richardjmorgan Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 This is my very old Encore P-Bass copy, which was my first ever real instrument. I sold it to a school pal in about 1997, and it then apparently sat in another friend's parents' cupboard for the next fifteen years, until I was alerted to this and retrieved it, as it was destined for the bin otherwise. It seems like an ok-ish bit of wood, although it's RIDICULOUSLY heavy, so I thought I may as well put some big fat strings on it, get it a setup, and use it for knocking up demos for the metal band I play guitar in (tuned to C# Std), as my 32" Aria Cardinal probably wouldn't take well to that sort of downtuning. We've just got a new bassist, so over the weekend I spent a bit of time with it (trying to work out bass parts to show him) and got a bit more used to the longer and wider neck, although it's not as comfortable for me as the Aria. So, as it was, essentially, a free bass, I thought I might as well spend a bit of money tarting it up and making it look/sound/play a bit nicer. So I was sort of hoping, if I listed what I was thinking of doing, people might like to chuck their thoughts at me as to the best ways to go about it. Here's what I'm thinking of doing: 1. New nut. The current one's a pretty horrible bit of black plastic, with sharp edges I keep catching my fingers on when around the 1st fret. It's annoying, more than anything else. I've never had a nut replaced on anything (guitar or bass) but imagine this'd be a relatively cheap thing. 2. New electrics. Again, relatively cheap and I quite like soldering. Thought it may be worth chucking some decent pots and a jack in it. 3. Flip the pickup round. I know this may cause a bit of consternation amongst P purists, but, particularly with the low tuning, I feel like I'd like the extra heft to the top strings, and tightness to the bottom ones. And I'm really not too concerned about getting a bit of extra wood routed out. This, of course, means I'll need… 4. A new scratchplate. I'm thinking single-ply black. 5. Replace the pickup. I imagine there's something I can throw in here that'll do the sort of thing I want (lowish-tuned, but thrashy metal) a bit more competently than the cheap things in here. 6. New hardware. This is fairly low down the list, as it's really a using-at-home bass, and the stuff on there actually seems to do its job fairly well (bar a rattly tuner "ear" and the fact the height screws on the bridge poke up and scratch my hand if I'm playing with it), but I'm not a big fan of gold/brass hardware. Currently weighing up the relative merits of Black and Silver. So yeah, apologies for the essay-length post (although I sort of figure if you're not a fan of people banging on about basses, you're probably in the wrong bit of the internet), but if anyone has any suggestions/advice/words of warning regarding my upgrade quest, it'd be most welcome. As I mentioned, I'm first and foremost a guitarist, so although no stranger to fiddling with instrument bits, my knowledge of what stuff to use is best in a bass context is pretty thin on the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 If changing the parts has to be done, my recommendations would be: Pickup - Seymour Duncan Quarterpounder (for the music-type mentioned) Bridge - Gotoh (reasonable in cost, look roughly the same, but very good quality) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardjmorgan Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1363696356' post='2015929'] If changing the parts has to be done, my recommendations would be: Pickup - Seymour Duncan Quarterpounder (for the music-type mentioned) Bridge - Gotoh (reasonable in cost, look roughly the same, but very good quality) [/quote] Cool, cheers. A friend's got a QP in his cheapo P-Bass and it made it sound vastly better, so that was already on my radar; just thought it worth seeing if I'd overlooked anything else. I've heard various things about more massive bridges, but the standard-type one on this seems pretty solid so if I can get away with something relatively cheap, then that's grand. If it'll just screw into the existing holes, even better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardjmorgan Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 Oh yeah, pickups/electronics-wise, do I want to start looking at actives/preamps, or is that a whole can of worms I'd be best steering clear of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 (edited) Ki0gon on this very forum can do you a pretty fine electrics upgrade kit - wired pots/jack with screw terminals for your pups - at a very reasonable cost. Gives you an opportunity to chop and change the pups, too - see which you prefer. or if you want to go active and push the boat out, a J East P. Retro is as good a preamp as you could want. It will open up the range of tones immensely. Edited March 19, 2013 by Paul S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 (edited) [quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1363697638' post='2015964'] Ki0gon on this very forum can do you a pretty fine electrics upgrade kit - wired pots/jack with screw terminals for your pups - at a very reasonable cost. Gives you an opportunity to chop and change the pups, too - see which you prefer. [/quote] ^this. KiOgon is a gent and can give you some great advice. The kits are very well made and the price is, as Paul says, very reasonable. I've got one of KiOgon's wiring looms in my P bass, it sounds fantastic. Edited March 19, 2013 by Marvin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 ^^Thanks chaps it's always good to get recommendations from happy chappies! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardjmorgan Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 Cheers guys. I think I'm going to attempt the wiring myself, as I actually quite enjoy the soldering, but if I make a complete hash of it, I might give [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=4]KiOgon a shout![/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=4]I see there are a couple of P pickups going in the marketplace at present - an EMG and a Dimarzio Will Power. Don't really know anything about either of these - are they likely to be suitable for what I'm aiming to do?[/size][/font][/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Dimarzio Will Power over EMG every time! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardjmorgan Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 [quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1363703062' post='2016125'] Dimarzio Will Power over EMG every time! [/quote] Do you think it'd do the trick for thrashy metal, tuned down to C# (vague ballpark: Ellefson's Rust In Piece era sound in a lower tuning)? The description on the DiMarzio website's a little vague. I'm after something that'll give a nice, aggressive clank (but with a bit of warmth and heft in there too), rather than that sort of metal bass that sits boringly buried under a mountain of guitars. (Please try to contain your shock at a guitarist saying this, everyone.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Get the Will Power, crank it up, (assuming you've got the amp & cabs to handle it) & watch the guitarist squirm, serious amount of bass & mids with plenty of high end. http://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/bass I find the DiMarzios quick & clean, with a pick you'll get a huge amount of attack, probably 'aggressive clank' too! The EMGs are good, but I'd go for the Will Power personally I use the DP127 which is higher output, same bass & less mids! but it's powerful stuff . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1363696356' post='2015929'] If changing the parts has to be done, my recommendations would be: Pickup - Seymour Duncan Quarterpounder (for the music-type mentioned) Bridge - Gotoh (reasonable in cost, look roughly the same, but very good quality) [/quote] I'm with Lozz, fitted both of those items to my last p bass build and was thoroughly delighted. Probably will need to duck for cover now but I think that the Gotoh is far better and also more pleasing to look at than the Badass. I've had both and would never again spend out the ridiculous ammount that the Badass units command these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 If it's any reassurance or encouragement, I've re-done the wiring on my old P-bass at least a couple of times, and wired my recent Frankenstein build from scratch. Passive wiring on a single-pickup bass is pleasantly straightforward - especially since yours will lift straight out on the scratchplate! There are plenty of pot upgrades floating around eBay, and all the ones I've bought come with a wiring diagram. (That said, the last set I bought came with a slightly incorrect diagram! Might be best to sketch your own from the existing wiring as a backup!) Also, now that you mention it: I've long been keen to see whether reversing the pickup makes much difference. I've always thought it might give a bit more snarl on the bass side and a bit more roundedness on the treble side. Only drawback is you'll probably need to take a router to the body to re-cut the pickup cavity. Still, if you do decide to try it, I'd love to hear what you think of the results! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardjmorgan Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 [quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1363708999' post='2016315'] If it's any reassurance or encouragement, I've re-done the wiring on my old P-bass at least a couple of times, and wired my recent Frankenstein build from scratch. Passive wiring on a single-pickup bass is pleasantly straightforward - especially since yours will lift straight out on the scratchplate! There are plenty of pot upgrades floating around eBay, and all the ones I've bought come with a wiring diagram. (That said, the last set I bought came with a slightly incorrect diagram! Might be best to sketch your own from the existing wiring as a backup!) Also, now that you mention it: I've long been keen to see whether reversing the pickup makes much difference. I've always thought it might give a bit more snarl on the bass side and a bit more roundedness on the treble side. Only drawback is you'll probably need to take a router to the body to re-cut the pickup cavity. Still, if you do decide to try it, I'd love to hear what you think of the results! [/quote] Yeah, I managed to re-do the wiring on my Tele and that's still working after about a year and a half, so I reckon I should be alright doing a P. Not too fussed about taking a chunk out of the body as 1. it's a dirty old cheaper and 2. it weighs an absolute tonne, so losing a bit of wood certainly won't hurt. When I get round to it, I'll try and get some before/after clips up. On that subject, anyone know where I might get a scratchplate done with the pickup coils flipped? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 [quote name='richardjmorgan' timestamp='1363709355' post='2016326'] On that subject, anyone know where I might get a scratchplate done with the pickup coils flipped? [/quote] For a second, I was about to say "well, you could always try putting it on back-to-front." I think it's been one of those days... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I was gonna suggest the Will Power and was pleased to see it already being discussed. There's one in my P that does mostly D# but three songs a night in C#. It sounds brilliant, really meaty and punchy. It's a specific thing, there's not as much warmth or subtlety as you normally set with a P but it does the 'rock with a pick', JJ Burnell thing really, really well. I can recommend Fender Nickel Tapers, too. .45-.110tw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 [quote name='richardjmorgan' timestamp='1363709355' post='2016326'] On that subject, anyone know where I might get a scratchplate done with the pickup coils flipped? [/quote] Simple - a PM to The Bass Doc will soon sort that out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardjmorgan Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 Given my complete inability to play at anything approaching proper speed with my fingers, the Will Power's starting to sound like a good bet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoker Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Have a look at Bare Knuckle p/up's. Mate of mine swears by them for all things metal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus x-1 Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 [quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1363697801' post='2015972'] ^this. KiOgon is a gent and can give you some great advice. The kits are very well made and the price is, as Paul says, very reasonable. I've got one of KiOgon's wiring looms in my P bass, it sounds fantastic. [/quote] massive +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardjmorgan Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 Just to afford me some frame of reference, would anyone care to venture a comparison of the Will Power and the SD Quarter Pounder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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