hooky_lowdown

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.

Thanks Lozz196. I used to have a MIJ 62 RI P from early 90s, one of my fav basses, nice vintage tone, but it didn't have much bite. Will have to check out the Seymour Duncan Steve Harris. Ta.

Thanks ikay - I shall check to see later.

Out of curiosity - what (affordable i.e below £100) P bass pups would people recommend for an aggressive, slightly vintage (not too modern) tone and growl?

If you go for a Epi EB0, go for MIK not a China made one. What sort of budget do you have? If you want a decent short scale bass, many around here rave about the Squier SS Jaguar bass, they can be picked up second hand between £100 - £140. The stock P pickup on these are pretty decent. Roll off the tone 70% on the P pickup and you'll have something similar sounding to the EB0. EB0 necks have painted/gloss necks, which when your hands get hot you may find the neck gets sticky and difficult to play. The Squier Jag has a satin neck, which won't get sticky if you have hot hands.

Thanks fretmeister - that's a cool video. I should say I primarily play with a pick. I'm not sure what the body of my cheapo P bass is made of but it's ultra light. Weights not much more than a hollow bodied Dano I used to own. The sound I get is closest to the USA 1977 from the vid, with tone at 100%.

I have a missing inlay black dot/marker on my maple P bass neck - not sure how I lost it, but I can't find it. Does anyone know where I can buy a replacement, I only need the one?

I have a preference for P basses, I've owned many, I might be alone here - but I find it interesting I can get some to growl and others don't, despite using the same D'Addario flatwound strings and setting up the basses roughly the same on every bass I've owned. Some growl and other haven't. Interestingly (for me atleast) I've had expensive P basses which growled - others didn't, and I've had cheapo P basses (most didn't growl), but now I have a super cheap P bass by a brand (Arrow) which I've never heard of before and is about 10 years old - but this thing growls brilliantly - it's totally stock with the exception of the strings. So I was wondering why some P basses growl, and others don't. Is it strings, pickups, necks - or a combo of all three?