Why not inverted P?

[Felken]

The standard P pickup configuration is that the upper pickup is below the E and A strings, and the lower pickup is below the D and G strings.

We know that putting a pickup closer to the bridge increases treble and decreases bass whilst putting it closer to the neck does the opposite.

That said, the E and A strings naturally have more bass because they are lower notes, and the D and G strings naturally have more treble because they are higher notes.

So why not inverted P?

That's why I've never liked P basses, the EA strings had too much low end and the DG strings had not enough (at least from my experience). Inverted P should theoretically counter the frequencies in order to balance the sound, by giving more treble to EA (PU closer to bridge) and more bass to DG (PU closer to neck).

I'm no expert on P basses, so do you guys know any reasons or explanations? Do you know some videos demonstrating the tonal difference between inverted and standard?

 

[lz4005]

There was a big thread about this a week or two ago. More people than you would expect are into it. Also half reversed is a thing.

Personally I don't hear enough difference to worry about it one way or the other.

 

[ICM]

I would probably always go for standard because it's that sound. But logically I've felt the same way. Inverted P does make more sense.

 

[Basshappi]

As long as the pup is in the same relative position, inverting it doesn't make much tonal difference.
If it is moved closer/farther from the bridge then it will be more noticeable.

 

[line6man]

A rather large number of players feel that the reversed P arrangement is superior to the standard P arrangement. Unfortunately, as it is not the way that Leo Fender did things, it is not particularly popular on mass produced instruments.

 

[RattleSnack]

Trivia: Bartolini MK1 pickup is actualy reversed P pickup.

 

[Felken]

There was a big thread about this a week or two ago. More people than you would expect are into it. Also half reversed is a thing.

Personally I don't hear enough difference to worry about it one way or the other.

Interesting. I wasn't aware of that.

 

[bolophonic]

There are 100,000 threads about this. A reversed P might sound "better" solo'ed through headphones or whatever, and maybe an osciloscope might tell you a quantifiable difference, but nobody would ever be able to tell the position of the split coils in a mix.

 

[hondo4life]

I would like to make a backwards p for my next bass. I mean a q.

 

[Flabass]

Ibanez does just that. Any owners out there wish to comment?

 

[NOVAX]

Pickup height means everything when it comes to a P. You can play with the magnetic field -equalizing the two halves of space. YMMV
Peace.

 

[Herrick]

There was a big thread about this a week or two ago. More people than you would expect are into it. Also half reversed is a thing.

Personally I don't hear enough difference to worry about it one way or the other.

I couldn't tell much of a difference either. I could A/B them but I'm too lazy.

 

[gpx1200]

Spector basses with a P are allmost allways done like this, it not reversed to me it's just how it should be

 

[FugaziBomb]

3 of my Ibanezes have a reverse p pickup and it sounds pretty much the same as my p basses with the standard orientation. I only voted reverse p cuz I like Ibanez basses so much

 

[Kun2112]

Yep, Spectors have the P reversed on their NS series basses, except for the NS-1 reissue and early Brooklyn-made basses. Euros, and some legends are like that too. Warwick Streamers are basically Spector clones and have the same setup.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

I made a half reversed P like Lee Sklar a long time ago did. EA in standard position. DG above it. Suits me fine.

 

[TheSeagoats]

Mark Hoppus' signature bass has the coils reversed

 

[StatesideRambler]

Nobody seems to want to give Leo any credit for thinking it through. He was meticulous. Unfortunately he wasn't academic in his approach so there's no paper trail we can scrutinize. Therefore threads like this will go forever.

 

[Delsan]

Far be it from me to call myself an expert:

But here's food for thought. Most bass players WANT those lower notes to be very bassy. As bassy as possible. They use the higher-tuned strings to play little gliss notes. Harmonics. Vibratos. Quick, bitey solos.

Does a Reverse P make sense? Of course, I've got a Streamer with a Rev-P J, and it's awesome. The tone is very balanced and mid-rangy. But I also have a P bass with a normal configuration, and those low strings are Thunderous.

Check out the Mark Hoppus Siggy Jazz. Spector and Warwick make lots of Rev P's too.

The P bass is an animal though. And it's a formula that just works.

 

[Jazz Ad]

Reversed P was very popular during the 80s-90s. It didn't really catch on further than that.
It would make sense that reversed P would be more balanced but in my experience it isn't the case at all. It sounds off. I don't know why.
An annoying consequence of reversed P is that it gets in the way of slap, especially with 24+ frets.