I want to upgrade a p lyte with some fralin jazz pu's but I think it is too big? Also want to put badass bridge in it. Should I also replace preamp? Should I bother to sell it and just get a better police a sb2?
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Upgrading P lyte
- Thread starter Fender2015
- Start date
I've been down this road before, and the only pickups I've tried that have worked are very hot ones. Any sort of vintage style or actives without much output suck in a P Lyte. But the hot passives I've tried aren't bright enough for my tastes, so now I have EMG PJ's and a BQC preamp in it. And I'd never ever replace that bridge. The P Lyte bridge is one of the best they've ever made.
+1 Jimmy
P lyte stays rare over here too... but a bassist I happened to know had it presented by a friend and - we're all like that - wanted to swap pickups and bridge out.
Dunno what he eneded up doin' with the bridge, but with pickups he finally opted for a DiMarzio SpliptP (the HotRail one, if you know) after havin' dismissed:
VooDoo;
Antiquity;
Harris;
Lace...
all in the process
(no intention with bridge single btw: I'd consider a Samarium Cobalt Noiseless there, but they only come in pairs I think...)
Cheers,
Wallace
P lyte stays rare over here too... but a bassist I happened to know had it presented by a friend and - we're all like that - wanted to swap pickups and bridge out.
Dunno what he eneded up doin' with the bridge, but with pickups he finally opted for a DiMarzio SpliptP (the HotRail one, if you know) after havin' dismissed:
VooDoo;
Antiquity;
Harris;
Lace...
all in the process
(no intention with bridge single btw: I'd consider a Samarium Cobalt Noiseless there, but they only come in pairs I think...)
Cheers,
Wallace
Is it the one with the brown burst finish, gold tuners, and downsized body that later became the Zone bass? Love those things. I'd get some Fender Vintage pickups, caps and pots...and pull the frets. Tone heaven, right there.
The best upgrade i've done is Bartolini Classic Bass P/J and Sadowsky onboard preamp with 1 Meg Volume pot... the picture was taken with the Aguilar OBP3 (was also very nice... but i preferred the Sadowsky 2 band with passive tone).
Keep the bridge... if it aint broke dont change it...
Sorry everybody
my fault
thanx g13 for your pic:
I'm now aware I took an Aerodyne special (and mentioned mods) for a P lyte...
![Fender Aerodyne Classic Precision Bass Special[1].jpg](https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/fender-aerodyne-classic-precision-bass-special-1-jpg.421762/ "Fender Aerodyne Classic Precision Bass Special[1].jpg")
that's one like the bass I was talkin' about... forget my former post up there...
my fault
sorry again
Cheers,
Wallace
my fault
thanx g13 for your pic:
I'm now aware I took an Aerodyne special (and mentioned mods) for a P lyte...
that's one like the bass I was talkin' about... forget my former post up there...
my fault
sorry again
Cheers,
Wallace
The best upgrade i've done is Bartolini Classic Bass P/J and Sadowsky onboard preamp with 1 Meg Volume pot... the picture was taken with the Aguilar OBP3 (was also very nice... but i preferred the Sadowsky 2 band with passive tone).
Keep the bridge... if it aint broke dont change it...
Oooooooh, that is NICE! Looks exactly like my old P-Lyte did, but those mods sound delicious! And all of it through a TH500 to boot. Awesome!
Well it's kind of the same, except I'm sure vintage-style pickups would work in an Aerodyne where they flat out suck in a P Lyte.
I had a P-Lyte, and should not have gotten rid of it. Although with my gimped up shoulder, I wouldn't have been able to play it anyway. 
My pickup wiring and preamp corroded... I did not know it had batteries way back 1992...the battery leak killed my preamp and pickup wiring... Thats the reason i upgraded the pickup and preamp. It was my first bass and did not even know how the knobs work that time.
What size EMG J pick ups can you replace the originals with? Also what kind of P pickup can you swap out?
SirMjac28
Patiently Waiting For The Next British Invasion
I would just sell it because those basses have a certain stock sound I love and if you upgrade it then it becomes a totally different bass in my opinion and the bridge is just fine.
Bridge size J pickup. That's assuming there's a J pickup in it and not the wider one in the Deluxe model. And really, you can swap them out with anything as it's a standard P and bridge-size J rout.
I've got a 1993/1994 P-Lyte and love it just the way it came from the factory. I'm amazed at the amount of different tones I can get out of it - simply, a fantastic bass!
Yes, preamps and pickups are usually separate. You may sometimes find them bundled together, but they are considered different components. It seems that more people are keen on changing the preamp in their Lytes than the pickups, but there are certainly others who are content with the bass in stock form. I was one of those people
and there are comments from others above who feel the same way, but I can also imagine how fantastic it would sound with something like an Aggie preamp in it.
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