P bass split coils. Is it just me or…

[xilddx]

I have the reverse P on my Streamer, it sounds like Godzilla. I also love quite a few trad Precision players who also sound like Godzilla. Theoretically the trad P pickup design and the reverse P should sound different from eachother, the trad having deep low strings and zingy tops, the reverse P having more evenly balanced output over the strings, but in REALITY, it don't mean sh*t.

[EssentialTension]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7gFlSGXt_k

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1361541217' post='1987213']
... it don't mean sh*t.
[/quote]

/thread

[Lozz196]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1361540767' post='1987204']
It's a well known fact that P-Bass players only use the E and A strings on the first 5 frets, so it doesn't really matter which way around the pickup for the D and G strings is.

:-)
[/quote]

I actually read of an interview with a basist from a punk band - can`t remember which - and when he turned up at the studio one day, the engineer asked him why his bass had 2 strings. His reply was "in case that one breaks". His bass was strung with 2 E strings. Classic.

[xilddx]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1361543088' post='1987260']
I actually read of an interview with a basist from a punk band - can`t remember which - and when he turned up at the studio one day, the engineer asked him why his bass had 2 strings. His reply was "in case that one breaks". His bass was strung with 2 E strings. Classic.
[/quote]

Love it!

[Dingus]

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1361541217' post='1987213']
I have the reverse P on my Streamer, it sounds like Godzilla. I also love quite a few trad Precision players who also sound like Godzilla. Theoretically the trad P pickup design and the reverse P should sound different from eachother, the trad having deep low strings and zingy tops, the reverse P having more evenly balanced output over the strings, but in REALITY, it don't mean sh*t.
[/quote]

I have also found this to be the case . I can't hear a huge difference between a reversed P Pickup and a non - reversed one . However , theoretically at least , one reason for reversing the P pickup is to affect the sound of the P pickup when used in conjunction with the Jazz pickup at the bridge . By moving the P bass coils for the D and G strings further away from the Jazz pickup coils it is supposed to diminish the pinched and overly nasal sound that some PJ combinations can have due to the close proximity of the rear of the split Precision pickup to the Jazz pickup coils for those same strings . From memory , I think it was Yamaha who first got the idea of reversing the Precision pickup on the old BB series basses back in the 1970s , and their P pickups are usually very slightly further from the bridge than a traditional Fender .

Edited February 22, 2013 by Dingus

[brensabre79]

Dingus i think you're spot on about reversing for the P/J arrangement.
As for the arrangement of the original, I don't think its a stupid question. It's in line with other Leo designs of the time, the strat bridge PU goes nearer to the bridge on the higher strings, so does the telecaster. Don't forget that in the early days of the bass guitar, research was very limited, but Leo did talk to players of the time and made improvements based on their feedback (contour body for example). He had possibly discovered that many people at the time would play the bottom strings with their thumb and the top with their index finger - hence the position of the rest. Maybe this has something to do with it too... He probably also made the Jazz pickups both straight because of the phase relationship between the two. Leo never made a bass with a P/J arrangement...

[rednose200]

Yep - far better reversed in my opinion. Using the pickup as a finger rest then means you dont foul the pickup with your fingers when digging in either. That said I'm not a 'P' bass fan. A bit limited soundwise if you ask me.

[Hutton]

[quote name='rednose200' timestamp='1361549374' post='1987404']
Yep - far better reversed in my opinion. Using the pickup as a finger rest then means you dont foul the pickup with your fingers when digging in either. That said I'm not a 'P' bass fan. A bit limited soundwise if you ask me.
[/quote]

Yep. They are definitely limited soundwise. In fact, I'm going to fling out all the cds and dvds I have where the bass player is using a precision. That sound just doesn't cut it!

[cocco]

This is my favourite thread for a while!

[neepheid]

This is quite surreal for me, as it's usually me getting frothy mouthed at people slagging off Gibson basses. I'm not sure who's genuinely upset, who's taking the mick and basically why the world appears to have turned upside down

[Hutton]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1361558045' post='1987621']
This is quite surreal for me, as it's usually me getting frothy mouthed at people slagging off Gibson basses. I'm not sure who's genuinely upset, who's taking the mick and basically why the world appears to have turned upside down
[/quote]

It's all done with mirrors Matt.

[neepheid]

[quote name='Hutton' timestamp='1361558790' post='1987651']
It's all done with mirrors Matt.
[/quote]

But then doesn't it end up looking like this?

[xilddx]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1361559330' post='1987659']
But then doesn't it end up looking like this?


[/quote]


WTF is that?

[Hutton]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1361559330' post='1987659']
But then doesn't it end up looking like this?


[/quote]

Most excellent. I want all my precision pups to be like this. Maybe now the p-bass will at last be worth playing. Thanks Matt you're a pal.

[neepheid]

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1361559588' post='1987668']
WTF is that?
[/quote]

A split P pickup, mirrored. Hutton said it was all done with mirrors.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1361558045' post='1987621']
This is quite surreal for me, as it's usually me getting frothy mouthed at people slagging off Gibson basses. I'm not sure who's genuinely upset, who's taking the mick and basically why the world appears to have turned upside down
[/quote]
It's only the pickup being turned upside down not the whole world.

[mcnach]

[quote name='richardjmorgan' timestamp='1361466821' post='1986175']
… are they kind of the wrong way round?

I've just been doing a bit of rough recording with my Encore P, having not played it properly in aaaages, and the note definition on the bottom two strings, compared to the top two, is pretty awful (yeah, I know it's not a great piece of kit, but bear with me). In comparison, my Aria also has a split coil pickup, but with the coils reversed (i.e. the coil for the bottom 2 strings nearer the bridge). Given the tendency of the upper strings on basses to be a bit snappier in my experience, all things being equal, the latter ("wrong" way round) seems to make more sense, and give a more balanced attack across the four strings.

So is this just me being weird in terms of personal preference, is there a valid reason for the "normal" way round, or did Leo just get it wrong to begin with and it stuck like that? Being more of a guitarist than a bassist, I'd be interested to hear some input from those more knowledgeable than me.
[/quote]

No, it's not just you.

The closer the pickup is to the bridge, the more noticeable the imbalance is. At the usual P position it doesn't matter a huge deal, although I still thing that reverse P is better.

[Jack]

It probably just makes the minutest of difference but yeah I do think it might as well make the minutest of a good difference.

[mcnach]

[quote name='iceonaboy' timestamp='1361475148' post='1986380']
Bloody hell ! So many legends have been wrong for so long. Dump yer Fenders guys, they are now officially sh*t! .....I know one guy who ain't doin that !
[/quote]


you guys love to polarise things eh?

well, put me firmly in the grey camp

[mcnach]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1361540767' post='1987204']
It's a well known fact that P-Bass players only use the E and A strings on the first 5 frets, so it doesn't really matter which way around the pickup for the D and G strings is.

:-)
[/quote]

[mcnach]

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1361541217' post='1987213']
I have the reverse P on my Streamer, it sounds like Godzilla. I also love quite a few trad Precision players who also sound like Godzilla. Theoretically the trad P pickup design and the reverse P should sound different from eachother, the trad having deep low strings and zingy tops, the reverse P having more evenly balanced output over the strings, but in REALITY, it don't mean sh*t.
[/quote]

Put it close to the bridge, and you will notice that in a non-reverse P the DG strings sound much thinner than the EA strings. It doesn't make it unusable, and some may even prefer that, but it is not negligible.

However, the the usual P position, there's enough fatness to go around even in a non-reverse situation. The closer you get to the neck, the less it matters.

[mcnach]

[quote name='Hutton' timestamp='1361552868' post='1987495']
Yep. They are definitely limited soundwise. In fact, I'm going to fling out all the cds and dvds I have where the bass player is using a precision. That sound just doesn't cut it!
[/quote]




I think we should organise a bass-off some time. It will not mean anything at all, but it may be highly entertaining.

FIGHT!

[Hutton]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1361563837' post='1987765']





I think we should organise a bass-off some time. It will not mean anything at all, but it may be highly entertaining.

FIGHT!
[/quote]

A bass-off is out of the question for me due to the fact that I intend to burn my precisions in a solemn ceremony. I'm afraid that they just have to go. The pickups being the way they have been for 60 odd years is just not good enough anymore.

[mcnach]

[quote name='Hutton' timestamp='1361566416' post='1987824']
A bass-off is out of the question for me due to the fact that I intend to burn my precisions in a solemn ceremony. I'm afraid that they just have to go. The pickups being the way they have been for 60 odd years is just not good enough anymore.
[/quote]

you could still hold the ceremony with the remnants after the bass-off