKBassman]

I remember liking the PB-CC, but I agree it was thicker than it was bright. I remember it sounding "hot"/overwound, thus subdued top end, but without the typical midrange honk of an overwound pickup. I eventually settled on the PB-V as my favourite between the -CC, -90, and -V.

I tried all three, and my preference in order was PB-V > PB-CC > PB-90.

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

What I picked up reading about the "original" Charlie Christian Spanish guitar pickup was Cobalt magnets and two steel plates, low Gauss and warm, fat, clear and less high end and higher noise.

P-90 was higher Gauss (hotter) with more high end extension and better breakup, less clarity.

I also saw someone selling a PB-CC and posting a vid of James McMurtry's Bass player (an old cornbread cutter) with his PB-CC equipped 70's Fender P Bass. I wouldn't expect that kat to be packing an ice pick in his Bass!

 

[MarkA]

I figure with everything dimed, the value of the cap and pots don’t matter, it’s still not in the range I’m looking for...

I don't have experience with these specific pickups, but having switched out pots in a couple of passive basses from 250 KOhm to 500 KOhm (I think there's one of each -- 500 K vol, 250 K tone -- in my fretless P/J), I found the difference in brightness when the pots were dialed "wide-open" to be marked.

How noticeable the difference would be would, I think, depend on your pickups, strings, amp, cab, and what you're listening for. Unless you're using no-load pots, though, I'd expect to hear some difference between 250K and 500K pots at their brightest settings.

You could try temporarily bypassing one or both pots and see how much of a difference you notice. If not much, maybe different pots and caps aren't worth pursuing. If it's a big difference, might be worth looking into.

As for different caps, I can't speak in detail on their effects, but I often use the resonant peak of a passive tone control to subtly fill out the mids or upper mids in my sound, giving me a little more presence in a mix even as my top end is rolled off. To the extent that different caps might influence the shape and depth of the treble rolloff (and resonant peak), you might or might not find them worth playing with.

If the pickups "straight to jack" aren't bright/open enough up top for you, though, something else (pickups, strings, whatever) will likely need to change.

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

I opted to go with DiMarzio EP1200 & EP1201 (500k Volume & 250K Tone) pots and a Vitamin T .047 cap. with the PB-CC.

I find plenty of Treble response and a very phat low-end. The pots are also very high quality and have very smooth responsiveness.

The PB-CC is clear, phat and warm and has no mid wooly blur. I'm using it with a great deal of pedal effects processing. Like it!

 

[Ringhammer]

I moved the PB-CC to the bridge and got a PB-90 in the standard position of my double P. Going to try it at rehearsal this week, so I’ll see how it sounds with the band.

 

[Twice19]

You can buy Olinto and Moollon pickups as well.

 

[Grinderman]

I'm convinced the Lollar P is too blah with flats so I just purchased a new Fender CS '62 P for a substantial discount. Swapping out the Lollar my Nash PB came with for the FCS '62 is in the works.

If the FCS '62 doesn't do it for me at least I should be able to turn it around in the Classifieds without losing too much. Then I'd need to decide what to try next.

I love the Klein Epic '58 in my other P but I'm unsure if I'm ready take another chance on processing a new order from Klein to get a '59 or '62. I suspect the best alternative to Klein would be a SD
Vintage P-Bass (SPB-1?) or Antiquity.

Arcane is another option I've been looking at, and they're local to where I live.

 

[Grinderman]

You can buy Olinto and Moollon pickups as well.

I've considered P pickups from Mas/Olinto too, but very pricey... like Kloppmann level pricey.

When P pickups well surpass the $200 level I basically need to know for certain I'll get the pickups that I want to keep for life and, in the process, probably a direct, educational, conversation with the maker about it as well.

 

[NKBassman]

I'm convinced the Lollar P is too blah with flats so I just purchased a new Fender CS '62 P for a substantial discount. Swapping out the Lollar my Nash PB came with for the FCS '62 is in the works.

If the FCS '62 doesn't do it for me at least I should be able to turn it around in the Classifieds without losing too much. Then I'd need to decide what to try next.

I love the Klein Epic '58 in my other P but I'm to say I'm unsure if I'm ready take another chance on processing a new order from Klein to get a '59 or '62. I suspect the best alternative to Klein would be a SD
Vintage P-Bass (SPB-1?) or Antiquity.

Arcane is another option I've been looking at, and they're local to where I live.

FWIW, I'm currently using a SD Antiquity II in my P with TI flats and I'm out of GAS on that particular bass.

 

[Coughdrops]

I've done some pickup flipping years back and swore I wouldn't do it again. But I did to take my off other things and with the idea of just trying things, not searching for some holy grail. Apologies for a long-ish post.

Things compared...some I owned, some I bought. I sort of group them by flavor or spec so I'll compare that way. I've owned a fair amount of other types but haven't used them in years so this is just recent stuff.

Lollar standard
Lollar overwound
Fender 63
Fender CS 62
SPB-1
SPB-4
Klein 62
David Allen

The overwound variety. The Fender 63 is super familiar to myself and many others. Big full sound lots of lows and mids with very pleasing high end, if a bit subdued. A great sounding pickup that I love but currently am not super into. The Lollar OW by comparison was maybe just less exaggerated than the 63. Lows/mids were a bit more than standard but a little more firm than the fender 63. A little more high end. I like this as a sort of middle ground to the higher wind style. The SPB4 had tons of low mids but at the expense of high end. Too much so to me. It also felt very stiff whereas the fender and lollar had a much better squishy response.

Late 50s style. Lollar standard and SPB1. These were more similar than I remember them being. Big open sound and pretty even to me. The Duncan a little more stiff. I love the give the lollar has when digging in. I'm very familiar with these two and gave gigged them heavily for 15 years or so. In general these are my favorites over time.

Brand new to me. Klein 62 and David Allen (1088 or something like that?). These are both great. The Klein is my favorite of all at the moment. Not as open as the SPB1 or Lollar. Heavy finger style is great. It almost seems silly to say with the name and marketing etc but if I had an idea of the 60s type sound and response in my head, it would be this pickup. Only used with rounds so far but really a great pickup.

The David allen I also love but it's different. I love it with rounds. Really nice woody attack on the low end. High end is great, has that give when playing hard that is sort of addictive. With old black label sadowsky flats I'm not as crazy about it. It's a bit too undefined. But with rounds I like it as much as anything.

Fender CS62. You could compare it output wise to the standard lollar or Klein but I sort think of this guy by itself. It's well described on here, pretty aggressive high mids and a bit scooped. Can sound pretty gnarly. It's just not my thing I guess. I had to eq way more than usual on gigs. Sounds great really but just not for me.

I might sell a couple but will prob keep a few even if I don't have them installed at the moment. My favorites are standard Lollar and the Klein 62. Special mention the SPB1 and Allen. Anyways, yeah, I love p bass pickups.

 

[douglasbass]

Has anyone here matched boutique P-Bass pickups with nylon tapewound strings? Wondering what sounds great with La Bella Black Nylons. Prefer a 'woody', 'upright' tone -- obviously that's an approximation with an electric bass.

 

[Grinderman]

I've done some pickup flipping years back and swore I wouldn't do it again. But I did to take my off other things and with the idea of just trying things, not searching for some holy grail. Apologies for a long-ish post.

Things compared...some I owned, some I bought. I sort of group them by flavor or spec so I'll compare that way. I've owned a fair amount of other types but haven't used them in years so this is just recent stuff.

Lollar standard
Lollar overwound
Fender 63
Fender CS 62
SPB-1
SPB-4
Klein 62
David Allen

The overwound variety. The Fender 63 is super familiar to myself and many others. Big full sound lots of lows and mids with very pleasing high end, if a bit subdued. A great sounding pickup that I love but currently am not super into. The Lollar OW by comparison was maybe just less exaggerated than the 63. Lows/mids were a bit more than standard but a little more firm than the fender 63. A little more high end. I like this as a sort of middle ground to the higher wind style. The SPB4 had tons of low mids but at the expense of high end. Too much so to me. It also felt very stiff whereas the fender and lollar had a much better squishy response.

Late 50s style. Lollar standard and SPB1. These were more similar than I remember them being. Big open sound and pretty even to me. The Duncan a little more stiff. I love the give the lollar has when digging in. I'm very familiar with these two and gave gigged them heavily for 15 years or so. In general these are my favorites over time.

Brand new to me. Klein 62 and David Allen (1088 or something like that?). These are both great. The Klein is my favorite of all at the moment. Not as open as the SPB1 or Lollar. Heavy finger style is great. It almost seems silly to say with the name and marketing etc but if I had an idea of the 60s type sound and response in my head, it would be this pickup. Only used with rounds so far but really a great pickup.

The David allen I also love but it's different. I love it with rounds. Really nice woody attack on the low end. High end is great, has that give when playing hard that is sort of addictive. With old black label sadowsky flats I'm not as crazy about it. It's a bit too undefined. But with rounds I like it as much as anything.

Fender CS62. You could compare it output wise to the standard lollar or Klein but I sort think of this guy by itself. It's well described on here, pretty aggressive high mids and a bit scooped. Can sound pretty gnarly. It's just not my thing I guess. I had to eq way more than usual on gigs. Sounds great really but just not for me.

I might sell a couple but will prob keep a few even if I don't have them installed at the moment. My favorites are standard Lollar and the Klein 62. Special mention the SPB1 and Allen. Anyways, yeah, I love p bass pickups.

I haven't tried Klein's '62 pickups but this is a bit surprising to me.

The standard Lollar P I have has higher output than my Klein '58 but they sound quite different to me; with same value caps, same Dunlop flats, same amp, same fingers.

The way I see it, or hear it, flats leave nowhere for lesser pickups to hide. I found the Lollar pickups were good or fine with Dunlop nickel-rounds but with flats these pickups sound comparatively blah. With the tone rolled off the Lollar pickups just sound plane and boomy; no other redeeming tonal character or sonic information or material.

With flats, the Klein with the tone zeroed sounds better than Lollar dialed the same way. With flats, the Klein '58 sounds great with the tone set anywhere from 20% to 100% and with rounds the Klein doesn't sound bad no matter where the tone is set, mostly great.

Obviously, I absolutely prefer Klein '58 pickups as far as tone, which is far, far more important to me than simple output. The amp easily takes care of the difference in output.

I hope I'll like the Fender CS '62 pickups as much as I like the Klein '58 pickups, but with enough differentiation. If they can sound a bit gnarly, that bodes well.

 

[J. Brooks]

I've considered P pickups from Mas/Olinto too, but very pricey... like Kloppmann level pricey.

When P pickups well surpass the $200 level I basically need to know for certain I'll get the pickups that I want to keep for life and, in the process, probably a direct, educational, conversation with the maker about it as well.

I have an Olinto bass and I can say the pickup is amazing.

That said I'm putting a Novak BS-DS in it because I want something a little more unique with a few different tones available.

 

[Laurent]

I've considered P pickups from Mas/Olinto too, but very pricey... like Kloppmann level pricey.

When P pickups well surpass the $200 level I basically need to know for certain I'll get the pickups that I want to keep for life and, in the process, probably a direct, educational, conversation with the maker about it as well.

I agree with you on this. I love good pickups but I tend to tap out at $175. Winding a P-bass pickup costs very little, it's all in labor cost. Pickups are so specialized that I am always a bit concerned by luthiers winding their own pickups. Can they do it? Yes of course, many schools include this as part of their classes but the very best people in the business specialize in pickups and only do that. Guys like Rob Timmons of Arcane or Jason Lollar come to mind. Both of them are luthier as well but have found more interest or success in winding pickups.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

I haven't tried Klein's '62 pickups but this is a bit surprising to me.

The standard Lollar P I have has higher output than my Klein '58 but they sound quite different to me; with same value caps, same Dunlop flats, same amp, same fingers.

The way I see it, or hear it, flats leave nowhere for lesser pickups to hide. I found the Lollar pickups were good or fine with Dunlop nickel-rounds but with flats these pickups sound comparatively blah. With the tone rolled off the Lollar pickups just sound plane and boomy; no other redeeming tonal character or sonic information or material.

With flats, the Klein with the tone zeroed sounds better than Lollar dialed the same way. With flats, the Klein '58 sounds great with the tone set anywhere from 20% to 100% and with rounds the Klein doesn't sound bad no matter where the tone is set, mostly great.

Obviously, I absolutely prefer Klein '58 pickups as far as tone, which is far, far more important to me than simple output. The amp easily takes care of the difference in output.

I hope I'll like the Fender CS '62 pickups as much as I like the Klein '58 pickups, but with enough differentiation. If they can sound a bit gnarly, that bodes well.

Leave them where they are; got a set of Klein Epic ‘59 as you know, which are not very high in output but ok; they shine in that their tone is very articulated and overall always nice to the hears.
On another P-bass I have the Fender PV ‘63; wow! That is the pickup that would ideally complement the Klein in your case, I believe.
This, of course, is just my personal taste

 

[Grinderman]

I have an Olinto bass and I can say the pickup is amazing.

That said I'm putting a Novak BS-DS in it because I want something a little more unique with a few different tones available.

I'd love to have an Olinto, I have no doubt they're very fine basses, but $350 for a pickup set alone made by Mas Hino is very steep, to put it mildly.

 

[Coughdrops]

I was just using output in comparison to the overwound pickups I tried and lumping these in together broadly. I think the Klein is slightly lower output than standard lollars I have. I find them pretty different as well and like what each does. I personally don't find Lollars bland but so much of this is entirely subjective.

I would like to try the Klein 59s but at this point I've done enough. I do have an AVRI 58 coming and look forward to hearing those Fender 58s but I need to offload some gear otherwise.

 

[Grinderman]

I agree with you on this. I love good pickups but I tend to tap out at $175. Winding a P-bass pickup costs very little, it's all in labor cost. Pickups are so specialized that I am always a bit concerned by luthiers winding their own pickups. Can they do it? Yes of course, many schools include this as part of their classes but the very best people in the business specialize in pickups and only do that. Guys like Rob Timmons of Arcane or Jason Lollar come to mind. Both of them are luthier as well but have found more interest or success in winding pickups.

I'm starting to see P pickup prices tick up, with inflation, to $160 per set.

As I see Mas Hino charging $350 for set, I begin to think, as a curious DIY maker/tinkerer/experimenter, maybe I could get into winding my own, just as another hobby. There are various makes of winding machines on the market in the $150 to $600 range.