Benson Custom P pickup review
I might be late to this party since this pickup was reviewed by Tbass members Snaxster in 2016 and Yahboy in 2017. Nevertheless, here are my notes.
This pickup is meticulously crafted, attention to detail is high. The magnets are labeled Bass and Treble.
The pickup is rated 11k and it sounds like it. It has lots of output! It uses .195 diameter Alnico 5 magnets, and it is hand wound, using 42 awg enamel wire
The first thing that did strike my ears is how balanced it is and how even the output through the frequency spectrum is. It’s capable of a really crisp tone or a really bassy one at the other end of the spectrum. There’s lots of amplitude and it’s all usable. The second element which surprised me is the fact that this pickup delivers a lot of high frequencies. It’s crisp and detailed if you want it to be. Roll up the highs and it becomes warm and woolly. It can sound vintage at times, but it does not sound overly modern either. The pickup is quite dynamic as well and can be really punchy. Upon further listening some settings have a little bit of a P bass honky tone leading me to think it has a bump in the mid frequencies. It made me think of a Fender made pickup from the past without the harshness. Again, the pickup is a little bit of a chameleon which can both deliver a crisp tone even with in my case, with Thomastik flat wound and big warm Motown type tone. It does all that with a muscular output and some harmonic richness.
Some overwound pickups can sound simple and this is not the case at all here. I tend to think that with fresh round wound this pickup must be really bright but nothing that cannot be fixed by the tone control knob. Highs can be tamed but they cannot be created by EQ if they are not there in the first place. Enharmonics really pop on this pickup and have a vivid larger than life quality.
Overall, I like the tone of this pickup and wanted to check how it fares against three good pickups I own: A Fender Custom shop pickup that came with a Custom Shop bass, a Kloppmann and an Arcane 65L overwound pickup. To my surprise it held its own against these top shelf pickups. It’s by far the brightest of the lot and has the most output as well. They all have their own personalities, but they all deliver really good tone. Considering Benson Custom P pickup is the least expensive of this group, I am impressed. It’s not for a bass player who wants the big, bassy totally warm pickup (I would choose Aguilar for warmth or Fender Pure Vintage 63 for bassy). Likewise, it’s not as hot and grindy as a DiMarzio Model P to pick extremes.
The pickup thrives by its balance, wide range, and beautiful, very musical tone. String to string balance is also excellent. Note that one of the magnets is label as bass and the other one as treble. It’s the only P bass pickup I've tested to be labeled in such a way.
It’s not a good pickup for DUB and reggae music but it covers a lot of ground. In the mix this pickup works because of the highs it can deliver and its punchy slightly aggressive tone. It might be just the right pickup for players who want that trebly rock tone or for players who have a bass lacking in highs. I also think it would be a good pickup for recording. The highs remind me of a Seymour Duncan SPB-1 but with a beefier overall tone.
I might be late to this party since this pickup was reviewed by Tbass members Snaxster in 2016 and Yahboy in 2017. Nevertheless, here are my notes.
This pickup is meticulously crafted, attention to detail is high. The magnets are labeled Bass and Treble.
The pickup is rated 11k and it sounds like it. It has lots of output! It uses .195 diameter Alnico 5 magnets, and it is hand wound, using 42 awg enamel wire
The first thing that did strike my ears is how balanced it is and how even the output through the frequency spectrum is. It’s capable of a really crisp tone or a really bassy one at the other end of the spectrum. There’s lots of amplitude and it’s all usable. The second element which surprised me is the fact that this pickup delivers a lot of high frequencies. It’s crisp and detailed if you want it to be. Roll up the highs and it becomes warm and woolly. It can sound vintage at times, but it does not sound overly modern either. The pickup is quite dynamic as well and can be really punchy. Upon further listening some settings have a little bit of a P bass honky tone leading me to think it has a bump in the mid frequencies. It made me think of a Fender made pickup from the past without the harshness. Again, the pickup is a little bit of a chameleon which can both deliver a crisp tone even with in my case, with Thomastik flat wound and big warm Motown type tone. It does all that with a muscular output and some harmonic richness.
Some overwound pickups can sound simple and this is not the case at all here. I tend to think that with fresh round wound this pickup must be really bright but nothing that cannot be fixed by the tone control knob. Highs can be tamed but they cannot be created by EQ if they are not there in the first place. Enharmonics really pop on this pickup and have a vivid larger than life quality.
Overall, I like the tone of this pickup and wanted to check how it fares against three good pickups I own: A Fender Custom shop pickup that came with a Custom Shop bass, a Kloppmann and an Arcane 65L overwound pickup. To my surprise it held its own against these top shelf pickups. It’s by far the brightest of the lot and has the most output as well. They all have their own personalities, but they all deliver really good tone. Considering Benson Custom P pickup is the least expensive of this group, I am impressed. It’s not for a bass player who wants the big, bassy totally warm pickup (I would choose Aguilar for warmth or Fender Pure Vintage 63 for bassy). Likewise, it’s not as hot and grindy as a DiMarzio Model P to pick extremes.
The pickup thrives by its balance, wide range, and beautiful, very musical tone. String to string balance is also excellent. Note that one of the magnets is label as bass and the other one as treble. It’s the only P bass pickup I've tested to be labeled in such a way.
It’s not a good pickup for DUB and reggae music but it covers a lot of ground. In the mix this pickup works because of the highs it can deliver and its punchy slightly aggressive tone. It might be just the right pickup for players who want that trebly rock tone or for players who have a bass lacking in highs. I also think it would be a good pickup for recording. The highs remind me of a Seymour Duncan SPB-1 but with a beefier overall tone.
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