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Which P pickup? Help me decide.

Rip Topaz

Rip Topaz

Aug 12, 2005
8,664
918
Willow Street, PA
#1
Looking at upgrading the pickup in my MIM P-bass and I'm down to 3 choices.

EMG GZR, Seymour Duncan 1/4LB, or Seymour Duncan Steve Harris sig.

I play mainly classic rock stuff with my band, but I'm kinda stuck on which pickup would do the job best for me.

So please help. Tell me your experience with any of the 3. Convince me. Describe the tone you get with any of the 3, or post clips.

Help me choose (but please stay with these three, I'm on a budget).
 
#2
I have the Harris sig in my early 70's P and love it. It is a much more vintage/classic P sound than one would imagine from a Harris pickup with a hair more mid and high end bump that gives it a sweet growl when digging in. I have rounds on my bass and I don't find it too hot or over the top. Rolling off the tone a bit helps flatten it out for smoother sounds. Very versatile, IMO.
 
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#6
Definitely. So far the GZR is the greatest possibility. The 1/4lb is out. I don't want anything scooped sounding, I like my mids.

The GZR has me so far because of the ease of installation. EMG's solderless connections are awesome.

But the Steve Harris intrigues me...
 
#7
Rip Topaz said:
I'm leaning towards the GZR because I already have them in one bass and they sound amazing.

But I'm definitely interested in what other pickups have to offer, preferably without losing what makes a P a P.
Click to expand...

If you already have them in one bass you might want to try something different. You might be shocked by how similar two different basses will sound with the same pickups.
I think it's better to have a diversity of tone and style than several basses that sound exactly the same.
 
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#9
I have a GZR and i like it , I also use a Sheptone and they are fantastic and one of my favs is a Duncan SPB-1 , great pickup , classic P tone works for all styles . And cheap too . clips.. check it out
My new Wilkins P has a stock SPB1


and I just put a SPB1 in a Warmoth last weekend and that sounds like

 
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#10
Well if you want something different and fantastic, I would recommend the Lauzon Strat/P pickup. I has the power and punch of a Bill Lawrence pickup and the tone, clarity and detail/articulation of a Lollar; all this with a vintage tone. That pickup is tone monster! It looks a bit like a Charlie Christian pickup (tall bobbins). After trying 15 to 20 different P bass pickups it's the best I have tested.
 
#12
fretno said:
I have a GZR and i like it , I also use a Sheptone and they are fantastic and one of my favs is a Duncan SPB-1 , great pickup , classic P tone works for all styles . And cheap too . clips.. check it out
My new Wilkins P has a stock SPB1


and I just put a SPB1 in a Warmoth last weekend and that sounds like

Click to expand...


The Wilkins bass sounds amazing. These are really nice basses; I have had the privilege of playing a couple and was impressed.
 
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#15
i swap precision pickups frequently, lately i'm very happy with a dimarzio model p (dp122). it has very good mids, but is still very full sounding. i would compare it to the qp in terms of clarity, but with very full bass like a cs '62.

edit: to give an idea of what i like, my favourite pickups have been g&l split coil mfd, and emg active (old 80's vintage) so maybe my advice isn't the best.
 
#19
The SBP-3 quarter pounder is by far the worst P pickup I have ever played, IMHO of course. From everything I have heard about the Harris and GZR they are both really nice sounding P pickups but I have no personal experience with either.
 

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