Best P bass pickup/Circuit?

[Gibbo9876]

Hi everyone

I am looking to mod up a 96 Squire p bass. I want to change the pickups but the circuit in the bass at the moment is a little weak. What would people recommend as a good all round P bass pickup-circuit Combo? I tried the EMG active pickups but didnt find them too amazing, does this indicate that the bass itself is not worth it?

All input would be great,
Thanks

Edited November 10, 2016 by Gibbo9876

[Andyjr1515]

[quote name='Gibbo9876' timestamp='1478798500' post='3171755']
Hi everyone

I am looking to mod up a 96 Squire p bass. I want to change the pickups but the circuit in the bass at the moment is a little weak. What would people recommend as a good all round P bass pickup-circuit Combo? I tried the EMG active pickups but didnt find them too amazing, does this indicate that the bass itself is not worth it?

All input would be great,
Thanks
[/quote]
Hi
I'm sure that there will be many great suggestions (for what it's worth I've been very impressed with the reasonably priced DiMarzio P pickup) but the Squier P bass is a perfectly acceptable framework to put a decent pickup into...

[dannybuoy]

The EMG Geezer Butler is a vintage voiced pickup but with the modern convenience of coming with pre-wired pots and solderless connections. Gets rave reviews too.

[Funky Dunky]

The issue of replacement P bass pickups is an ongoing conundrum - a new thread pops up on the subject every couple of weeks. I'm going through the same agony as you at the moment with an old Jim Dunlop P copy. Most threads offer the same recommendations. Here's a definitive (ish) list:

Fender Custom Shop '62 (reasonably priced and great authentic P sounds)
Dimarzio Model P/DP122 (reasonably priced, really high output)
Norstrand NP4 (pricey but great)
Aguilar AG-4P (very pricey, but imo one of the best-sounding)
Lollar (pricey, but nicey)
Wizard Thumper - now available as the Hot Rod Thumper (really cheap and by all accounts really good)
Wilkinson Alnico P (even cheaper, and pretty decent)
Tonerider TRP1 (cheap, and allegedly what Squier put in their awesome CV Precision)
Seymour Duncan Antiquity (upper end of reasonably price, IIRC)
Lindy Fralin P (highly rated)


.....and one nobody recommends, but I checked it out and was highly impressed:

Bareknuckle 58 Split P (but again not cheap at just under £100.

As for circuits and whatnot, I can't be of much assistance here unfortunately, but maybe KiOgon of the basschat brethren could help - he has all manner of ingenious kits available which are really reasonably priced.

Get thee to YouTube and listen to some samples. Let us know how you get on. Hope this helps in some way - it's a bloomin' minefield of sorts.

Edited November 10, 2016 by Funky Dunky

[3below]

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1478799464' post='3171770']
Hi
I'm sure that there will be many great suggestions (for what it's worth I've been very impressed with the reasonably priced DiMarzio P pickup) but the Squier P bass is a perfectly acceptable framework to put a decent pickup into...
[/quote]

+1 on this. From personal experience with basses I own, the DiMarzio approaches the G&L MFD P bass type. Both pickups have plenty of output and do the business. Both of these pickups have greater output than some active basses I own, they also have considerable tonal palette with a simple volume / tone setup.

Add to the list:
Entwistle P bass pickup (Neo)

Edited November 10, 2016 by 3below

[karlfer]

DiMarzio or Steve Harris for me.
Passive, always passive.
But I'm strange.

Edited November 15, 2016 by karlfer

[kodiakblair]

I'll 2nd the Entwistle neos,they replaced the SD Basslines in my Zodiac DE.
The covers are a bit bigger so use the ones from the pickup you're replacing.

[JapanAxe]

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1478815695' post='3171943']

As for circuits and whatnot, I can't be of much assistance here unfortunately, but maybe KiOgon of the basschat brethren could help - he has all manner of ingenious kits available which are really reasonably priced.

[/quote]

+1 to KiOgon for wiring looms. A friend was round trying out my basses, and when he played the one with a KiOgon control set in it, he remarked on the smoothness of its operation. Plus they are easy to install and swap around.

[Conan]

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1478849906' post='3172048']
+1 to KiOgon for wiring looms. A friend was round trying out my basses, and when he played the one with a KiOgon control set in it, he remarked on the smoothness of its operation. Plus they are easy to install and swap around.
[/quote]

Another plus one! They really make a difference.

Have a look at [url="http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-Pro-Series-HOT-P-Bass-Pickup-Pickup-OUR-BEST-_p_10978.html"]GFS[/url] pickups too. Nice and cheap (although not as cheap as they were due to dollar/pound fluctuations). I put one of their overwound P pickups in a Squier a few years ago and it was great!

[danbowskill]

Iv'e always used a KiOgon loom with dimarzio model P pickups in my P bass's . get a lot of tonal variation (for a P) ....quality all the way with his looms :-)

[Cuzzie]

G&L LB100 for a more classic sound, SB-1 for a more aggressive sound, both passive

[genendeddie]

Always a Seymour Duncan quarter pounder for me , ohh and a Badass bridge.

[Twigman]

I liked my Fender 'original' hookedup to a East P-retro

but these days I play a custom shop 62 passive...it does me.

[winterfire666]

I love a Seymour Duncan quater pounder with an aguilar preamp. It's a classic combo in my opinion.

[tom1946]

Always a KiOgon loom and a Seymour Duncan SPB-2 pickup. Powerful with a great sound.

[SH73]

Is it set up properly?

[landwomble]

I've got a kiogon loom arriving tomorrow. It's going on my CV 70s P. Love the pickups, the socket was a bit iffy so for £25 to swap out the entire loom and pots/jack it was cheaper than me doing it myself!

[thegummy]

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1478815695' post='3171943']
The issue of replacement P bass pickups is an ongoing conundrum - a new thread pops up on the subject every couple of weeks. I'm going through the same agony as you at the moment with an old Jim Dunlop P copy. Most threads offer the same recommendations. Here's a definitive (ish) list:

Fender Custom Shop '62 (reasonably priced and great authentic P sounds)
Dimarzio Model P/DP122 (reasonably priced, really high output)
Norstrand NP4 (pricey but great)
Aguilar AG-4P (very pricey, but imo one of the best-sounding)
Lollar (pricey, but nicey)
Wizard Thumper - now available as the Hot Rod Thumper (really cheap and by all accounts really good)
Wilkinson Alnico P (even cheaper, and pretty decent)
Tonerider TRP1 (cheap, and allegedly what Squier put in their awesome CV Precision)
Seymour Duncan Antiquity (upper end of reasonably price, IIRC)
Lindy Fralin P (highly rated)


.....and one nobody recommends, but I checked it out and was highly impressed:

Bareknuckle 58 Split P (but again not cheap at just under £100.

As for circuits and whatnot, I can't be of much assistance here unfortunately, but maybe KiOgon of the basschat brethren could help - he has all manner of ingenious kits available which are really reasonably priced.

Get thee to YouTube and listen to some samples. Let us know how you get on. Hope this helps in some way - it's a bloomin' minefield of sorts.
[/quote]

Glad to see the Bare Knuckle in your post as that's the one I plan on getting shortly.

In your opinion, should I get that over any other one under 100?

[Funky Dunky]

Go to YouTube and search for the Bare Knuckle 58 Split P. There's a video of a dude playing a red P bass equipped with one. Let your ears be the judge. I would personally go with that, or the Fender CS. It all depends on which Precision sound YOU like - there are subtle and not-so-subtle differences (Steve Harris as opposed to James Jamerson, for instance). The Fender is arguably the best for authenticity, but the Bare Knuckle has an X factor about it which I really dig.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Funky Dunky

[chris_b]

Forget the battery and go passive.

[Jazzjames]

Bareknuckle 58 p. It's awesome. Those guys know what they're doing. Keep the bass passive. With a good pickup, you don't need active electronics in a P.

[SisterAbdullahX]

What about the old Tonestyler? Totally passive.
https://youtu.be/vkgqmxfXKSc

[Bassassin]

I'm another DiMarzio Model P fan. I'd also recommend trying 500k pots - if your Squier's fitted with 250s (which it probably is) it's throttling back a lot of the output from whatever pickups you're using.

Earlier in the year I picked up an old Daion Precision clone fitted with a late 70s DiMarzio, I wired this with 500s and a push/pull tone pot for series/parallel switching, all of which makes it very versatile. And loud.

Some pics and a bit about the wiring [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/278129-nbd-yep-its-a-beat-up-40-year-old-mij-precision-clone/page__view__findpost__p__3018567"]here[/url].

[gillento]

another vote for the Nordstrand NP4 wired passive

Edited November 24, 2016 by gillento

[Marc S]

Another fan of Entwistle PBXN pickups here. The PBX is a good pickup, but the PBXN is even better
Though you will probably have to rout out 2 small rectangular spaces in the middle of each pickup cavity - as the oversized magnets on the PBXN's are that much deeper. It's not a huge amount of work though, and well worth it because the Pups are so good. Don't be fooled by the inexpensive price tag.

Yes, your Squier P should be absolutely fine. Many of them get modded and are fine basses, but as someone else asked - is your bass set up properly? This can make a big difference. There you go - a set up & install a PBXN. Job done