Danuman Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 (edited) So, after years of playing my trusty 70s Jazz Bass copy - of which the last one and a half or so, I'd been feverishly dreaming up a Franken-P of some kind - I happened upon a practically unused 2008 MIM Precision for a good price. I just couldn't pass it up. So there it is, I bought my first P! It's a bog-standard black one but it's nice and resonant and I'm surprisingly OK with the big neck and wide string spacing. I set it up nice and not too low, and it now plays much easier than my Jazz. (Remarkably similar scale length) I'm very pleased with the amount of push coming out of my amp, but do find it lacking in definition. Anybody have some insight into the electronics? What's the general view on these pickups? Pots seem decent enough (CTS?), but the wiring is a bit underwhelming. (I was surprised, however, by the inclusion of a ground lug.) I have some spare bits, so I'll probably swap it out just to see. I suspect there's some significant improvement to be had by changing the strings as well. (My usual 45-100 D'Addario's are too slack) I'm just so pleased with it already, but I suspect it could be much better, so... any suggestions? Thanks for reading! Edited June 11, 2017 by Danuman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Welcome to the dark side! I favour D'Addario Chromes, but I recommend buying a few different nearly-new sets from the Basschat market place until you find the ones you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danuman Posted June 11, 2017 Author Share Posted June 11, 2017 Ooh, where do I apply for my complementary cookie? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawford13 Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 It will be tricky to get the articulate sound you are talking about with a p bass. I would go the opposite direction and put some flatwounds on it and roll the tone all the way off. That's where is magic is on a p bass in my opinion. As suggestion chromes are good, I also really like la bella's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danuman Posted June 12, 2017 Author Share Posted June 12, 2017 (edited) Cheers for the suggestions, guys. Earlier tonight I swapped out all of the electronics, which helped smooth things out a bit, but there's still way too much low mid going on. I also tried raising and lowering the pick-up, but that only made matters worse. I guess it must just be the pick-up. I'm definitely interested in the Chromes, as I find D'Addario strings both dependable and reasonably priced, though I'm probably going to spring for a set of La Bella's first. It feels almost sacriligious not to. I suppose I'll start looking for a more polite sounding pick-up soon. Down the rabbit hole I go... Edited June 12, 2017 by Danuman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzbass Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 what's that brown thing between the pickguard and bridge? +1 for putting Chromes on it happy new bass day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 Too much low mids? Err, that's a P sound. You'll probably need very different amp EQ settings compared to your jazz. Still, it you want less mids then the SD Quarter Pounder has more bass and lowered mids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LewisK1975 Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 [quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1497326491' post='3317284'] what's that brown thing between the pickguard and bridge? [/quote] Isn't that just a reflection of the floor? Happy NBD to the OP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danuman Posted June 13, 2017 Author Share Posted June 13, 2017 [quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1497347433' post='3317404'] Isn't that just a reflection of the floor? Happy NBD to the OP. [/quote] That had me puzzled for a bit... It is, indeed, very shiny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danuman Posted June 13, 2017 Author Share Posted June 13, 2017 [quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1497335628' post='3317316'] Too much low mids? Err, that's a P sound. You'll probably need very different amp EQ settings compared to your jazz. Still, it you want less mids then the SD Quarter Pounder has more bass and lowered mids. [/quote] I get what you're saying, but there's this pronounced hump around (I'm guessing) the 250 Hz mark that just booms everything out the way... I always run my amp pretty much flat, and this is the first time I have to be doing any sort of drastic tone-shaping... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlin Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 happy new bass day,cant go wrong with a "P" love mine,an off the shelf mim with rotos on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonestar Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 I use DR fat beams on mine. Love it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danuman Posted June 17, 2017 Author Share Posted June 17, 2017 Welp. In a heady mix of peer pressure, brand loyalty and hurried expedience, I decided to pull the trigger on a set of Chromes. So far, they're just the ticket. Nice and taut, and although they require a fair bit more strength from my left hand, they sound much more even string to string. Really brings the bass to life! Hope they won't lose too much zing after settling in, though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 I use 50 - 105 d'Addarios on my Precisions, either nickel round woulds or chromes (I have one strung with each). I strung my Jazz basses a gauge lighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 (edited) [quote name='Danuman' timestamp='1497304442' post='3317233'] Cheers for the suggestions, guys. Earlier tonight I swapped out all of the electronics, which helped smooth things out a bit, but there's still way too much low mid going on. I also tried raising and lowering the pick-up, but that only made matters worse. I guess it must just be the pick-up. I'm definitely interested in the Chromes, as I find D'Addario strings both dependable and reasonably priced, though I'm probably going to spring for a set of La Bella's first. It feels almost sacriligious not to. I suppose I'll start looking for a more polite sounding pick-up soon. Down the rabbit hole I go... [/quote] You can usually cut mids but if they are not there it is diffcult to eq them in I have a Seymour Duncan SPB-1 in one of my basses, really need to get round to removing it, I used to have loads of mids, put the SPB-1 in and they practically completely dissapeared, that being said you wont find definition from the SPB-1, maybe its the wrong pickup for that particular bass but I find with this pickup there is a lot of bass, zero mids and not much treble, that bass is saved by the bridge pickup but the SPB-1 on its own sounds like poo Edited June 19, 2017 by markdavid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 Definition isn`t really the P-Bass forte, warmth and presence is. Sure newer round-wound steel strings will add to the clarity of the notes, but the P-Bass is a lot different to the Jazz bass on this aspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danuman Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share Posted June 19, 2017 [quote name='markdavid' timestamp='1497870789' post='3320933'] You can usually cut mids but if they are not there it is diffcult to eq them in I have a Seymour Duncan SPB-1 in one of my basses, really need to get round to removing it, I used to have loads of mids, put the SPB-1 in and they practically completely dissapeared, that being said you wont find definition from the SPB-1, maybe its the wrong pickup for that particular bass but I find with this pickup there is a lot of bass, zero mids and not much treble, that bass is saved by the bridge pickup but the SPB-1 on its own sounds like poo [/quote] It had shortlisted it, so thanks for the heads up! [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1497872151' post='3320950'] Definition isn`t really the P-Bass forte, warmth and presence is. Sure newer round-wound steel strings will add to the clarity of the notes, but the P-Bass is a lot different to the Jazz bass on this aspect. [/quote] I suppose presence is what is lacking in this particular configuration. I did some more testing, and the output is severely scooped around the 8-900 Hz region, once I turn that up it starts to reveal the precision sound I was looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danuman Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 I spotted a used Curtis Novak PB-V pick-up some 10 minutes down the road. The seller had some very tasteful offerings, so I decided to grab it. On a whim really, but so far it turned out beautifully. It's nice and polite and woody, with that lovely hollow thump I'd been looking for. Other than that, I know nothing about it. Lucky find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 I would recommend turning the bass down on your amp and rolling the tone off. Maybe add some mid. That should get some definition back in your sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danuman Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 (edited) Whoops, I meant to include that. As I mentioned, I swapped out the pickup and it's spot on. Beautifully rich and balanced P tone with the amp set dead flat. Maybe the pickups in 2008 MIMs weren't very good? This pair didn't look particularly nice. Cheap wiring, thin and cheap looking cast bobbins and shoddily applied resin-like gloop, sort of half covering the pole pieces and the ferrite magnets. I don't know. They didn't sound awful, but not particularly good either. Edited June 26, 2017 by Danuman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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