Why not inverted P?

[Delsan]

It's possibly most people would prefer it as you describe, even if the poll tells a different story, and I personally would prefer the bass with most equal tone balance string to string, even if they will always sound a little different anyway because of the difference in gauge and fretting position respectively to get the same note.

Suits my playing best, as I play mostly originals with generally not a whole lot of traditional root note groove work, but a lot of string skipping and moving up and down in the register all across the 4 strings.

When that is said I personally have little idea how much of a difference a traditionally placed P pickup would make, as the basses I own with a pickup configuration that includes a P pickup all uses the reversed approach.

It seems you've misunderstood what I said. I didn't state which one is better or worse. As a user of both styles, they both have their strong points. And whether or not it's because of the rev P, they sound significantly different. At least, different enough to warrant me noting it.

My Spector Euro has that very specific Spector sound. It has EMGs, as is tradition. My Streamer also has an approximation of that sound, though a little more mid-focused and driven due to the MEC setup.

I also play a Fortress 1 (which if you can see by my profile photo, it's a standard-P situation). It has EMG pickups. The basses sound very different. Both are maple, both top mounted bridge, etc. Different.

My point: They are different. Neither better nor worse, but different.

 

[TuneSalad666]

It seems you've misunderstood what I said. I didn't state which one is better or worse. As a user of both styles, they both have their strong points. And whether or not it's because of the rev P, they sound significantly different. At least, different enough to warrant me noting it.

My Spector Euro has that very specific Spector sound. It has EMGs, as is tradition. My Streamer also has an approximation of that sound, though a little more mid-focused and driven due to the MEC setup.

I also play a Fortress 1 (which if you can see by my profile photo, it's a standard-P situation). It has EMG pickups. The basses sound very different. Both are maple, both top mounted bridge, etc. Different.

My point: They are different. Neither better nor worse, but different.

I never claimed that you said a traditional positioned P pickup was the better solution, I noticed you said good things about your bass with reversed P as well, but you did claim that the tonal effect of a traditional placed P pickup would be what most people wanted, and it's that statement I commented on:

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.

 

[Marcus Willett]

...I personally would prefer the bass with most equal tone balance string to string, even if they will always sound a little different...

That to me is the ultimate goal. It's impossible to achieve fully of course, but my Holy Grail of tone would be for the entire instrument to sound like it's all one big string. I'm reminded of watching Pat Metheny long ago and noticing he had a tendency to play linearly up and down the top 2 or 3 strings when soloing, and I had heard/read him mention it was a deliberate choice to have a more uniform tone coming out of the guitar.

For years I've had a pickup design in mind that I think would address this issue (at least I assume it would), I just need to find someone who knows enough about it to build me one.

 

[TuneSalad666]

That to me is the ultimate goal. It's impossible to achieve fully of course, but my Holy Grail of tone would be for the entire instrument to sound like it's all one big string. I'm reminded of watching Pat Metheny long ago and noticing he had a tendency to play linearly up and down the top 2 or 3 strings when soloing, and I had heard/read him mention it was a deliberate choice to have a more uniform tone coming out of the guitar.

For years I've had a pickup design in mind that I think would address this issue (at least I assume it would), I just need to find someone who knows enough about it to build me one.

I guess it would be possible to get closer with perhaps separate pole pieces with separate coils and separate EQ controls for each string, but I doubt it would be possible to get them to sound 100% identically.

As I mention it has something to do with the different gauges of the strings making them vibrate a little differently producing different harmonic content and coupled with the fact that the same notes on each string will be placed differently on the fretboard kind of enhance this effect.

It's not really like I am obsessive about getting the same tone out of each string either, really just want it to sound somewhat balanced, like make the individual strings sounds good together and like one instrument, and not like I am playing a completely different instrument each time I skip to a different string.

So while obtaining some kind of equal balance between the individual strings tone wise is important to me, I am not really interested in making them sound exactly identically, like it seems you are.

Your project does sounds interesting though, and it would be exiting to see how close you can actually get to achieve that.

 

[ex-tension]

...I personally would prefer the bass with most equal tone balance string to string, even if they will always sound a little different...

That to me is the ultimate goal. It's impossible to achieve fully of course, but my Holy Grail of tone would be for the entire instrument to sound like it's all one big string.

I watched this video the other day and liked the tone balance between the strings:

 

[Joblivion]

I have the opportunity to try both on the same bass. Because of an error, I got both the EMG 40 PCSX5 and 40 PCSX5-RC. They both sound really good to me but in different ways. I personally like the "regular" orientation p pickup better because to me it gets me the sound I am hearing in most records, recordings and music I listen to without any work. It sounds great on its own but also is sounds good paired with the TWX-R I have as well.

The RC sounds better when paired with the TWX. It's louder and easier to blend. On its own, it sounds a more nasally to me. The high mids and treble are increased. You could filter them out but it is really hard to get that classic P bass. At least for me. The strings also sound more balanced as well.

To be fair these pickups are Soapbars so its not exactly the same as actual p pickups. I am a gospel, r & b/soul and funk guy so my bias is also pretty evident

 

[Upstate SC Bass]

approx. 1985 MIJ Fender Power Bass Special
A little bit of an unusual bass made by Fender at that time.

has the reverse P and a J pickups
has 22 frets
is active
veneer of graphite on the headstock
strange part is that it is a P body with a bit of scalping of the body wings and a slimmer J neck and they called it a Jazz.
I have two of these. this gold one and a ruby red one.
Evidently these were only made for 2 years when CBS sold Fender off to the Fender employees, and they did not get any stateside production facility with the sale, LOL.
this is my main 4 string bass. I generally leave my 1970 P bass at home.

 

[el murdoque]

I prefer standard. Frankly said, I did not really notice much of a tonal difference when I played a P bass with inverted pickup. It sounded like a P bass. However, the bigger, more noticeable difference is this:
When you use the pickup cover as a tumb rest, your plucking hand position is different with an inverted Pickup - and I much prefer the standard position as a tumb rest.

 

[Frown]

Lee Sklar explains his reasons here

 

[LetItGrowTone]

This is an aside:
The bass at the following link is not a P bass, the pickup is not a P, and it's not in the P location.
But it does have a 2+2 reverse stagger and I think it sounds great (mainly because the pickup is farther forward).

Just an extracurricular aside for your enjoyment.

 

[Joblivion]

This is an aside:
The bass at the following link is not a P bass, the pickup is not a P, and it's not in the P location.
But it does have a 2+2 reverse stagger and I think it sounds great (mainly because the pickup is farther forward).

Just an extracurricular aside for your enjoyment.

Yeah the farther forward pickups sound pretty nice

 

[poochiecheeks]

Please erase this phrase from your lexicon. It's not the audience's job to care. It's yours. And the audience isn't going to hire you for a gig with their band, are they?

Old post but reading this put some things in perspective. Thank you