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What's the best P bass pickup upgrade?


BassManGraham

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I have to say I’m a bit sceptical of those comparison videos when all you hear is a single DI’ed signal. It all seems pretty similar until you feel it under your fingers in a live situation.

That said, I recently bought a Tonerider TRP-1, and I must admit — I’m really impressed.

It lacks the finer qualities of the Curtis Novak pickup that is in my favourite bass, but then that is a. really subjective, and b. about three times as expensive!

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12 hours ago, TheGhostofJaco said:

I thought he ordered them and then was curious about our opinions on others?

Yes you are quite right. I have ordered the PXBN to give it a try, before possibly venturing into more costly options. I will give feedback when I've fitted it., so I can't say that I definitively prefer it at this stage. But at £30 Inc postage to Ireland, it was worth a punt as a first option. Hoping it does the job.

I am sure the other suggestions are great too, including the mods suggested which I will also experiment with.

Finding the perfect pickup is like searching for The Holy Grail, which probably means something different to everyone.

 

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1 minute ago, BassManGraham said:

 

Finding the perfect pickup is like searching for The Holy Grail, which probably means something different to everyone.

 

We already got one, it’s a very nice. Whispering - I told him we already got one, snigger, snigger.

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Well the Entwistle PBXN pickup arrived. Wow very impressed with the sound, nice tight lows and very punchy indeed without the slightly boxey honk of the stock SX one that I removed. Wonderful value for 27 quid. Didn't need to rout body  perfect fit, but cheap non Fender pickguard needed some minor alteration to get it to fit.   Plays well and sounds amazing. Might treat myself to an aged MOP pickguard to give it a more vintage look. But all in all a really cracking P style bass for around £110!  Think I will look for another beat up bass to rescue.  

Thanks again for all your comments  advice and suggestions.

20190529_171850.jpg

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14 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said:

Nice, the SPB57. Did you put the heavy duty bridge on as it's not stock, afaik? Glad you like the PBNX. I agree, an aged MOP pickguard or cream would be the business.

Yes I fitted the Fender HiMass bridge. I have Badasses on all my Jazzes, but this is close and less than half price of the Omega Badass clones. Sonically there is little difference to my ears. The only issue is the pregrooved saddles and cheap pickguard means the strings do not align with the magnets.as the pickups need to move a couple of mm to the left. So my OCD requires me to adjust pickguard and if that doesn't do it , I will refile the bridge saddles.

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Good to hear you opted for the Entwistle pickup. I keep telling people how good they are - heck they punch so far above their weight, for the price
They could double the price and they'd still be great value! Yes, an off-white, creamy aged looking pearloid scratchplate would complete the look for this bass :)

NOTE: Before you open up the pickup slot - your Entwistle pickup should fit into a "standard" pickup cover.... I picked a set up for about 4 quid on eBay....
Try this first, and you may find the magnet poles align better, without the need to file / dremmel your new scratchplate

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3 hours ago, Marc S said:

Good to hear you opted for the Entwistle pickup. I keep telling people how good they are - heck they punch so far above their weight, for the price
They could double the price and they'd still be great value! Yes, an off-white, creamy aged looking pearloid scratchplate would complete the look for this bass :)

NOTE: Before you open up the pickup slot - your Entwistle pickup should fit into a "standard" pickup cover.... I picked a set up for about 4 quid on eBay....
Try this first, and you may find the magnet poles align better, without the need to file / dremmel your new scratchplate

 

This.

I have used a couple of those pickups and replaced the pickup covers for that reason. Easy and cheap.

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This in no way contributes to what the best upgrade is, but for the past couple of years I've had an Aquilar AG 4P 60 in my mid 90's American Std P bass, inspired by this thread, I changed it back to the original pickup and discovered that for now, I prefer the original pickup.

#itsallinthefingers #youliveandlearn

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