Pick up for Cabronita

[ubit]

I have a Fender Cabronita. I love it but the pick up is less than inspiring. It breaks up a little too easily for me. I know this is the peculiarity of this bass and I went in with my eyes (and ears) open but I would like to swap the pick up for something a little more powerful and clear. Does anyone know of any such a pickup that would fit straight into the body without major surgery? I have done no research into the feasibility of this. I just thought I would ask you learned gents first. I really do like the feel and look of this bass, Im just not happy with the sound.

[Cuzzie]

Great basses - mid regret selling mine a few years ago, purely due to my lack of knowledge and ability to get the best out of the pick up.

You can go.....

Filtertron

Thundertron

Thunderblade

Thundermag

They should all fit in with no additional rout

[ubit]

1 minute ago, Cuzzie said:

Great basses - mid regret selling mine a few years ago, purely due to my lack of knowledge and ability to get the best out of the pick up.

You can go.....

Filtertron

Thundertron

Thunderblade

Thundermag

They should all fit in with no additional rout

Cheers man, yeah maybe it is me that is not getting the best out of the pick up. I have an Ampeg SVT2Pro, so that contributes to dirtying up the tone. Perhaps an Ampeg valve amp wasn't the best choice for the tone I'm after. I do like a dirty tone but I'd like to be able to go clean when I want. A pedal would be a more sensible choice. Thanks for the heads up with the pups.

[Cuzzie]

For something different you could get the neck pick up from a Seymour Duncan Rickenbacker replacement set which just on eye ball may fit. The likelihood is though that if your bridge is not adjustable you would need to change that so you can narrow the string spacing.

Out of leftfield and probably minor surgery would be something like a Thunderbird pick up - the Lollar or Mike Lull T-Bird ones are great, and they have a metal surround to hide any rout

[Cuzzie]

Just now, ubit said:

Cheers man, yeah maybe it is me that is not getting the best out of the pick up. I have an Ampeg SVT2Pro, so that contributes to dirtying up the tone. Perhaps an Ampeg valve amp wasn't the best choice for the tone I'm after. I do like a dirty tone but I'd like to be able to go clean when I want. A pedal would be a more sensible choice. Thanks for the heads up with the pups.

Nope, an Ampeg valve amp is perfect, I love a bit of grit.

I had success with a clean boost pedal with it - Cleanest on the market is a Creation Audio MK 4.23.

Alternatively, and probably the best multitasking is to get a compressor, as well as the other compressor knobs, get one where you can boost the output signal, this will give you a great clean sound, and you can dial back the amp for grit you desire. Huge numbers of compressors to choose from, but I used it with a CaliCB and MXR M87 as 2 examples which work very well in ‘brightening’ the sound. If you went for example for the Darkglass compressor Hyperluminal-if you don’t want your sound softened avoid their Super Symmetry settings and go for BUS or FET - BUS was my fave.

There are of course pre-amp pedal options, and just because something does ‘dirt’ doesn’t mean you have to use it as dirt if it has an EQ you like, it can be used as a clean pre-amp. If you take a Darkglass B7K as an example - I think the dirt/overdrive sound is poo, but the clean preamp is actually ok.

Overall Fave - Tech21 DP3X-clean, dirty, compressor, tuner all in one pedal - magic with a magic tone

 

Hope that helps

[ubit]

9 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

, and they have a metal surround to hide any rout

I have a decent router so Im not too worried about a little surgery. I appreciate your suggestions. As I say, I have not done any research at all as of yet. This is the first time I have asked the question. Its the Cabronita's look that I love but the stock Filetron pick up is not great.

[Cuzzie]

I love a rout as well! After Routing, use Carbon paint to shield, hides any ills!

@krispn converted a P bass into a P bird type bass dropping a Lull pick up in. If you search there are some sound samples from it - very nicely done it was as well, sounds mega

[Cuzzie]

3 minutes ago, ubit said:

I have a decent router so Im not too worried about a little surgery. I appreciate your suggestions. As I say, I have not done any research at all as of yet. This is the first time I have asked the question. Its the Cabronita's look that I love but the stock Filetron pick up is not great.

I should probably get a decent router at some point, stop me taking ages with a dremel and hand tools....🤦🏾‍♂️

[ubit]

Just now, Cuzzie said:

I should probably get a decent router at some point, stop me taking ages with a dremel and hand tools....🤦🏾‍♂️

I got mine from Homebase. Its pretty good although I have not used it for ages. Wasn't expensive either

[Misdee]

 

The pickup is kind of the point of the Carbonita, otherwise it would be just another P Bass, as Im sure you are well aware. All the retro -fit alternatives Cuzzie mentions are superb choices, but so is the FideliTron that is already in it. You could be spending plenty of money making a sideways move. 

I was under the impression that Fender had copied the FilterTron for this bass, anyway

[ubit]

1 minute ago, Misdee said:

 

The pickup is kind of the point of the Carbonita, otherwise it would be just another P Bass, as Im sure you are well aware. All the retro -fit alternatives Cuzzie mentions are superb choices, but so is the FideliTron that is already in it. You could be spending plenty of money making a sideways move. 

I was under the impression that Fender had copied the FilterTron for this bass, anyway

I appreciate that mate but I have just found that I don't like it as much as I did when Heard it on YouTube. It doesn't sound dirty to me, it sounds farty and cheap.

[Pea Turgh]

I’m sure you’ve already explored this avenue, but have you experimented with different strings?

[Cuzzie]

@Misdee I get both of your points, the fidelitron is the Fender take on the filtertron so a little different.

The thing about that bass is the neck is so darn good, and I think it looks cool, but that pick up just wasn’t quite there for me as well, close, no cigar. I think now with more experience I could coax more out of it, and strings may also make a huge difference. I play more with a pick now so that could make a huge difference as well.

Its all a delicate soup

[ubit]

43 minutes ago, Pea Turgh said:

I’m sure you’ve already explored this avenue, but have you experimented with different strings?

I'm restricted to what I can use as I get an allergic reaction when I use nickel strings. I found out many years ago that stainless steel was the only strings I could use.

[yorks5stringer]

i expect you may be able to get a bespoke pickup maker rewind your current pickup to a smoother/punchier sound?

[Lfalex v1.1]

Another vote in favour of Ampeg amplification.

Mine always sounded best with my Jazz or Ray5 plugged into it. Less so with non U.S. instruments. I wonder if that's deliberate?

[Storky]

There was a guy in Spain making hand wound Cabronita pick ups. He used the same magnets and wire as in a standard P but in a Cabronita format. I grabbed one last year for my Squier Cabronita and it dropped right in. It sounds great.

[kodiakblair]

I looked for Cabronita pickups last year.  Didn't have a empty shell so that caused problems getting a custom build.

Dave at Bloodstone was up for it but couldn't locate a shell. Jess over in Spain ,did sadly his normal MO and blanked emails 🤬

Bloody pest that,he does good pickups 🙁

 

Got lucky and found a TV Jones Thunderblade on ebay. I'm basically a flats/single coil player so the roundwound/Thunderblade was a stretch out the comfort zone.

Had an old Noll P-bass preamp,fitted it last week 😎

[yorks5stringer]

Ash at Oil City Pickups may help?

https://www.oilcitypickups.co.uk/custom-shop

Edited April 13, 2020 by yorks5stringer

[merello]

Go straight to the boss....

https://tvjones.com/collections/bass-pickups

[gareth]

On 13/04/2020 at 13:12, Pea Turgh said:

I’m sure you’ve already explored this avenue, but have you experimented with different strings?

 

Edited April 16, 2020 by gareth

[Misdee]

On 13/04/2020 at 13:30, Cuzzie said:

@Misdee I get both of your points, the fidelitron is the Fender take on the filtertron so a little different.

The thing about that bass is the neck is so darn good, and I think it looks cool, but that pick up just wasn’t quite there for me as well, close, no cigar. I think now with more experience I could coax more out of it, and strings may also make a huge difference. I play more with a pick now so that could make a huge difference as well.

Its all a delicate soup

 

On 13/04/2020 at 11:56, ubit said:

I appreciate that mate but I have just found that I don't like it as much as I did when Heard it on YouTube. It doesn't sound dirty to me, it sounds farty and cheap.

Totally get both your points, and the potential replacements all look like mouthwatering prospects. I am interested how this turns out as I am very into idiosyncratic  passive pickups. Keep us posted.

[ubit]

43 minutes ago, Misdee said:

 

Totally get both your points, and the potential replacements all look like mouthwatering prospects. I am interested how this turns out as I am very into idiosyncratic  passive pickups. Keep us posted.

It may be some time mate due to the constraints of this lockdown and subsequent furlough.😒

[ubit]

On 13/04/2020 at 19:00, Storky said:

There was a guy in Spain making hand wound Cabronita pick ups. He used the same magnets and wire as in a standard P but in a Cabronita format. I grabbed one last year for my Squier Cabronita and it dropped right in. It sounds great.

You wouldn't happen to have his contact details would you dear chap?

[Storky]

8 minutes ago, ubit said:

You wouldn't happen to have his contact details would you dear chap?

The name is Jess Loureiro. I originally found the Cabronita pickup on eBay. There’s no contact info on the box, but there may be a web site; I’ll see what I can dig out.