Newf Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 I'm redoing my P-Clone. It has a alder body, maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard, and a top loading standard fender-style bridge. I already have a set of TI Jazz Flats (finally came in last week after an almost 9 month wait) and I want to rewire it and replace the wimpy jack it came with. Maybe the pots too. The biggest question I have at this point is pickups. I want passives and I've done a lot of looking around and I've come to these: Bartolini - Bartolini 8S DiMarzio - Will Power Middle - Split P - Model P EMG - PHz Fender - '62 American Vintage Kent Armstrong - Hot VPB Lindy Fralin - P-Bass Norstrand - NP4 OBL - Precision Blade Rio Grande - Muy Grande for P-Bass - Vintage for P-Bass Seymour Duncan - Antiquity - Antiquity II - SPB-1 Vintage - SPB-2 Hot - SPB-3 Quarter Pounder I'm thinking about the DiMarzio Split P due to the blade style design as currently the stings don't quite line up right with the polepieces on the current pickups. However once I have it apart maybe that problem could be rectified. Also it's a humbucker so it should be quieter then the really buzzy unit that's in it now. I practice at home in a smallish room that also has a TV and two PC monitors in it. Now a lot of these had tone ratings such as 8-5-6 (B-M-T)in the case of the Split P. The only thing is that I don't have a lot of experience with this kind of thing and while I know that I like a strong & tight bottom end and don't really know what I need in regards to the mids and highs. All I know is that the current pickups are too boomy with little else in relation to mids and highs. I'm mainly thinking of this project for using in a band I'm playing with. We play blues dropped down a full step and maybe a little R&B for my own enjoyment too. The detuned blues is the main thing here though. I play fingerstyle with some thumb action. I never use a pick (I'm a total klutz with one ). I also want to remove the ugly finish that's on it and redo it in olympic/vintage white or leave it natural. Any ideas anyone? Newf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 I've got Seymour Duncan Antiquity II's on my Lull P bass and they rule. Hugely. I love them in all of their passive glory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenfxj Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 I put the Duncan Quarter Pounders on my project p-bass. I'm very happy with them. With the TI flats, are you going for more of an old-school Motown sound? If so, then maybe these will be a bit more aggressive than you'd like. Push the button Frank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newf Posted November 27, 2006 Author Share Posted November 27, 2006 Bump, I'd like to hear a soundbite of the Antiquities II's that's for sure. Do any of the downloads on your sites have it? Ken, I got the T1 flats because I wanted to try flats but without the high tension that AFAIK tends to accompany flats plus the folks on here raved about the sound. I do think at times that it would be nice to go with a total old-school vibe. Get a nickel-plated badass bridge, ashtray and p/u cover, and hardware to match. I've only just recently started to play motown/funk tunes but the emphasis here is on the blues. If I can get good R&B sound too, I'll consider it a bonus. Thanks Newf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo-London Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 My experience so far is that the PU makes less difference than you would think. I tried Fender, Nordstrand and Q-Tuners on my Jazz and the sonic differences are slight. I have a slight preference for the Nordstrand in my test. IMHO any good supplier will deliver a good product and you won't be disappointed.. Davo "We will make you bob your head whether you want to or not". - David Sisk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newf Posted November 27, 2006 Author Share Posted November 27, 2006 Davo, I don't doubt you but I don't think the current pickups are too wonderful. All boom and not much else. The bass only cost me about $80 new so you know that the pickups were budget to say the least. I liked the OEM Fender American ones (which I thought didn't sound much different then the Fender Vintage '62 which are on the 60th Anniversary Models) but if I could I'd like some more bottom and punch then those have. Thanks Newf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlrush Posted November 28, 2006 Share Posted November 28, 2006 There's a difference between cheap pickups and higher dollar ones. I found that out when I put Duncan SPB3's on my project bass. They're more powerful than the cheap pups that were on it before. I've wondered too, about differences between Duncan and Bartolini or Fralin. And I've been told that getting the right pots for the pups helps too. Visit my band's new web site. www.themojoroots.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo-London Posted November 28, 2006 Share Posted November 28, 2006 What I meant to say was the sonic difference between the high-end suppliers is moderately small. I'm expecting a tirade of abuse for this statement. Clearly budget basses have budget PUs and so the difference here could be considerable. I guess I'm saying not to worry too much about the different suppliers and finding the perfect PU. Select one that you have heard and liked. Davo "We will make you bob your head whether you want to or not". - David Sisk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newf Posted November 28, 2006 Author Share Posted November 28, 2006 jl, I'm going to go to a store here later today and play the Fender Hoppus model. It has SD quarter pounders out of the box. I agree with you Davo,hopefully the tirade will be small. Cheers Newf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcbn Posted November 28, 2006 Share Posted November 28, 2006 I like the Rio Grandes P pickups. The bass I played was a 1960 P bass that had been kinda hacked up a bit, but it was rocking a Rio Grande pup and had a fat vintage sound. Don't overlook them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig_Boeker Posted November 28, 2006 Share Posted November 28, 2006 A very inexpensive option for a P pickup is Reverend's discontinued stock at http://www.reverendguitars.com/reverend/guitar_bass_parts.html $12 + shipping for a nice quality P pickup I really like the stock one in my Rumblefish PJ and have dropped one of their closeouts into another bass and liked it there. I'd call it a somewhat aggressive kind of P sound (I've not tried many P pickups myself to compare). craigb @ TB, G&LDP, the Dudepit (boek @ Dudepit 1) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warlock1016 Posted November 28, 2006 Share Posted November 28, 2006 I'm partial to the Quarter-Pounders myself, but I was going for accuracy in terms of the bass I was copying (the Steve Harris signature.) Nice thud out of it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted November 28, 2006 Share Posted November 28, 2006 Originally posted by Newf Stimpson: Bump, I'd like to hear a soundbite of the Antiquities II's that's for sure.I'll try and get a bunch of samples recorded tonight and post them for you (and anyone else) to listen to. Please stay tuned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted November 29, 2006 Share Posted November 29, 2006 My Canadian brotha, wrap your ear-hole around these: P with a pick P with fingers Both of them are just random noodling I did in C major on all the strings. That's my Lull P with those Antiquity II pickups. Tone and volume knob up full. Recorded direct out of an Ampeg SVP with the EQ set completely flat and no boost buttons engaged. This is something that was inspired by the "Overshooting when sliding" thread. More C naturals than anyone should need to withstand: Crazy slidey nonsense That stupid little figure starts on 3rd fret C on the A string. Slides up to 17th fret C on the G string, hit the octave below it on the 15th fret on the A string. Slide down to the same note you just played at the 10th fret of the D string, hit the octave below it. Slide down to the C you started on. Repeat. Annoy your neighbors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Daddy from Motown Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 Bump that's a fine sounding bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 Thanks man. I attribute it all to those pickups and Mr. Lull's fine craftsmanship. I wanted something very 'vintage' sounding and that's exactly what I wound up getting. And I didn't have to auction off my internal organs so I could afford a pre-CBS Fender to get it. It sounds great with flats on it too. Very Duck Dunn. I also just noticed that I accidentally chopped off the E string noodles on the 'with a pick' sample. Oops. Sorry about that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newf Posted December 1, 2006 Author Share Posted December 1, 2006 Originally posted by Bumpcity: My Canadian brotha, wrap your ear-hole around these:Consider my earhole wrapped. Nice tone on that Lull Bump. Thanks very much for the samples. The Antiquity II goes for around C$275 here I checked out a Mark Hoppus J-Bass earlier this evening as it comes out of the box with SD P-Bass 1/4 pounders and I liked the tone. It was interesting trying to play with the relief a mile high and the strings upside-down though (flipped righty). I may get one of the Reverend pups in the meantime. I think it's worth a shot for $12. I've read about others liking them as well. Thanks again Newf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlrush Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Newf, A friend bought a Reverend 5 string a while back and is really sold on it's sound and playability. I've heard it and it does sound good. $12 for one of those pups is a real steal, and their basses are on clearance too. Thanks for the heads up Craig. I may check into those for my project bass. Visit my band's new web site. www.themojoroots.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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