The double P pickup bass thread.

[mcnach]

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1371203532' post='2111096']
Can someone please tell me more about the differences in sound of the P vs J on the bridge position? Never had the pleasure os trying a double P config bass.
[/quote]

Just adding to what hamfist already said... the P type pickup at the bridge sounds meatier than a J type. The thing with dual P basses is that there is a HUGE variation when it comes to the pickup positions. Some have the bridge pickup almost by the bridge, which to me sounds a little too thin, while others have it just a little closer to the bridge than a Precision (which is probably my favourite spot... and it so happens it's close to the position of a MM pickup on a Stingray, my favourite bass, so no surprises there!).
I think the bridge P, if quite close to the bridge, sounds better when reversed: the DG coil farther from the bridge than the EA coil, as that balances the sound a bit, for me.

Lots of options!

I owned the Westone Chaypup posted, and also a BC Rich Mockingbird. Pickup positions were different and as a result sounded nothing alike.

[Gust0o]

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1371545223' post='2115173']
A few more of my BC Rich Eagle, since it made an appearance in the other thread:



[/quote]

Contrast with the relative simplicity of my old NJ Eagle!

[Dingus]

I am deeply impressed that you have got a genuine BC Rich Eagle . They are truly exotic and very rare on these shores . Along with an Alembic , they were[i] the [/i]ultimate bass to aspire to for players in the late '70's / early '80s . Players like Bernard Edwards and Geezer Butler had them , but no mere mortals in the U.K had them except big - name players who had usually bought them in the States . Back in their day , in the U.K one of these would have set you back approximately double what other high end basses like a top of the range Wal would have cost . i like that sunburst , too .

[mcnach]

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1371545223' post='2115173']
A few more of my BC Rich Eagle, since it made an appearance in the other thread:





Showing the neckthrough... it's stained back, with the grain just visible if you try.




[/quote]


that's ooh so pretty!

[EMG456]

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/eddiem/9073738891/][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/eddiem/9073738891/]L2[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/eddiem/]emg456[/url], on Flickr


Ha - wrong thread I hear you shout but wait...

Underneath the rectangular covers of the EMG SS and HB pickups installed in most L and XL basses lies an actual EMG P pickup - offset split coil and all.

Coupled with the fact that the neck pickup is positioned almost exactly where a Fender P has its pickup, this explains why my Steineys can do a very convincing big airy P sound using just that pickup.

Cheers

Ed

Edited June 18, 2013 by EMG456

[Gust0o]

Cheers guys, if ever local you're welcome to try

[geoffbyrne]

[quote name='chaypup' timestamp='1371542017' post='2115125']
Nice Vantage! Has that body been stripped?
[/quote]

yes, I think it probably was. It was a right mess when I got it - 1 pickup, the other was a pair of shells with foam inside - body stripped, no controls, badly defretted & no bridge. The rebaited contours for the dropped bridge had been expertly filled with a beautifully shaped blank, so it defo wasn't the same guy who did the rest.

I generally tidied up & waxed the body, sorted out the fingerboard a bit, got a pair of GB pickups from Axes'R'Us and some decent pots. The bridge I found was a huge 8 string lump of brass.

On putting it all together it turned out rather nice & with both pups on it was a very smooth sounding bass. I can't remember whether I moved it on here or on Ebay.

On retrospect, I ought to have kept it as I'm kinda into short scales at the moment.

G.

[Mr Lizard]

I love that BC Rich Eagle!

[FlatEric]

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1371545223' post='2115173']
A few more of my BC Rich Eagle, since it made an appearance in the other thread:





Showing the neckthrough... it's stained back, with the grain just visible if you try.




[/quote]

Never had the pleasure but knowing how good my Odyssey is, I would guess this is a cracker!

[FlatEric]

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1371472601' post='2114203']
Flateric ....... Lovely bass indeed. What exactly are all the switching options ?
[/quote]

Series, parallel for both pick-ups and a phase option.


[quote name='EMG456' timestamp='1371476268' post='2114275']
Flateric, I asked you on another thread if you had pictures of your Oddysey but I think you must have stopped reading that one after posting.

Anyway, here it is and beautiful - I loved Oddyseys.

I have no cash just now but if you're ever selling...etc. etc.

Cheers

Ed

PS Any bigger pics of the whole bass?
[/quote]

Will put up other pics on a PM for you.
Great to meet a fellow fan.

[White Cloud]

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1371545223' post='2115173']
A few more of my BC Rich Eagle, since it made an appearance in the other thread:





Showing the neckthrough... it's stained back, with the grain just visible if you try.




[/quote]
OMG. That is beautiful...the Eagle was my ultimate dream bass back in the 80's after seeing Geezer Butler playing one. The closest I got was owning a NJ basic version.

[Gust0o]

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1371585690' post='2115945']
OMG. That is beautiful...the Eagle was my ultimate dream bass back in the 80's after seeing Geezer Butler playing one. The closest I got was owning a NJ basic version.
[/quote]

Thanks chief - and the NJs were great basses, mine was a real rocker.

Lorne had some stunners, snagging an old pic of him - look at these!

[dannybuoy]

Anybody tried the dual-P Fender Blacktop Jazz basses?

[hamfist]

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1371594900' post='2116089']
Anybody tried the dual-P Fender Blacktop Jazz basses?


[/quote]

Tried it and wasn't hugely impressed. The neck pickup is significantly nearer the neck than the standard P position also.

[cocco]

I have to agree, they should have put the double Ps in the p bass and kept the P bass neck profile. It's a great sounding bass, but would have been that much better IMO if they had kept the bodies the right way around.

[hamfist]

[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1371624001' post='2116197']
I have to agree, they should have put the double Ps in the p bass and kept the P bass neck profile. It's a great sounding bass, but would have been that much better IMO if they had kept the bodies the right way around.
[/quote]

Personally, I'm not too bothered about which body shape or neck profile they have. They key, key things for me is the pickup positioning, which has by far the biggest influence on tone.

[FlatEric]

Pic for EMG456.

[neepheid]

I suppose this technically counts:



As already explained by a helpful Steinberger owner, the EMG-HB pickups are split P rail pickups in a guitar humbucker sized enclosure. These two bad boys were teamed up with an EMG-BQC 3 band EQ and it was a bloody good sound to my ears - meaty, punchy yet modern and precise, very responsive. So much so that it's the only bass I regret selling. The other day I sent a message to the guy I sold it to 2 years ago to see if he would be interested in selling it back to me. Unfortunately he likes the bass very much and was not interested in moving it on (although he did say he would give me a heads-up if he ever did decide to sell it). Disappointing on the one hand, but heartening to know that someone else thinks it's a keeper and it's getting regular use.

I think I might perform the same mods on another Epi. Then NEVER EVER SELL IT AGAIN.

[Jellyfish]

Does anyone have any nice sound clips of these? I'd love to hear one properly.

[dannybuoy]

That does look a bit tasty!

[EMG456]

[quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1371632358' post='2116318']
Pic for EMG456.


[/quote]

Lovely! Nice Arias too!

Ed

[silverfoxnik]

Great thread this..

Must post some pics of my BC Rich Eagle later..

Played a couple of Odyssey basses a long time ago and they were really good!

[Gust0o]

[quote name='silverfoxnik' timestamp='1371748764' post='2117726']
Must post some pics of my BC Rich Eagle later..
[/quote]

Yes!!!

[Green Alsatian]

I'm going to cheat my way into this thread with my £50 pink Westfield.

I had a P-pickup from an SX bass which I modded and sold last year, so I thought I'd give it a go. I measured up, fired up the Dremel (with router attachment) and [i]nearly[/i] did a job neat enough to not require a cover to mask the ugly underneath. I forgot to take into account that the P-pickup split would be slightly further apart at the bridge, to align with the strings. Dremel out again and by then had resigned myself to using a plate, so I gave myself a bit of extra space in case anything else went awry.

I cut down a blank Strat backplate to act as a surround for the bridge pickup, offsetting the middle screws as I had to chop off the end and didn't want both screws closer to the controls.

I wired it up using bits from my parts sack - a hideous twisted mess of failed tinkerings when I was learning soldering (I'm still not the neatest, but improving each time) to find another mini pot to use as a second volume control. I wired it up Volume, Volume, Tone, like a Jazz and used a .047 cap I salvaged from a previous harness. Put it back together and hmm... the volume on the bridge pickup wasn't shutting off fully. I thought it was my hotch-potch of pots and bits, so I ordered two cheap mini Alpha 250k volume pots and a 250k tone pot from CH guitars. Wired up again and still met with the bridge pickup volume not fully dropping and affecting the neck pickup when soloed. Fearing it was my wiring (the Seymour Duncan setup), I checked it with two Wilkinson Jazz pickups I have knocking about - no probs. It was then that I realised that it must have been a difference in the two P-pickups. The SX pickup did seem to overpower the Westfield pickup a bit, so I decided to go with two matched pickups.

I then spotted an Alnico 5 P-pickup from Seco guitars for a tenner, so I bought two of them and wired it up again - all working fine. These pickups are more evenly-matched and a less 'brash' than the stock Westfield and SX pickup.

As I feared, as these pickups are 'Fender' sized - the SX and Westfield pickups are a bit longer and have larger screw mounting 'ears', leaving me with gaps in the main scratchplate and the bridge pickup surround. Oh well - I'm not a craftsman, so function wins over style this time!

Soundwise - I've no means of recording at the moment but this is a different sound than a PJ-bass - a bit beefier. It's also naturally different from a Jazz - there's still that 'scooped' sound when both pickups are on, but voiced differently. With the neck soloed, it's the regular P-sound but the bridge soloed has a bit more 'meat' to it than the single coil. Obviously, the D and G strings are a bit thinner-sounding than the E and A due to their proximity to the bridge, but still perfectly usable - more than you'd expect. I'd have liked to have gone reverse-P for both, but went for the easier option.

I definitely like the double P configuration, especially as it was for a bit of fun on a cheapy! It's getting gigged next Saturday.

[hamfist]

Nice job Green Alsation. I think that looks awesome ! Has a LOAD of character !
You're right about the two pickups together sounding different to a PJ. I think the blended sound has less tendency to drop out of a mix than a JJ or a PJ.