hooky_lowdown

Also had a third party neck (Fender spec) and fitted perfectly in HB neck pocket.

I’ve had two different HB p basses and both had standard Fender / Squier neck size pockets. So guess any Fender spec neck will fit HB basses.

So I put a jazz neck on my p bass - totally works. Tone seems little affected, still deep and fat. Happy days.

La Bellas or Thomastik will give the fat Motown sound. If you want a little more of a Rock tone then D’Addario Chromes would be the way to go.

I’ve been thinking of putting a jazz neck on my HB PB50, because the single coil pup has a fast attack I thought having a thin jazz neck would be super fun to play.

I know the tone will change slightly, but has anyone done this?

HB stopped using the Wilkinson pups because manufacturing switched to China and quality control became hit and miss, hence use of Roswell pups. The Roswell pup used in the pb50 retail at £40!

+1 for flats. Rounds if you want a modern sound. Flats if you want vintage. Although I’ve read old rounds can sound like flats and won’t need replacing - like flats.

What are the pros of the Henning over the Roswell?

I just got a new hb pb50. I owned the old one with Wilkinson pup, the new pb50 with Roswell pup sounds better. Output is around the same, but the larger poles on the Roswell pup give a more vintage sound, which I like.

Like others have said, flats, roll off the tone a little, and also a bone nut will add a little thump to your sound!

I set it up yesterday to the low action I like and found no buzzing on open strings, but found on both E and A strings there is buzz across 2nd and 12th frets for both. Guess these two frets are a bit low.

Tried the superglue and baking soda thing this morning. Used a toothpick to apply glue to nut - works a treat. Raised E and A strings a fraction. No buzz now.

The neck has the slightest relief, I don’t want to give it any more. Just need to increase E and A strings slightly.

Thanks. Yes, the nut arrived cut too low. It’s a cheap bass, I haven’t set it up yet but it plays, sounds and feels great - otherwise I would have sent it back. The action is a little high already as I like to have my action as low as possible, there’s buzz on second fret on E and 12th on A. D and G are fine.

Just got a new bass, but the nut has been cut too low for my liking,  is there anything I can do to increase the height of the strings by 1mm on the nut? 

Sounds like a pickguard for US p bass, so would fit MIM ok. Being a third party pickguard you will probably have to file the holes for the pups.

Both are good pups, though there are lots of pup choices. What sort of music do you play?

Thanks everyone. @jrixn1 - I have some piers I'll use to hold things in place with.

So, I think I will be going with the following:

Alpha A250k pot + Alpha B250k pot

Switchcraft jack

Panasonic 0.1uf capacitor

22awg pickup wire

I want to install new pups, pots, capacitor and jack to a cheapo P bass. I want to do it as I've never done it before.

Are there any tips/advice of things I need to know to wire everything up? I've seen a few youtube vids, so have an idea of what to do.

Also, any suggestions on which soldering iron, wiring, pots, capacitor and jack I should buy and where to buy them? I don't want to use cts pots because they have larger than standard poles, which would mean enlarging pickguard holes, and getting new knobs to fit. So ideally looking for standard size pot poles to fit cheap knobs.

Did anyone notice when Harley Benton changed from using Wilkinson pups to Roswell pups on the pb50?

I read a red version of the pb50 is coming out next month with the Roswell pup, but the current sunburst foto version also ships with the Roswell pup.

I was thinking of a speaker other than a BW or Scorpion. Any recommendations?

Also, could the combo handle a 2ohm speaker (if I could find one!) to get maximum power from the amp?

Have a peavey tnt 160 and want to replace the speaker which has been replaced by a previous owner at some point and sounds flabby now. I play a P bass, so any recommendations for a good replacement speaker. We play indie/rock?

Cheap P bodies often crop up on eBay, keep an eye out!

When I play my cheapo P acoustically it still produces some growl, so not sure it’s just the pups.

A 80s Squier P (stock) with rw fingerboard I once had could growl with the best of them. That’s my bass which got away!

I guess what you dial into your amp also can affect the growl or bite in your sound. Are there certain frequencies which will pronounce or emphasis bite or growl more?

@LewisK1975 DeeDee looks amazing. Only you know what she sounded like stock, and with upgrades! You must have thought she sounded better with the upgrades originally, but our preferences change over time. 

I liked a more modern sound a few years ago, but now I’m older I like a  rounder, more vintage growly tone.