Changing Pickups?

[Linus27]

I've just bought a Fender Player II Active Modified Precision in Forest Green and I must say, its beautiful. It plays really well, is very well built for a Mexican bass and does sound quite punchy. I've changed the strings to a set of La Bella Deep Talkin flats and it has improved the tone. Not sure I'm fully settled on these strings for this bass so we will see but my only minor gripe is the pickups sound a little thin, certainly compared to my other PJ and P-Bass. So I'm toying with the idea of upgrading the pickups. As the bass is active and passive, the pre-amp is quite detailed with a volume, pickup pan and tone in passive mode and volume, pickup pan, tone, mid cut/boost, bass cut/boost, treble cut/boost along with a active/passive switch. It also runs on 18v.

 

So my question is, can I just leave the pre-amp alone and change to any PJ pickups of my choice or do I need to find a set of pickups that can be used with the pre-amp and the 18v power?

[KiOgon]

Any pickups, (I expect there are exceptions), but generally - any 😉

[Linus27]

6 minutes ago, KiOgon said:

Any pickups, (I expect there are exceptions), but generally - any 😉

 

Amazing, thank you

[PaulThePlug]

And a little fitting tip...

 

[itu]

Before changing pickups, have you adjusted them?

 

Measure current heights from the body to the pickup face. Write numbers down and draw a simple "bridge, neck, pickups, heights" chart. 

 

Press G and E down from the highest fret and adjust the pickup height to the max before the strings touch the pickup. Now you can start to tighten the screws. Half amount of turns to the bridge pickup. 

 

If this doesn't help at all, buy a new set: Delano, bartolini, Lollar... 

[Delberthot]

I had an active deluxe precision special in seafoam green from around 2011, which was rumoured to have come from the factory with a Geddy Lee neck as production had just moved to Mexico. 

 

The preamp stopped working so I changed all of it for EMGs and a BTS system which began my love of EMGs and how easy they were to install

[miles'tone]

Is it one of these? Harvest Green?

Looks a blummin lovely colour that! Nice nice bass.

I see they come with a noiseless J pickup. Might want to factor that in if you replace them as you might not enjoy the hum off a single coil.

As has been mentioned, maybe try lowering the pickups you do have (if you haven't already). You might find the passive beef and sweetness you're after if you wind them down a bit. The Player pickups seem decent stock from what I've read. 

Of course having one in your hand is the real story...

Edited Sunday at 09:33 by miles'tone

[jd56hawk]

You might want to consider Dimarzio Relentless pickups...arched tops to better fit the neck radius and adjustable pole pieces.

Noiseless and potent even without a preamp.

 

Edited Sunday at 10:48 by jd56hawk

[chris_b]

An outboard preamp pedal might work without the effort and expense of modding. I have a Sadowsky SBP-2, which perks up a very ordinary sounding Cort.

[gjones]

I'd try experimenting with the pre amp and see if you can shape the sound to your liking, before fitting new pickups. 

[Chienmortbb]

On 03/07/2025 at 17:10, itu said:

Before changing pickups, have you adjusted them?

 

Measure current heights from the body to the pickup face. Write numbers down and draw a simple "bridge, neck, pickups, heights" chart. 

 

Press G and E down from the highest fret and adjust the pickup height to the max before the strings touch the pickup. Now you can start to tighten the screws. Half amount of turns to the bridge pickup. 

 

If this doesn't help at all, buy a new set: Delano, bartolini, Lollar... 

I agree but add Di Marzio's to the list. Great pickups and fully adjustable pole pieces. 

[HeadlessBassist]

Set your amp gain to desired level (before peaking), bass to about 1-2 o'clock (until it sounds rich and full), and treble to 2-3 o'clock. Mids all flat. If you find it's too scooped, add a tiny bit of lower mids to fill out the centre. That's the amp sorted.

 

Now set the onboard preamp to just a smidge above centre on the treble and bass, then leave the mid control in the centre. That's how to get the best out of a Fender 18v preamp. An active P&J should have quite a thick, but slightly "plinky" sound, as the split coil and jazz pickup slightly cancel each other out.

 

And yes, the standard Fender strings won't be helping the sound at all. I usually tear them straight off and replace them with Elixirs. They give a much cleaner and richer sound with more resonance. 

 

Failing all that, I'd have a look at the PJ set from Lollar. They've always been the best sounding replacement pickups to my ears.

 

 

Edited 9 hours ago by HeadlessBassist

[Chienmortbb]

6 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

And yes, the standard Fender strings won't be helping the sound at all

Yhey are made by D'Addario so avoid those as well.