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What pickup configuration/tone do you find most useful?

What pickup configuration/tone do you find most useful?

  • 2 Jazz bass pickups

  • 1 Precision bass pickup

  • 1 Musicman bass pickup

  • Dual soapbars

  • P +J

  • P +P

  • P +MM

  • Mm+Mm

Results are only viewable after voting.
#41
It's a really limited poll. Aggressively so.

It wouldn't even be valid half a century ago (well, 49 years ago) when the first Stingray was released because that's also when the first production P+J models were introduced by Ibanez which caught the trend of bass guitars modified by some bassists at the time (by adding a split coil Precision pickup to a Jazz type or by adding a single coil Jazz pickup to a Precision type).

You've also omitted the double Stingray configuration with two humbuckers and the very popular modern dual soapbar setup.
 
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#46
bholder said:
The "do one great sound" approach is valid, I've got basses like that, sure. But I prefer max versatility, myself. Why settle for just one great sound? Sure, not every setting is a great sound for widespread use, but still can be useful for special cases. My bass shouldn't sound the same when I'm covering the Stones' version of "Poison Ivy" vs Vanilla Fudge's "You Keep Me Hanging On", or anything King Crimson.

A Bowie knife can be very useful. So can a Swiss Army knife multitool. "Any tool is a weapon, if you hold it right." ;)
Click to expand...
Yep. Some players get their versatility in a single bass, and some in a collection of basses.
 
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#47
toughluck said:
It's a really limited poll. Aggressively so.

It wouldn't even be valid half a century ago (well, 49 years ago) when the first Stingray was released because that's also when the first production P+J models were introduced by Ibanez which caught the trend of bass guitars modified by some bassists at the time (by adding a split coil Precision pickup to a Jazz type or by adding a single coil Jazz pickup to a Precision type).

You've also omitted the double Stingray configuration with two humbuckers and the very popular modern dual soapbar setup.
Click to expand...
Original thought was based on the most popular basses produced and most copied. The foundational 3. The classics that never go out of style and are always in the hands of so many of our bass heroes.
I added more options as I do agree you and others have made some very valid points.
 
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#48
Define "versatile".

Blue Jeans are versatile. You can wear them to work, church, out to dinner or to the kid's soccer game. To me this is the P bass. Never out of place. No hum, no fiddling with knobs. Just play. And while never out of place, it might not be the exact best match for the situation (e.g. slap)

My pocket knife is versatile. It has a couple of different size blades, plus scissors and a nail file. Various tools, each useful in some common daily situation. Sort of like a J bass where you can get a few different good or workable tones. Some are hampered by hum. And for slap it is great.

A chameleon is versatile. They can shift their colors to fit into their environment yet they always look like a chameleon. This is my MM. I can adjust the overall tone color to help it step into the background or sit in the foreground, but it always has this midrange focus MM character. There is never a hum problem but I need to be mindful of the settings to be sure I'm not picking a foreground sound when a background sound is what is needed.


I voted P but recognize a J with hum cancelling PUs is probably the better choice since it can cop a P sound with the neck PU soloed.
 
#49
I tend to not like how pickups blend generally. I think basses are good for isolated pickup tones, but blending tends to be a bit underwhelming. I like a jazz bass or a PJ on a three way switch. A MM bridge could be great, but I find that most aren't in the true MM sweet spot.
 
#52
I think versatility of sounds is crucial for session players who by definition, may be asked to provide a variety of tones. Likewise for the busy cover band player, the same applies.

But for guys like me that have played a long time, and in particular, who have dealt largely in the original music sphere, we gravitate towards getting a sound we like or that works, and go with it.

I do lots of recording on DAW, and right now, other than one song where I threw some chorus on the bassline, I've got a set way of running the bass that does what I want it to do and this allows me to have time to work on guitar, vocals, and whatever else is on the session.

For me, bass is actually more fun once I quit obsessing on just it, and started getting serious about my guitar parts, etc
 
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#53
I chose Dual soaps because many of them can be optioned with a coil split, and since many basses with soaps have them placed in J bass positions, you can get a traditional single coil sound and a modern humbucker sound out of one bass
 
#55
Makten said:
Versatilitiy isn't needed if your one pickup sounds great. I'd say versatility often is a crutch. You think you need it, but you don't, and it just makes you indecisive.
Click to expand...
Admittedly, every time I've had a bass that "can cop a range of tones", there's usually just one that it actually does really well, and I just end up leaving it set there.
 
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