So I have a "keep or sell" question. I realize that everything is subjective and personal but I'm wanting to hear your experiences/thoughts It's regarding my Fender MIJ Sting Signature Bass. It was the FIRST real bass I bought and I played it for many many years. As I progressed in skill I realized that the bass wasn't giving me the sound that I wanted so I bought a Lolar pickup for it... STILL not the sound I wanted. So the single coil isn't my thing. At all. Ever. It has sat in my closet for about 10 years and the other day I dug it out. LOVE the look. LOVE the feel. Can't stand the sound If I could find a pickup that made it sound like a big phat thumping pbass (I have Bill Lawrence p's in my 2 other basses) I would play it every day until I die. I can't really afford to go pup shopping and experiment with different pickups. sooooo ...... ? Have any of you been in a similar situation? What was your ultimate revelation? Regret? Glad you sold? Still have a bass in your 20 year old closet? Sentiment has me by the ****! {}
I voted for all 3 options. It seems to have sentimental value and plays great, therefore you should keep it. It doesn't sound the way you want it to, therefore you should sell it. It isn't my bass, therefore I don't give a care Maybe get it routed for a pickup that you like? Or keep the neck and sell the body?
I've definitely thought about the router job. It's in the back of my mind for sure. Would probably do another pbass pickup in it... it's not like I NEED the money, I'm just pragmatic and don't like things sitting around for years haha
I voted "Keep it". I considered selling my 1988 Carvin fretless many times after I stopped playing around 1994, thinking "I'll never pick this back up again". I don't know whether it was nostalgia or just plain old laziness, but I never did. Fast forward to 2018 and lo and behold, I get the playing bug again. I've been so happy to have it every day since I picked it back up. It is home; my oldest friend. It is the bass against which I compare all others, and only my newly acquired Pedulla exceeds it. Yet, I still gravitate back to my Carvin. I don't have to think about playing it; I just do it. As to yours and the sound, keep it, and when you get some spare $, see if a good luthier can find a pickup that will suite your taste (here's a possibility: Split '51 P-Bass - Lindy Fralin Pickups ), or maybe even modify it to fit a pickup style that you know you like. Don't get rid of it; you'll regret it and be searching for it, or one like it, for a long time after. There are too many stories here on TB about "lost loves."
It sounds like you love the bass so wait until you can afford a new pickup/electronics ... maybe post the pickup question in the "Pickups" forum.
i voted "keep" just because it would be my method these days --- and to modify it to make it one of my mains. but that's just my version of "practical." i hope you arrive at a decision which works the best for you! good luck!
At this time. But down the road, you may. Combine that with being your first real bass, I'd keep it. It's beautiful!
I say keep unless you need to fund something specific. Don’t sell unless you have a good reason. Or try different strings. On my 51 MIJ reissue I had Ken Smith Compressor strings. Sounded amazing.
You mentioned you had tried a Lollar pickup. Is that a humbucking? I have a SD stacked humbucking in my '56, no routing necessary, same look, but a thicker sound. As with all pickup swaps, your bass will have the same "voice" but you can significantly shift the frequency response and output with a different type of pickup in there... and I tried (and currently use) a stacked humbucking.
Interesting... that Fralin mentioned is a side-by side humbucking. Again, made to fit your bass without modification.
Ya I'm not exactly sure if it's the hum bucking one but it's a very quiet pickup (in terms of white noise sound). Nothing to complain about on that front.. unless my basses voice is the issue! perhaps... another can of worms haha. It's a very thin sound with massive peaks in the mids. If I play too hard it spikes and clips and is just a thin sound. With both the original pickup and the Lollar I've tried different strings and pickup height and amps and pre's etc. same thin middy sound
Pick up the phone and call Lollar, tell them what’s up, see what they say. Sounds weird, I think Lollar singles are the best.
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