discreet Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 (edited) Modding an Already-Modded P Bass... You may or may not have seen my Modded HB PB-50 (Version 3) - if not, it's here. All well and good - I liked it a lot... the single-coil vibe is nice, but sometimes you really want that mid-forward, split-pickup dual-coil 57-type P sound as featured on every recording since the Bronze Age. Consequently, I started looking for a bog-standard 57-type P Bass. There are lots and lots and lots of them available for sale... THEN, I came across the concept of the dual-coil 51-type four-pole telebass-type pickup... with that in mind I bought this Jess Loureiro dual-coil 51-type pickup with a view to fitting a switch to give me the option of series (57-type dual) or parallel (51-type single) coil pickups, both with the fast attack you get from a one pole-piece-per-string setup... hopefully negating the need to buy another bass, cart two basses around with me and change them on stage for different songs... I also fitted a new Fender American Deluxe bridge with part-threaded saddles. Stable, well-engineered... top load or through-body options... and way too expensive in the UK, which is why I imported one from the States. Even with import duty it was still cheaper than buying one here. Many thanks to Mr Gary Mac, without whose help and assistance I'd be in hospital suffering from soldering iron burns and crying. Thanks, Gary. Sound clips: Listen on good phones or decent monitors, etc. etc... Dual Coil.mp3 Single Coil.mp3 Edited June 17, 2018 by discreet 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 Like it Did you consider a pull/push pot for the switching or do you just prefer toggles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted June 15, 2018 Author Share Posted June 15, 2018 (edited) 4 minutes ago, Rich said: Did you consider a pull/push pot for the switching or do you just prefer toggles? I did consider it, but wanted a visible sign that the bass had been modded, to give an air of mystery and wonder. Edit - also I'm a bit banana-fingered and likely to bash a pull/push pot while playing. And I'm always pulling when I should be pushing, and vice-versa... Edited June 15, 2018 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 1 minute ago, discreet said: I did consider it, but wanted a visible sign that the bass had been modded, to give an air of mystery and wonder. It makes me wonder 😍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted June 15, 2018 Author Share Posted June 15, 2018 2 minutes ago, KiOgon said: It makes me wonder 😍 What about the mystery..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 Not really, I'm still trapped in the moment of wonder 🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 They are great pickups pal, I had a split coil on my old CS 55 P Bass, it was awesome. I now use Fralin split coil pickups on my Jazz Bass, absolutely love them. That’s a tempting project of yours.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted June 15, 2018 Author Share Posted June 15, 2018 2 minutes ago, KiOgon said: Not really, I'm still trapped in the moment of wonder 🤣 Nice! OK then, just let me know when you're ready for the mystery.* * There's actually NO mystery. You knew that already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 5 minutes ago, KiOgon said: It makes me wonder 😍 Ooooh it makes me wonder! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 1 minute ago, BreadBin said: Ooooh it makes me wonder! And it makes me wonder . . . . . and come to think of it 😲 there's a feeling I get . . . . . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 14 minutes ago, Rich said: Like it Did you consider a pull/push pot for the switching or do you just prefer toggles? Can you get mini-push-pulls as the control cavity on that model P Bass is quite tight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 Does it happen when you look West? 3 minutes ago, KiOgon said: And it makes me wonder . . . . . and come to think of it 😲 there's a feeling I get . . . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted June 15, 2018 Author Share Posted June 15, 2018 10 minutes ago, Chiliwailer said: They are great pickups pal, I had a split coil on my old CS 55 P Bass, it was awesome. Thanks for the comment, Dan. Plugged the bass into my combo this morning and wound it up - The Loureiro is a quality bit of gear and no mistake. The previous Herrick pickup was a class act in itself, but as well as having the switching options, the Loureiro is a bigger-sounding, warmer pickup overall. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 2 minutes ago, BreadBin said: Does it happen when you look West? Yes - but look where my mind's gone now, no wonder 😃 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted June 15, 2018 Author Share Posted June 15, 2018 6 minutes ago, yorks5stringer said: Can you get mini-push-pulls as the control cavity on that model P Bass is quite tight? You can certainly get them, but as I'd already had to be 'creative' about making space under the control plate for full-size CTS pots, I thought I may be pushing my luck. I knew there was just about enough space between them for a toggle switch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 35 minutes ago, discreet said: Thanks for the comment, Dan. Plugged the bass into my combo this morning and wound it up - The Loureiro is a quality bit of gear and no mistake. The previous Herrick pickup was a class act in itself, but as well as having the switching options, the Loureiro is a bigger-sounding, warmer pickup overall. Argh, you’re not helping here with that description! I often miss having an old school P, especially with heavy flats. The Loureiro webpage is now safely bookmarked, this could be the beginning of something 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 1 hour ago, discreet said: Modding an Already-Modded P Bass... You may or may not have seen my Modded HB PB-50 (Version 3) - if not, it's here. All well and good - I liked it a lot... the single-coil vibe is nice, but sometimes you really want that mid-forward, split-pickup dual-coil 57-type P sound as featured on every recording since the Bronze Age. Consequently, I started looking for a bog-standard 57-type P Bass. There are lots and lots and lots of them available for sale... THEN, I came across the concept of the dual-coil 51-type four-pole telebass-type pickup... with that in mind I bought this Jess Loureiro dual-coil 51-type pickup with a view to fitting a switch to give me the option of series (57-type dual) or parallel (51-type single) coil pickups, both with the fast attack you get from a one pole-piece-per-string setup... hopefully negating the need to buy another bass, cart two basses around with me and change them on stage for different songs... I would love to hear the tonal options! (on Roundwounds .. I know... sorry lol) But I love the idea! I'm not expecting to hear much volume difference between the two as the coils are looking after different strings, but tonally I am intrigued! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted June 15, 2018 Author Share Posted June 15, 2018 (edited) 12 minutes ago, dood said: I would love to hear the tonal options! (on Roundwounds .. I know... sorry) But I love the idea! I'm not expecting to hear much volume difference between the two as the coils are looking after different strings, but tonally I am intrigued! I don't have a bass strung with roundwounds Dan, unfortunately... but I've quickly cobbled together a couple of short recordings. You probably won't hear much difference on computer or phone speakers, but good phones or decent monitors should give some idea of what's happening. Like I said, when plugged into an amp the difference is night and day and the new pickup will definitely do the business at rehearsals and gigs. The dual-coil is definitely more mid-forward, has a tighter bottom end and fit into the mix very easily. The single-coil is clear, has a pillowy bottom end and was a bit harder to slot into the mix. Either would work fine in a decent studio. I have bumped up the level of the bass to make it easier to hear, I wouldn't normally have it this far up in the mix. But the real advantage is going to be apparent when playing live. Dual Coil.mp3 Single Coil.mp3 Edited June 15, 2018 by discreet 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted June 15, 2018 Author Share Posted June 15, 2018 43 minutes ago, Chiliwailer said: Argh, you’re not helping here with that description! I often miss having an old school P, especially with heavy flats. The Loureiro webpage is now safely bookmarked, this could be the beginning of something Well I hope so... I definitely wouldn't be happy if there wasn't a P strung with flats in the house! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 2 minutes ago, discreet said: I don't have a bass strung with roundwounds Dan, unfortunately... but I've quickly cobbled together a couple of short recordings. You probably won't hear much difference on computer or phone speakers, but good phones or decent monitors should give some idea of what's happening. Like I said, when plugged into an amp the difference is night and day and the new pickup will definitely do the business at rehearsals and gigs. The dual-coil is definitely more mid-forward, has a tighter bottom end and fit into the mix very easily. The single-coil is clear, has a pillowy bottom end and was a bit harder to slot into the mix. Either would work fine in a decent studio. I have bumped up the level of the bass to make it easier to hear, I wouldn't normally have it this far up in the mix. But the real advantage is going to be apparent when playing live. Dual Coil.mp3 Single Coil.mp3 WOW! Thank you, perfect! - I've just been A/Bing both through big studio monitors and yes I can hear the differences.. Sounds great up LOUD! Thank you so much! Nice playing 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted June 15, 2018 Author Share Posted June 15, 2018 3 minutes ago, dood said: WOW! Thank you, perfect! - I've just been A/Bing both through big studio monitors and yes I can hear the differences.. Sounds great up LOUD! Thank you so much! Nice playing Excellent, you're welcome Dan. Thanks for the kind comments, though I'm still working on this one for tonight's rehearsal - not quite in the pocket yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 Oooh yes, nice work. Really good mod idea! I’ve always been curious about owning a single coil precision but had a feeling I’d miss the split P vibe. This is food for thought. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 20 minutes ago, CameronJ said: Oooh yes, nice work. Really good mod idea! I’ve always been curious about owning a single coil precision but had a feeling I’d miss the split P vibe. This is food for thought. It's interesting as I'd heard examples of the old S2 switch on past Precisions and felt that their pickup choice didn't seem to suit the function, whereas this sounds way better by comparison. I'd put it down to the qualities of this pickup. (The S2 is great on jazz basses). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 Love the way you are developing this bass into your own unique version. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted June 15, 2018 Author Share Posted June 15, 2018 (edited) 33 minutes ago, CameronJ said: Oooh yes, nice work. Really good mod idea! I’ve always been curious about owning a single coil precision but had a feeling I’d miss the split P vibe. It seems to work really well, especially 'in your face' through an amp. I'm no top recording engineer or producer, I did the audio clips very quickly. There are a few other dual-coil 51-type options available, notably from Lindy Fralin: https://www.fralinpickups.com/product/split-51-p-bass/ It is a lot more expensive that the Loureiro version, though. And the main selling point is noise reduction - the fact you can approximate the sound of a 57-type split-pickup seems to be totally ignored. As a split pup is essentially a humbucker yes, you're going to get less noise in theory, but I've had no problems in that area even with a single coil. My bass is quite heavily shielded with copper tape though and is just as quiet with a single coil or a dual coil. Edited June 15, 2018 by discreet 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.