Versatile Passive P/J set

[katalyzt13]

I have recently decided to quit buying and selling basses and instead find a good jumping point with a nice body/neck, and then customize from there. I'm narrowing down the body and neck now, and I want to stay with passive electronics and hoping for some good suggestions on a P/J set to settle on.

I need versatility - I play everything from outlaw country, to punk rock, to extreme metal and pretty much everything in-between. I started as a guitarist and I haven't educated myself on bass pickups a lot yet - what would be some good choices to get started? Cheaper is a bonus, if possible, but I'm not scared to pay for tone.

 

[iiipopes]

Any "traditional" or "vintage" wind pickup set with 250 kohm audio taper pots and a .047 tone capacitor.

I would suggest using a split-coil or end-to-end humbucking J pickup to match the P pickup, like a Fender, Fralin, Aguilar, EMG Geezer set, etc., to keep the noise down.

 

[acebase62]

As far as a pre-packaged PJ set, I'm using and liking the Dimarzio Area P+J set (DP251).

Alnico II magnets in both pickups, and the J is split coil hum cancel.

 

[katalyzt13]

thanks - the Geezer set comes with the vintage pots and wiring, right?

 

[Charley Umbria]

Lindy Fralin: standard P with 5% overwound split-coil J. They're not the cheapest, but it's a great sounding, well-balanced set.

The Geezers have also gotten a lot of love around here since their release. Haven't tried them, though...

 

[katalyzt13]

I'll look into the Lindy Fralin pups, too. Thanks!

 

[RedHotFuzz]

Love my Geezers. They sound great and installation is foolproof. I assembled a bass for the first time and had no problems. Everything you need is in the box and installation requires no soldering whatsoever: the wiring uses quick-clip connectors.