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Ultra boutique P bass pickups
- Thread starter Laurent
- Start date
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!
Modern tone as a pickup that sounds like a non traditional P pickup: if you use traditional pole magnets and wire a maker lands within a range. Pickup designer pushed the envelope by using ceramic, larger pole pieces, magnet bars at the bottom of the pole pieces to create a different and often more modern sounding pickup. Think DiMarzio Model P, Aguilar AG 4p-Hot, Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder, Wylde P46.... The Novak P90 is in the realm. P bass tone, more of it and with a touch of modern tone. With regards to pedals, nothing can be generalized you have to try a specific pedal with a specific pickups and see how they work together.
I am personally not a fan of the EMG GZR-P but legions of people love them here. Lindy Fralin has a nice pickup but there is a spike in the mid highs that drive me nuts. Duncan Antiquity II is a beautiful sounding pickup in a warm woolly style. Laid back and very vintage. I have owned all these pickups in the past. Pickups have to work with your instrument too. I went through 5 or 6 pickups before finding a pickup that worked with a relatively light weight bass I have. At some point you will have to try different things and see what works for your ears and instrument. It's costly but think of it as dating. Most people have to experiment a bit before finding a soul mate.
What even qualifies as "ultra boutique"?
If it's just price, well a lot of the popular and expensive boutique pickup builders have jacked their prices way up beyond what's necessary to make a decent profit just because they can. That's how Capitalism works, they can charge what they can convince us to pay. There's nothing wrong with it, but a 200 dollar boutique pickup isn't necessarily better in any objective way than a 100 dollar or even 60 dollar boutique one. I guess my point is that classifying things as "ultra boutique" isn't all that useful. There's boutique and then not in my opinion. YMMV.
Personally, I dig all these folks :
Sentell Pickups bass guitar pickups
Sentell pickups has the more creative pickup designs even for P-basses. So I guess they're kinda like a poor man's Delano or Nordstrand in some ways (still different though). See these :
http://www.jlguitars.com/
Jess Loureiro makes some very Fralin-esque or Lollar-esque stuff, mostly the vintage reproductions and other nice ones like the split 51, etc.
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You can order some nice pickups from Prima that are completely custom to your specifications for not much money. I paid like 60 bucks a piece for a three pickup set of 51' p pickups. They were completely custom, one is RWRP, all are scatter-wound to 10k and I had him use 1/4" magnets. They're nice pickups.
You can even pick the color you want :
If it's just price, well a lot of the popular and expensive boutique pickup builders have jacked their prices way up beyond what's necessary to make a decent profit just because they can. That's how Capitalism works, they can charge what they can convince us to pay. There's nothing wrong with it, but a 200 dollar boutique pickup isn't necessarily better in any objective way than a 100 dollar or even 60 dollar boutique one. I guess my point is that classifying things as "ultra boutique" isn't all that useful. There's boutique and then not in my opinion. YMMV.
Personally, I dig all these folks :
Sentell Pickups bass guitar pickups
Sentell pickups has the more creative pickup designs even for P-basses. So I guess they're kinda like a poor man's Delano or Nordstrand in some ways (still different though). See these :
http://www.jlguitars.com/
Jess Loureiro makes some very Fralin-esque or Lollar-esque stuff, mostly the vintage reproductions and other nice ones like the split 51, etc.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
You can order some nice pickups from Prima that are completely custom to your specifications for not much money. I paid like 60 bucks a piece for a three pickup set of 51' p pickups. They were completely custom, one is RWRP, all are scatter-wound to 10k and I had him use 1/4" magnets. They're nice pickups.
You can even pick the color you want :
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Thank you for the pickup referral. Some of these builders push custom to new levels. Very interesting.
I initially posted about ultra boutique not referring to price but how well known these pickup designers are. Many people here can describe the tone of a Lollar P or a Fralin P however few people had any experience with, for example Arcane, before my initial post.
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Just to add to the knowledge base I recorded a comparison between the SPB-1 and Arcane 65. It's just direct into my computer. The SPB-1 was recorded a while back and I don't remember where I had the tone control so I did my best to be sure that the Arcane sounded the same in the high end so as not to mislead anyone. I also equalized the volume as best i could. The 1st half of the clip is the Duncan and the 2nd half the Arcane.
Thanks for posting that! Listened a few times through -- albeit on cheap earbuds. The Duncan sounds, to me, to have some more push in the low mids to mids, while the Arcane has a bit more going on below that. The Duncan sounds like it could, at first blush, be more pokey in a mix, but the Arcane sounds, to me, more natural, open, and pleasant to listen to, overall. The Duncan puts me just a bit on edge, for some reason!
Will listen again through more proper cans, but that's how they strike me at first.
I have used the Duncan in rehearsal and while it's an excellent pickup I found myself needing a little more in the mids to hear my lines sometimes. I'll be trying the Arcane at rehearsal next week and will post my thoughts after that.
Agree completely. I have yet to try the Antiquity and was also underwhelmed by the GZR. My all time favorite P pickup for Fender (though not modern sounding) are the ones Lindy Fralin used to make for RS guitar works. They were standard wind, but featured Alnico II instead of V and had a slightly bigger bevel to the poles. He will wind a custom set with AII, but they aren't available on the open market anymore. Twice I've been lucky enough to score a set here, though most people weren't aware they even existed. They have a soft, "shimmering" quality to the upper mids...maybe slightly lower output. I have yet to try the DiMarzio Area P (also AII) and am intrigued by the use of AIII some makers are using now.
EDIT: Also interested in trying the Prima's at some point. Wonder if they have Alnico II as an option?
Hi Mark. Though I lack personal experience with this comparison (between the Seymour Duncan SPB-1 and the Arcane 65 P), I can second Laurent's admiration for the Arcane 65 Experience P pickup, and corroborate both his impressions of its sound ("so balanced and so tonally elegant") and yours, above (notwithstanding his were firsthand in his own bass and yours were secondhand through cheap earbuds).
Until recently, my Arcane 65 P pickup stayed installed in a bass of mine for some months. In that time, I never tired of its balance, openness, and elegance. From the start I commented to myself that it sounded "sweet". Laurent is right, I think: "elegant" is the perfect descriptor for that pickup. Finally I swapped out mine only because I needed to try some other pickups that were waiting.
Hello. That I recall, I own three examples each of J and P bass pickups made with alnico 2 magnets. Of those P bass pickups, the only one I played for some time is a custom Bullock. My review of it is here.
The others are a custom Nordstrand that I have yet to play, and a Seymour Duncan Antiquity that I played only a little. (The Antiquity came installed in a bass I bought; I remember liking it, but being in a rush to try another pickup in that bass.)
Someday I will try each of my three alnico 2 P bass pickups in one bass, then post a comparison. Someday...
As for alnico 3 bass pickups, the only ones I own are a custom RWRP SCPB set by The Pickup Wizard. They are newly arrived, and I have no bass for them yet. I really want to play this set.
Hi Laurent. Yesterday I got the Jess Loureiro J and P pickups. Beautiful craftsmanship and packaging, quick shipping to the US, and Jess Loureiro is an extra-cool human being.
"Very interesting" indeed. I have yet to measure and compare, but look at how far the magnets extend below the bottom of the Loureiro P pickup.
Are they the same length as typical P pickup magnets, or longer? If the same, is it that they are offset differently than is typical, or are the coils shorter in height?
Measurements pending, I suspect that Mr. Loureiro intentionally is doing something a bit different with his split coil P bass pickup design.
I'm sorry, man, but I may have to try this one before I try the Arcane 57 Experience P pickup.
I noted on the picture, serial number 0000! Mine are a low number, under 50, 46 maybe? I can't remember. It looks like you own the first P bass pickup made by this company. Amazing!
Hi Laurent. Yesterday I got the Jess Loureiro J and P pickups. Beautiful craftsmanship and packaging, quick shipping to the US, and Jess Loureiro is an extra-cool human being.
"Very interesting" indeed. I have yet to measure and compare, but look at how far the magnets extend below the bottom of the Loureiro P pickup.
Are they the same length as typical P pickup magnets, or longer? If the same, is it that they are offset differently than is typical, or are the coils shorter in height?
Measurements pending, I suspect that Mr. Loureiro intentionally is doing something a bit different with his split coil P bass pickup design.
I'm sorry, man, but I may have to try this one before I try the Arcane 57 Experience P pickup.
View attachment 826344
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It's hard to judge on the picture but these pole pieces look pretty long to me and the coils also look pretty beefy. Again, without a reference point it's difficult to assess but they look a bit like the Lauzon P-bass/Strat pickup which is an extra tall coil (like a Strat - hence the name). The Lauzon has a huge output and the tone of a vintage style pickup (think Lollar).
Beautiful work from Loureiro and prices that are comparable with Seymour Duncan SPB series of pickups. A great value for hand crafted pickups. I am impressed by the range of pickups this company/individual produces. I look forward to the listening notes.
Oh, no! Sorry, Laurent. I didn't mention that I hacked my photo to obfuscate the serial number.
My serial numbers on the 57 and 65 P pickups are very close to yours.Thanks for weighing in, Laurent. I promise to take and post measurements of the Loureiro pickups soon, then install them and post reviews soon after.
Beautiful work and great value, yes. To wit, here is a detail I just noticed:
Both the split coil P and J Loureiro pickups feature lead mounts in the style of early 1950s Fender single coil pickups. Too cool: The lead is threaded through the bobbin to anchor it first, then it is folded back and soldered into the grommet in the bobbin.
So far I have yet to see any other pickup maker doing this with pickup types other than Telecaster and SCPB. I am impressed.
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I'm sorry, man, but I may have to try this one before I try the Arcane 57 Experience P pickup.
But it didn't go that way. Finally, Laurent:
Mini-review: Arcane Inc. 57 Experience split coil P (Precision) bass pickup
