Need Some Help Finding a P Pickup

[BruceBass3901]

Hi everyone,

I'm in the last stages of preparing for a P bass build and I am in need of a pickup.

I have very little experience with P basses generally as I have normally favoured a Jazz or Stingray style, but I now find myself looking to fill the P shaped hole in my stable.

I know that a lot of people will say that this is totally subjective, but I don't really have a starting point for this, so could do with the advice of the ever-mighty Basschat community!!

The bass will feature an alder body with a maple Allparts neck (for those that are interested) and a single P bass pickup in the standard location. It will mainly be used in my Ska and 2 Tone covers band but will likely see a bit of everything, so a versatile pickup as opposed to a 'one trick pony' would suit me better.

I have also yet to decide whether I want this bass to be passive or active. I will probably rout the body to allow for a preamp such as a John East P Retro to be mounted at a later date, so for the time being, consider this to be a bog standard passive P bass with a single volume and single tone control.

Can somebody please point me in a good direction?

Many thanks!

[Grangur]

Hi BruceBass,

Good luck with the build. What sort of sound do you enjoy? Do you like the Jamerson deeper tone or a more aggressive, Musicman type sound?

[DanEly]

Lindy Fralin's are great!!

[Lozz196]

My fave Precision pickups are the Fender Custom Shop 62s that come in post 2012 Precisions as standard. I have them in all of my Precisions which are alder body/maple neck, and the sound is just great, real fat n chunky, but can be sharpened up without becoming too shrill.

[BruceBass3901]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1467147482' post='3081551']
Hi BruceBass,

Good luck with the build. What sort of sound do you enjoy? Do you like the Jamerson deeper tone or a more aggressive, Musicman type sound?
[/quote]

Thanks Grangur.

I enjoy both, but do tend to lean towards a slightly more aggressive sound. I currently have a DiMarzio Model P left over from another build but I was concerned that it would be a little too agressive sounding (based on opinions of those that use it for rock/metal) for my ska band.

[BruceBass3901]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1467148686' post='3081562']
My fave Precision pickups are the Fender Custom Shop 62s that come in post 2012 Precisions as standard. I have them in all of my Precisions which are alder body/maple neck, and the sound is just great, real fat n chunky, but can be sharpened up without becoming too shrill.
[/quote]

Thanks Lozz,

I'm hearing quite a few good things about this pickup. I may have to look into finding one!

[Grangur]

There is a lot of love here for the Seymour Duncan pups. SPB-3. Although the SPB-1 gives a more punchy sound.

You might also like the hand-wound pups from Jess Lourierio. At 50 Euro a set they're a bargain. I've got a set. They're good.

http://jlguitars.eu/shop/index.php?id_product=11&controller=product&id_lang=4

[No lust in Jazz]

I've just installed an Aguilar Hot P in a Fender P Bass, Ok so there are a lot of variables to factor in - but I like, I and I would do this again.

[url="http://www.aguilaramp.com/products_pickups_AGPHOT.htm"]http://www.aguilaramp.com/products_pickups_AGPHOT.htm[/url]

[chris_b]

For a Ska band? Bartolini, Duncan or Aguilar.

I'd start with passive and see what sound you can develop. My passive P bass (with SD's) is the best sounding bass I've owned in years.

A set of GHS flats would thump it up nicely.

[PlungerModerno]

Try the DiMarzio Model P in the bass first. You may find it perfect!

I'd strongly recommend trying a couple of different string types on the bass with each pickup you try (one or more). They interact differently with different sets - even different gauges of the same string model. I find some pickups, especially the higher output ones e.g. SPB-3 (aka Quater Pounder) cry for ultra bright flats or rounds - whereas lower output, more middy/punchy sounding pickups can do much more with a set of broken in flats IME/IMO of course. Try to find out what you like the sound of! Keep in mind strings aren't as easy to sell used at a significant portion of the new cost as pickups are. But if you have a Jazz Bass or another bass with fender scale & tuner layout - you can try the strings out on any/all of these with ease.

Here's something fun to have a gander and a listen to!
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6XQN0QLzNY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6XQN0QLzNY[/url]

Edited June 29, 2016 by PlungerModerno

[BruceBass3901]

Thanks for the advice guys!

I would love to get a proper vintage sounding pickup like the Aguilar P 60, the Fender Custom Shop '62 or something custom, but for now (having listened to a few demos and shootouts) I think I will try my luck with the DiMarzio Model P I already have.

I'll also look into getting a set of flatwounds as I normally use Bass Centre Stadium Elite Stainless strings, which sound great but I would like to give the classic P Bass thump a go as well.

[PlungerModerno]

You can always try a different pickup, a preamp, a varitone, or a combination of the three - along with any number of different strings (e.g. half rounds, tapewounds, flats, etc) - and setups!

Get to know it, and figure out what you'd like to change first (if anything!) and start from there!

Oh and enjoy!

[Zombie1965]

[font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][color=#282828]DiMarzio Model P's are my absolute personal favorite (Identical to my Ibanez blazer pups), not sure they will be the strongest for ska though. Model P's just have a beautiful growl and musically cut through any mix really well. Stick with em, [/color][/font]

Edited July 3, 2016 by Zombie1965

[BruceBass3901]

I've got the DiMarzio Ultrajazz set in my Jazzbass which I just love and sound great in my ska band, so I sort of trust that the Model P will do the job. But PlungerModerno is totally right; I can change things around afterwards!

Definitely going to ensure the body is able to accommodate the P Retro so that I can have a pretty versatile bass.

[Dan Dare]

Have a Kent Armstrong Hot P in my bitsa P bass. Slightly modern twist on a vintage sound and v. cheap to buy.

[Raggy]

Ive been through a fair few different pickups in my P basses that i use in my Ska band and all have been well up to the job, just got to remember to roll that tone control back a bit.

P Retro's are awesome pieces of kit but I have found I'm favouring my passive sounds now.

[pete.young]

It's good news really: you'll get loads of advice from loads of people who all get a great sound out of the pickup they like, so whichever you chose, you can't lose!

I'm very happy with Nordstrand, it's like fender but more of everything. Others find it a bit polite.

[tom1946]

FWIW the best P pickup I've ever used is the SD-SPB-2, very powerful and articulate. It's my main go to bass now.