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P Bass pickup options


simon1964
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I'm really pleased with the feel of my CIJ 70s Precision, but I think the tone lacks a bit. The classic P bass tone is there, but it can be a bit muddy, especially in the bottom end. I guess I'm really looking for the Precision tone, but with a bit more versatility and a tighter overall tone.

Options I'm considering are:

Active EMGs

Adding a J Pickup at the bridge

Sticking with the stock pickups, but adding a pre-amp

I'd be interested in any views or recommendations - especially any experience with EMG Ps.

Edited by simon1964
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[quote name='simon1964' post='55113' date='Sep 4 2007, 09:19 AM']I'm really pleased with the feel of my CIJ 70s Precision, but I think the tone lacks a bit. The classic P bass tone is there, but it can be a bit muddy, especially in the bottom end. I guess I'm really looking for the Precision tone, but with a bit more versatility and a tighter overall tone.

Options I'm considering are:

Active EMGs

Adding a J Pickup at the bridge

Sticking with the stock pickups, but adding a pre-amp

I'd be interested in any views or recommendations - especially any experience with EMG Ps.[/quote]

Poor tone is not always, or even usually, the result of poor PUPs, not in the first instance anyway. The best PUP in the world will still sound crap on a bass with a crap bridge and crap strings. Change the cheapest things first.

1. New strings (even a single E string to see if a different make or gauge does the trick re the 'muddiness')
2. BADASS bridge, looks sh*t on an old bass but makes a huge difference to tone and intonation
3. P-PUP, get a Wizard, SD or similar. Read the reviews to see which most suits your style.
4. J-PUP at bridge. For versatility, a good, although quite expensive idea. A good J-PUP won't make crap strings sound good.
5. Active EQ. A sad thing to do to any Precision IMHO. The classic PBass sound was NOT derived through an active EQ! Some basses just sound better passive.

Chris

Edited by Beedster
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[quote name='Beedster' post='55197' date='Sep 4 2007, 12:27 PM']Poor tone is not always, or even usually, the result of poor PUPs, not in the first instance anyway. The best PUP in the world will still sound crap on a bass with a crap bridge and crap strings. Change the cheapest things first.

1. New strings (even a single E string to see if a different make or gauge does the trick re the 'muddiness')
2. BADASS bridge, looks sh*t on an old bass but makes a huge difference to tone and intonation
3. P-PUP, get a Wizard, SD or similar. Read the reviews to see which most suits your style.
4. J-PUP at bridge. For versatility, a good, although quite expensive idea. A good J-PUP won't make crap strings sound good.
5. Active EQ. A sad thing to do to any Precision IMHO. The classic PBass sound was NOT derived through an active EQ! Some basses just sound better passive.

Chris[/quote]

Thanks Chris. Some good thoughts there. The strings are new Ernie Ball Slinkys 45 - 100, same as I use on my Jazz and Warwick. I'd like to avoid active for the reasons you say - the Warwick can give me those sounds.

I've got a Gotoh Bridge on it at the moment, which is bit chunkier than the standard bridge, but the Badass may be the way to go. I'll give that a try.

Edited by simon1964
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