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P Bass pickup recommendations?


Rexel Matador

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I'm sure this must be the millionth thread of this kind but here goes...

I built a P Bass and used the stock pickup from a 2015 MIM Fender. I absolutely love the way it sounds. The Fender now has a Quarter Pounder in it, which is fine, but not really what I'm looking for. I play heavy rock with a pick, but I think the sound I like is more a "regular" P Bass being pushed to its limit, rather than a pickup designed for that purpose, if that makes sense. To my ears, the QP is a bit abrasive - sort an ersatz version of a heavy P Bass sound.

Anyway, I'm building another one now and I want to know what pickup I can get that might be similar to the 2015 P - I can't figure out if any of the available Fender pickups are comparable. Plus, I'm not using a scratchplate and a lot of Fender P Bass pickups appear to have a base plate that's wider than the pickup cover itself, meaning I can't have a close fitting pickup cavity in the top of the body.

Anyway, as I can't really road test a bunch of pickups, outside of watching youtube demos of people slapping and popping all over the place, I was wondering if anyone might have any ideas.

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10 minutes ago, Rexel Matador said:

 I'm not using a scratchplate and a lot of Fender P Bass pickups appear to have a base plate that's wider than the pickup cover itself, meaning I can't have a close fitting pickup cavity in the top of the body.

 

I made a front routed (no scratchplate)  PBass once - I cut down the Fender brass plate with a pair of tin snips, it was a 5minute job to get a perfect fit. I wouldn't limit your choice because the Fender pickups are designed for a PBass rout with a scratchplate - it's a non issue.

Edited by Twigman
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11 minutes ago, Twigman said:

I made a front routed (no scratchplate)  PBass once - I cut down the Fender brass plate with a pair of tin snips, it was a 5minute job to get a perfect fit. I wouldn't limit your choice because the Fender pickups are designed for a PBass rout with a scratchplate - it's a non issue.

Great advice, thanks! It didn't occur to me, strangely enough - I guess because I don't know a whole lot about pickups and didn't want to mess with it, but if it worked for you, I might give it a bash.

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Why not look into what pickups Fender are currently using in their Player Precision and then see if you can source one from them. It’s a warmer, more vintage sound than in the previous MIMs but not by much, still has the bite and clank and am fairly sure they don’t have a base-plate. It’s a nice sounding pickup imo.

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I was recently  in this same situation, seeking a more vintage P pickup and wanting more of a warmer traditional  tone. After much discussion on Farcebook I opted for the cheapest suggestion, a £35 Tonerider off Amazon. I was pleasantly surprised, good definition and that vintage tone I was after, great in a band mix with the mids cutting through - definitely worth a punt IMO. I’ve had Aguilar, Lindy Fralin with my favourite being Lollar in the past and currently have a EMG Geezer in my other P but for the tone and price I’d have the Tonerider every time (paired with a Kiogon wiring loom). If you want to splash the cash though Lollar gets my vote from past experience...but it’s all subjective. 😊

Edited by Raslee
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On 07/09/2019 at 08:04, Raslee said:

I was recently  in this same situation, seeking a more vintage P pickup and wanting more of a warmer traditional  tone. After much discussion on Farcebook I opted for the cheapest suggestion, a £35 Tonerider off Amazon. I was pleasantly surprised, good definition and that vintage tone I was after, great in a band mix with the mids cutting through - definitely worth a punt IMO. I’ve had Aguilar, Lindy Fralin with my favourite being Lollar in the past and currently have a EMG Geezer in my other P but for the tone and price I’d have the Tonerider every time (paired with a Kiogon wiring loom). If you want to splash the cash though Lollar gets my vote from past experience...but it’s all subjective. 😊

After using many different variations of p pickups over the years, I too am using the tonerider..... Absolutely love the even vintage sound from it. And at that price, awesome.... Just blows a lot of much pricier pup's out the water.

I may be way off the mark.... But sure I read somewhere that these are what might be used in limelight basses?

Edited by danbowskill
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On 07/09/2019 at 08:04, Raslee said:

I was recently  in this same situation, seeking a more vintage P pickup and wanting more of a warmer traditional  tone. After much discussion on Farcebook I opted for the cheapest suggestion, a £35 Tonerider off Amazon. I was pleasantly surprised, good definition and that vintage tone I was after, great in a band mix with the mids cutting through - definitely worth a punt IMO. I’ve had Aguilar, Lindy Fralin with my favourite being Lollar in the past and currently have a EMG Geezer in my other P but for the tone and price I’d have the Tonerider every time (paired with a Kiogon wiring loom). If you want to splash the cash though Lollar gets my vote from past experience...but it’s all subjective. 😊

Interesting. I've got one waiting to fit to my mexi P. I've got an Fender "original 62" (not the cs62) in there at the mo which I like, but its maybe a touch too "clanky" for my taste. For the price of the Tonerider I thought I'd give it a try.

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On 04/09/2019 at 15:42, Rexel Matador said:

I play heavy rock with a pick, but I think the sound I like is more a "regular" P Bass being pushed to its limit, rather than a pickup designed for that purpose, if that makes sense. To my ears, the QP is a bit abrasive - sort an ersatz version of a heavy P Bass sound.

I guess the key question is what a "regular" P bass sounds like to you - do you feel like it needs more "thump" or more "clank" (or even..-whispers- more "heft")? Are there any particular Precision players whose tones you'd like to get closer to?

I can speak very highly of the Fender CS'62, and the Seymour Duncan SPB-2, but then I like the bright, clear honk that they provide, which can also be tamed with a little roll of the tone control, if your bandmates are looking a little scared.

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1 hour ago, nilebodgers said:

Interesting. I've got one waiting to fit to my mexi P. I've got an Fender "original 62" (not the cs62) in there at the mo which I like, but its maybe a touch too "clanky" for my taste. For the price of the Tonerider I thought I'd give it a try.

The Tonerider is more like the Custom Shop 62, which to me is more low-mid focused than hi-mid like the Original.

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