Worth putting dimarizios in my MArlin P?

[operative451]

Hi!
So i did a shabby chic reverb on my east German P-bass and in the process set it up nicely, lubed the tuners, re-strung it etc. It now plays really nicely! It's plywood though although at at least 30 years old its probably thoroughly seasoned. Somewhat irritatingly i almost like it more than the shiny new bass i bought (Stagg Stingray-oid) earlier in the year!

Which brings me to the pickup. Its nasty, it's not original as the original fell apart, it was about £5 on amazon... It sounds ok i guess. Sort of honky, not much in they way of low end. I'm thinking of replacing it with this DiMarzio DP122 Model P i found on gak. Is it worth spending the money?

There are cheaper upgrade pickups but... They're black! The bass is off-white with a battered white pickguard and i want it to match...
This one:

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[RhysP]

If you like the bass & it'll get used then why not?

Edited October 21, 2016 by RhysP

[Grangur]

Can you remove the covers from the existing pups?
If you can why not get a good quality pup that will allow you to change the covers, then re-use the white covers?
SD quarter pounders and some Fender pups will allow you to change the covers.

[brensabre79]

Hey if it plays nice it should sound nice too. I say do it!
If you get fed up of it later on you can always sell the DiMarzios separately.

[operative451]

The current pups are surprisingly well made, all things considered. Wax potted and the covers are on tight! And i like the 1/4pounder idea but they're more expensive than the Ds... I think it might be a thing that happens...

[Andyjr1515]

Although they are sometimes viewed as a bit of a poor relation, I highly rate the DiMarzios

I fitted a Model P to Kert's Camphor single cut PJ based on very good user reviews and it sounds wonderful. The Model One I've just fitted to the EB3 style present build is equally impressive.

[Grangur]

I've got DiMarzios in an Ibanez I'm selling. The sound is very punchy, if that's the word?
There's a growl/clang to the tone. Different to the SD Q-pounders. Nowt wrong, just different.

[Lozz196]

DiMarzios have a cream option for their pickup covers (they spell it creme)

[Thunderbird]

Not a huge fan of the D mazzio pups I find them really middy

[Marc S]

If you like playing the bass, why not keep it & upgrade those pickups?
Sometimes, a bass can just feel comfortable to play and feel "just right"

I don't know about those pickups per-se, but I got a second hand set of DiMarzio pickups for my Jazz,
And they were old & fairly cheap, but they are incredible! Big sound, big output, full range of solid tones.

You could also try Entwistle PBXN pickups. They're cheap, and brilliant. Mind you, you may need to deepen the cavity under the magnets a bit - as the magnets are slightly deeper than most other pups. But hey, this produces a heck of an output

Good luck & let us know what you decide

[operative451]

Thanks for all the replies! I think i'm going to go for it - it feels like a lot to spend but on the other hand i dropped about the same amount in Boots the other day, so WTH... ;D

[deksawyer]

Also, whatever you do, make sure there are 250k pots in there....

D.

[FuNkShUi]

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1477130490' post='3159998']
Although they are sometimes viewed as a bit of a poor relation, I highly rate the DiMarzios

I fitted a Model P to Kert's Camphor single cut PJ based on very good user reviews and it sounds wonderful. The Model One I've just fitted to the EB3 style present build is equally impressive.
[/quote]

The DiMarzios are excellent. I haven't considered changing them

[operative451]

There shall soon be some Fender pups in the post from Mr Grangur - many thanks for all the suggestions, and i shall be getting busy with my soldering iron shortly!

[fleabag]

That Entwhistle PBXN is a monster. I have one fitted in a J/P bass.

The price is incredible too. Its a pickup i would check out. I didnt have to deepen the rout on my bass to fit it in

[PaulWarning]

I once fitted some SD quarterpounders to my Hondo professional II, could hardly tell any difference then found out they fitted DiMazio's as standard still I sold them on for not much of a loss (the Seymour Duncans)

[Marc S]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1478184619' post='3167370']
I once fitted some SD quarterpounders to my Hondo professional II, could hardly tell any difference then found out they fitted DiMazio's as standard still I sold them on for not much of a loss (the Seymour Duncans)
[/quote]

Earlier in the year (or maybe it was toward the end of 2015?) I put a new neck on an old 70s / early 80's Matsumoko Japan built P bass I picked up cheaply. The old neck was really well & truly broken, Someone had (mostly) removed the old logo on the headstock, so I couldn't tell what it was. It looked like it may have been a Hondo...

Once fixed, with new neck, the pickup in that bass sounded awesome! It was quite a high output, really punchy too. I sold the bass by advertising it on a local facebook group. It sold the same day. Guy picked it up next day. I regret not swapping the pickup out of that bass, as it was so good. Maybe they were DiMarzio's as PaulWarning says? They sounded great, whatever they were.

I since found out that the guy who bought that restored P bass from me sold it on to a chap I know (this guy does a lot of buying & selling) and I think he's sold it on again. Perhaps I didn't ask enough for it?