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Ultra boutique P bass pickups

#1,182
tvbop said:
Has anyone ever fitted a set of LB-100 Split-Coil PU's into a P bass, how do they compare to other aftermarket PU's?
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Yes, I put a set in an 08’ Fender American Standard P . I chose them because they have a bit more upper mids for being heard in the mix than I was hearing in some other pickups while still maintaining a fair amount of lows. Not an obnoxious amount of upper mids but effect.
 
#1,183
Do you guys use the copper grounding/shielding plate below the pups on your new pup installs?

The Arcane 65' was shipped 15 days ago USPS from west to east coast and it's supposed to arrive today.
I've got a 72' P with an A neck just waiting as the original pup died recently.
 
#1,184
Jim C said:
Do you guys use the copper grounding/shielding plate below the pups on your new pup installs?

The Arcane 65' was shipped 15 days ago USPS from west to east coast and it's supposed to arrive today.
I've got a 72' P with an A neck just waiting as the original pup died recently.
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EDIT
I do - it's not necessary - but they don't hurt anything. I just like the "vintage-factor" of the brass shield.

Most of my basses are from the era(s) that would have originally had them or re-issues thereof / or if the PU came with the plate; i.e. Fender CS '62, SD Antiquity II, etc.
 
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#1,185
Arcane 65 quick review - Very clear sounding with a richness I haven't found with other brands. I guess you could say that there are increased harmonics.
The cool part is the E string sounds like a piano and the D&G strings never sound too thin.
Works well with OD pedals but I've been so bent on the natural tone I've mostly played clean.
 
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#1,186
Jim C said:
Arcane 65 quick review - Very clear sounding with a richness I haven't found with other brands. I guess you could say that there are increased harmonics.
The cool part is the E string sounds like a piano and the D&G strings never sound too thin.
Works well with OD pedals but I've been so bent on the natural tone I've mostly played clean.
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Nice. I’ve been a tad unlucky with grabbing a used pair and my Bartolini 8s I ordered to replace my 8cbp (if I prefer) still haven’t arrived at the bass direct here in the uk so I’m really thinking of just getting these.

What really stood out with what you said is how the E string sounds like a piano and the other strings don’t sound thin.
 
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#1,187
soulstar89 said:
Nice. I’ve been a tad unlucky with grabbing a used pair and my Bartolini 8s I ordered to replace my 8cbp (if I prefer) still haven’t arrived at the bass direct here in the uk so I’m really thinking of just getting these.

What really stood out with what you said is how the E string sounds like a piano and the other strings don’t sound thin.
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Just go buy a new one. I like the Arcane even more than the Antiquity II.

Arcane 65 Experience pickup
 
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#1,188
Wow...I can't believe this thread is still going on a year later. I'm just chiming in here to say I've been running the Lollar Precision 90 pickup on my Fender American Standard Precision Bass with a maple fingerboard. It's been a pleasure to play, and it is noticeably different from the Fender Pure Vintage 58 pickup with the raised A polepiece (I always had to angle the E-string side of the pickup lower to accommodate the raised A pole pieces).

I ran Nickel Lo-Riders on the PB-90 pickup which sounded awesome and warmed up the brightness of the bass. For ***** and giggles, I switched to Rotosound Stainless Steel strings to check the tonal differences between nickel vs steel on this particular pickup and bass combo, and I must say, I prefer the warmth of the nickel. The steel strings were much brighter, but also brittle and lacking warmth.

I recently just changed the strings to GHS Boomers after the Roto Swing Bass stainless went dead, and that warm growl is back again (not that it didn't growl with the Rotos, it lacked the warmth).

I also bought a Curtis Novak PB-CC pickup that never got installed cause the Lollar PB-90s sounded so good.
 
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#1,190
Laurent said:
Kloppmann Electrics PB63 split coil Precision bass pickup review.

Almost nothing has been written on this pickup on Talkbass. As it is expensive, I decided to write an extensive review. I hope will be useful to some people. Note I am not paid nor endorsed by any manufacturer. I pay for my own gear.

Background: Andreas Kloppmann is a pickup winder located in Germany. He says he’s been winding pickups since 1985. His knowledge and understanding of pickups is extensive. He released a video on the history of Fender Stratocaster pickup which made me think of a doctoral thesis. He can play too!

Price: As of 2023, the PB63 is $285 it is expensive compared to its peers. The Seymour Duncan Antiquity II is $159, The Lollar P is $160, Fralin P is $150, and the Arcane Experience 65 is $135. Compared with the SD it’s 78% more expensive. For the price of one PB63 you can buy two Arcane pickups.

Tone: Construction is classic: pure enamel wire, slightly overwound (reads 11.9 k Ohm) and wound by hand. Tone wise, it’s in the vintage family or at least what I think of it as such. The output of this pickup is massive, it puts out more juice than pickups with higher readings. That’s a surprise but it’s well established that the resistance reading of a pickup only tells a small part of the story. Playing this pickup is striking because the tone seems to have its own signature, the notes almost have a 4-D dimension. It lets the player hear things you’ve not heard before. There’s a vivid sort of character that is amazing.

I tested this pickup under two different bass configurations:

One-piece Honduran mahogany body, rosewood and maple neck, Ernie Ball Extra Slinky Round wound strings. This pickup appears (to my ears) to have a bump in the mids. It made me think a bit of Fralin, except the bump with a Fralin seems narrow (high-mids) as opposed to here, it seems to be broader. Also, a Fralin is wound with Formvar and this is plain enamel. What’s also interesting is with some amps, this pickup has a sort of stern, glassy top, the highs are aggressive almost brittle. Meanwhile roll off all the highs, and the bass is so big and woolly, it’s only marginally usable. What happens between these two extremes can be magic, however. Because of the tonal response and the added output, this pickup outshines most pickups you throw against it. It has excellent punch and sustain too. This certainly works on this bass, but the pickup emphasizes the some of the mids and highs the bass naturally delivers, and it certainly is a nice tone but not as nice as the next configuration.

Fender Vintage style bass, alder body, rosewood/maple neck, Thomastik Flat wound. This is an amazing combination. The somewhat detailed top of this pickup works great with this bass which is overall fairly balanced tone wise, and the highs also get absorbed by the flat wound strings. The punch, the 3D character, the sustain all build toward delivering an amazing and exciting tone. The instrument sounds the best it’s ever sounded. I played a jam with a guitar and a harmonica player. The bass was amplified by an Orange 200 watt all tube head (AD200 B) and a Bergantino NV610. This combination sounded really good and allowed the bass to deliver a beautiful detailed tone ranging from crisp with the tone fully open, to massive, warm and woolly with the highs rolled off almost completely. The NV610 cabinet does not have a tweeter so it’s pretty remarkable the bass could deliver as much highs as it did. It sat in the mix really well and tweaking the tone slightly had a dramatic impact.

Overall, the Kloppmann delivers a really seductive and beautiful tone full of harmony. It both delivers a strong fundamental and complex harmonies all at once. You generally get one or the other not both. The pickup also reveals all your playing nuances which can be good and bad. This is not a pickup you can hide behind, if your technique is not at 100%, any sloppiness will be revealed, particularly with round wounds. The good part is, the pickup lets the musician shine. It’s a great pickup for composing music because you hear things differently with this one. It seems a lot of time was spent elaborating this tone recipe and this pickup is really calibrated to deliver a lot of “ear candy”. I suspect tests were conducted with fairly standard instruments (alder body, rosewood/alder necks). Because this pickup is not delivering a flat response, it tends to be sensitive to the instrument it’s coupled with. In other words, it can really accentuate the instrument character which can be good in the case of the Alder body, or less good in the case of the Mahogany body. In comparison the Arcane Experience 65 pickup is more suitable to all instruments.

Conclusion: The Kloppmann PB63 is one of the very best pickups I have ever played. If money is no object, try this pickup. It might make you a better musician and you might learn from it. Just like buying a Ritter, an Alembic or a Fodera; it's expensive but you are getting something with a very defined tone and some extraordinary characteristics.

If you have a limited budget, I think an Arcane, a Lollar or an SD Antiquity II, also deliver quality tone at a fraction of the price and they are more even pickups response-wise. It boils down to the actual tone and to what bass you’re paring the pickup with. As the Kloppmann can also have a slightly aggressive, glassy, punchy tone in some settings, it might not fulfill your tonal objectives. Would I upgrade all my basses with this pickup? No, I like having some diversity as I only play P basses. Am I happy I spend the money on this one? Absolutely!
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Thank you very very much for sharing your detailed experience dear Laurent.
Is the Kloppmann PB63 your favorite pickup to go for the James Jamerson's sound? Or you prefer the Arcane 65, or Lollar for that purpose?
 
#1,193
Roshomon said:
Thank you very very much for sharing your detailed experience dear Laurent.
Is the Kloppmann PB63 your favorite pickup to go for the James Jamerson's sound? Or you prefer the Arcane 65, or Lollar for that purpose?
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All pickups listed here will get you there. From a value stand point of view, I would lean toward the Arcane 65.
 
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#1,194
Just purchased a Fender P pickup from 1958 or so. Has raised A. Will post sound demos when it’s here.

Going in my mjt maple cap P build. Nothing wrong with the Duncan antiquity 2 in there but hey the 58 will be cool too.
IMG_9637.jpeg
 
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#1,196
Bass4ThePublic said:
Well, nevermind. Delivered to wrong address and I live in the middle of nowhere. Another pre cbs fender pickup lost to time!
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your local post office may be able to track the address it was delivered to.
A lot more weirdness with USPS this season (IME) than in years past....

(was that the Pickup I was watching on Reverb / Ferguson / NJ?)
 

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