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P Bass - Pickup Dilemma

PatrickJ

By PatrickJ,
in Bass Guitars

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mcnach Grand Master

mcnach

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Posted
50 minutes ago, PJ-Bassist said:

I'm sure it's a weird me thing, but I may as well have bought a fender if I'm going to retrospectively fit Fender OE parts into a non fender bass.

 

Thanks :) I just wanted to make sure I understood what you meant. 

I don't see Fender pickups as being anything different from whatever-make pickups... when I've bought them I didn't buy them because they were Fender, but because I was hoping they'd give me the sound I was wanting. They make so many different types that I don't even know what a Fender sound is! :D 

I'm in the process of choosing a pickup for a Squier Precision I've got. I have a Fender Original in it at the moment. I'm not a fan of its high mids bark and I was considering a CS62 as it seems it may be a bit more what I'm after (I don't need big bass, but want low mids and tame higher mids). Then I find out there's a Vintage 63 whose description looks much like what I want. Oh, and then there's teh EMG GZR that while obviously not a Fender, it's based on a Fender sound...

Argh!!! what is a Fender sound then? All of them??? :D

 

 

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PatrickJ Mentor

PatrickJ

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7 minutes ago, mcnach said:

Argh!!! what is a Fender sound then? All of them???

This is kind of one of the questions I asked in my original post, the Fender sound tends to be described by era, for the Precision it's the 50's, 60's and 70's and for Jazz it's the 60's and 70's.  However, from reading up various articles on vintage basses back in those days there were significant differences in the sound from any number of instruments made in the same year as there wasn't necessarily great consistency on how each pickup was wound.

However, to generalise it seems to be:

-  50's voiced: a warm, muddy tone

- 60's voiced: a hollow, woody tone (whatever that means).  The classic Jamerson soul, R&B, funk tone many chase.  I believe this is what the EMG GZR's are based on, and countless others.

- 70's a tighter, higher out put grundy tone. probably suited more to the rock player.

I guess in the 80's and 90's Fender's endless cycle of re-issuing basses based on those era's started and so they didn't get their own unique voicings.

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Maude Grand Master

Maude

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On 13/12/2019 at 23:49, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

I recently installed an EMG GZR passive P bass pickup into my '81 precision which has made it much more enjoyable to play due to the rich punchy tone that wasn't available with the original pickup. It has alnico magnets and was voiced to emulate the pickup in Bobby Vega's 1960s Precison.

I'm confused. Isn't the GZR the Geezer Butler pick up, what's the link to Bobby Vega? 🙂

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krispn Grand Master

krispn

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Vintage pick ups use formvar wire but once Fender sold to cbs in the 70’s a different wire was used in the winding of pick ups. It’s why you’ll see specific mention to the wire type especially in relation to 60’s wind. 
 

I’ve a Fender CS ‘59 hopefully coming my way soon (the pick up found in the Mike Dirnt sig basses) and I’ve a solderless harness here too so @mcnach you’re welcome to try it out. Gonna put it in the PBird and convert it back to a traditional p for a while just for fun. 
 

Also seen these over on TB with harness included! Ceramic 8 so I’d imagine quite the kick out of them. Working out about £115 before shipping and tax but voiced to sound vintage!

 

 

 

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krispn Grand Master

krispn

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The model p is a good pick up too and certainly in my top three. 
 

I’ve hopefully nabbed another one or two pick ups from our plank spanking cousins on TB and eager to give them a go. As well and the aforementioned Fender CS ‘59 I’ve a David Allen 1088 which is a cross between and 60’s/70’s p pick up. Worth a go! Who knows I might even throw together a double p in 2020 if a suitable deal comes up. 

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PatrickJ Mentor

PatrickJ

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So after watching this YouTube video from the bass whisperer (posted by chris_b) in the Scott's 30 Basses thread I realised that I could hear barely any difference in the Dimarzio's vs. the Nordstrands vs the Fender stock pickups.

With the differences so damn minimal it seems a little pointless in forking out £100+ on a NP4 or Aguilar 60s pup when the DiMarzio area P, Delano PC 4 or the offerings from the Creamery come in well under that mark.

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CameronJ Mentor

CameronJ

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18 hours ago, PJ-Bassist said:

So after watching this YouTube video from the bass whisperer (posted by chris_b) in the Scott's 30 Basses thread I realised that I could hear barely any difference in the Dimarzio's vs. the Nordstrands vs the Fender stock pickups.

With the differences so damn minimal it seems a little pointless in forking out £100+ on a NP4 or Aguilar 60s pup when the DiMarzio area P, Delano PC 4 or the offerings from the Creamery come in well under that mark.

As much as I love flats, they’ve muddied the waters a tad on that video IMO. You’re right, all the basses in that video sound a good 90% identical to one another. However, take a look at this video below to get a different side of the coin:

 

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Cuzzie Veteran

Cuzzie

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12 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

As much as I love flats, they’ve muddied the waters a tad on that video IMO. You’re right, all the basses in that video sound a good 90% identical to one another. However, take a look at this video below to get a different side of the coin:

 

Cheers Cam - that ‘77 bass is the nuts!!

@AndyTravis that would go well with your brown basses fetish

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PatrickJ Mentor

PatrickJ

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7 hours ago, CameronJ said:

As much as I love flats, they’ve muddied the waters a tad on that video IMO. You’re right, all the basses in that video sound a good 90% identical to one another. However, take a look at this video below to get a different side of the coin:

 

Another video that again reinforces my feeling that there's very little difference between the different flavours of P's. 

To my ears (which I acknowledge will not be as tuned as many on this forum) the 90's MEX, USA and JAP were all sonically pretty close to each other (the JAP less so I guess).  In a full band mix I think the subtleties would be completely lost, especially to average Jo down the dog and duck. 

The 70's P had a really nice zing to it and it did stand out from the others.  It's not the tone I'm after for my VS4 which has confirmed I want a 60's voice pickup as opposed to a 70's.

On 26/12/2019 at 16:25, Cuzzie said:

Creamery get my vote every time - to my ears they did sound better than others when i have compared them

I tried to order a Classic '65 last night but the website wouldnt let me.  Annoyingly I was being forced to create and activate an account before I could finalise, but the activation emails were not coming through, and still haven't, so I couldn't place the order.   Tried with 2 email addresses.  Will give it another go tonight, if still doesn't work I'll be off the Bassdirect in the morning to pick up either the Nordstrand NP4 or the Delano PC4 AL

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Cuzzie Veteran

Cuzzie

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9 minutes ago, PJ-Bassist said:

Another video that again reinforces my feeling that there's very little difference between the different flavours of P's. 

To my ears (which I acknowledge will not be as tuned as many on this forum) the 90's MEX, USA and JAP were all sonically pretty close to each other (the JAP less so I guess).  In a full band mix I think the subtleties would be completely lost, especially to average Jo down the dog and duck. 

The 70's P had a really nice zing to it and it did stand out from the others.  It's not the tone I'm after for my VS4 which has confirmed I want a 60's voice pickup as opposed to a 70's.

I tried to order a Classic '65 last night but the website wouldnt let me.  Annoyingly I was being forced to create and activate an account before I could finalise, but the activation emails were not coming through, and still haven't, so I couldn't place the order.   Tried with 2 email addresses.  Will give it another go tonight, if still doesn't work I'll be off the Bassdirect in the morning to pick up either the Nordstrand NP4 or the Delano PC4 AL

Hold tight for Jaime, it’s prob a holiday glitch - pop him an email direct just in case - they are so worth it

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PatrickJ Mentor

PatrickJ

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1 minute ago, krispn said:

Comforting to know he was keen to honour pre Christmas orders. I’d say it would be worth the wait if they’re that in demand. 

Delivery for new orders are now predicted to come in Feb so he clearly has a good number of orders on the books.  I'd definately like to buy from a UK small business - it's just a shame that ordering has been such a pain in the donkey.  Hopefully Jamie will get back to me soon.

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