So I currently have in my possession two of Curtis Novak's precision bass pickups, the PB-90 and PB-CC. Since there is very very little information about these around, I figured I'd offer to help out the TB Braintrust a little bit before deciding ultimately which one I'm going to keep. This got a little long winded, so skip to the bottom for the Readers Digest version.
Long Story (Scroll Down for the Long Story Short):
First of all, let me say that Curtis has been great to work with! After speaking with him on the phone about what I was after, he recommended his PB-90 pickup but made sure to tell me that if I didn't like it I could exchange it for something else. The PB-90 is basically a hot-rodded P with steel poles and ceramic bar magnets. The pickup arrived after a couple of weeks, and I had it installed in my Fender Highway One Precision bass. At the same time, I also had the "Greasebucket" tone control removed in favor of a standard Precision wiring harness. 250k pots and a 0.047u cap. Big improvement!
One slight hiccup I feel compelled to mention... the pickup I ordered from Curtis did not come with a plastic shell. I had credit as Best Bass Gear and ordered a generic one, but the pole piece spacing ended up being just slightly different enough that it wouldn't fit properly! I drilled out the holes on the plastic cover to oversize them just enough to slide over the pole pieces on the PB-90, but it looks a little nasty up close. I'd recommend asking Curtis to provide a cover with the pickup to ensure there are no issues.
The PB-90 is a very nice sounding pickup with hot output! It gets really growly when you dig in, but fat and warm if you play with a light touch. I'd say it is articulate without being overly bright, but I do find myself backing off the tone control 20-30% when playing with a pick. I would not describe it as "hi-fi" or overly "clean" sounding. It sounds nasty (in a good way) like a P pickup should.
I've had a set of Dunlop Super Bright Nickels on my bass for about a month or two now, and the older they get, the better this setup sounds. When the strings were new it was a tad too brash and I was utilizing the tone knob more, but now that the strings have broken in I have no problem running it wide open.
As I think is common with hotter pickups, the PB-90 is very "mid-centric" bordering on brash/barky with brand new strings, or with "flatter" amp settings. After coming from using Dimarzio Model Ps for years, I didn't really notice at first (it is less middy than the Model P), but as the honeymoon period waned I found myself cutting more and more mids at the amp to try and get less brash midrange and more phat! Lowering the pickup helped clean it up a bit, but using the EQ at the amp was a much better solution. That being said, it can be EQ'd very nicely to achieve a wide variety of tones. I would have liked to try it in a PJ bass to see how the comb filtering between pickups made it sound, but that's not an option right now.
Eventually I emailed Curtis and he said it was no problem to exchange it for a different model, and recommended the PB-CC. He said it should have the same hot sound, but with much less pronounced midrange. He even offered to send me the new pickup first so I could try them out back to back and not have any downtime on my bass... then just return the one I didn't like and "settle up when we're done". This is great for me as this is my primary bass in two busy bands. I am averaging 2-3 rehearsals per week right now with at least one gig per month, so I didn't really want this bass down for a month while pickups were getting mailed back and forth across the border.
The PB-CC arrived last night, on my birthday no less, and I hope to get around to installing it this weekend. At first glance it looks like it has the same pole pieces and ceramic bar magnets as the PB-90, but it is wound with thicker gauge wire resulting in the pickup being much taller than standard. See pics below.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Long Story Short
1a) Curtis Novak makes really high quality pickups and is great to deal with. He was nice to talk to on the phone, shipped promptly, and will let you exchange pickups within a reasonable time period if you decide you don't like them, no questions asked.
1b) My PB-90 did not come with a plastic cover, and the center-to-center pole piece spacing was slightly different than the stock Fender and generic Best Bass Gear covers that I had on hand. I had to drill out the holes on the cover in order to fit the pickup. Best to ask Curtis to supply a cover with your pickup and avoid this issue altogether.
2) The PB-90 is a hot precision pickup with steel pole pieces and ceramic bar magnets. Very responsive to right hand technique, going from phat and warm to gnarly grind with increasing strength of attack. Sounds great finger style and very growly with a pick. However, it can lean towards a brash/barky midrange sound, as is common with hotter pickups. I would not describe is as a "vintage" sounding P pickup, but great for someone wanting a hotter, more upfront sound with a more pronounced midrange. Takes EQ well at the amp and the extra mids can be tamed easily enough.
3) I just received a PB-CC from Curtis to try/exchange for the PB-90. Review forthcoming. By Curtis' account it should be just as hot but without the pronounced midrange. Construction seems top notch, with the same pole pieces and bar magnets as the PB-90, but thicker gauge wire.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Clips
PB-90
">
PB-CC
">
Long Story (Scroll Down for the Long Story Short):
First of all, let me say that Curtis has been great to work with! After speaking with him on the phone about what I was after, he recommended his PB-90 pickup but made sure to tell me that if I didn't like it I could exchange it for something else. The PB-90 is basically a hot-rodded P with steel poles and ceramic bar magnets. The pickup arrived after a couple of weeks, and I had it installed in my Fender Highway One Precision bass. At the same time, I also had the "Greasebucket" tone control removed in favor of a standard Precision wiring harness. 250k pots and a 0.047u cap. Big improvement!
One slight hiccup I feel compelled to mention... the pickup I ordered from Curtis did not come with a plastic shell. I had credit as Best Bass Gear and ordered a generic one, but the pole piece spacing ended up being just slightly different enough that it wouldn't fit properly! I drilled out the holes on the plastic cover to oversize them just enough to slide over the pole pieces on the PB-90, but it looks a little nasty up close. I'd recommend asking Curtis to provide a cover with the pickup to ensure there are no issues.
The PB-90 is a very nice sounding pickup with hot output! It gets really growly when you dig in, but fat and warm if you play with a light touch. I'd say it is articulate without being overly bright, but I do find myself backing off the tone control 20-30% when playing with a pick. I would not describe it as "hi-fi" or overly "clean" sounding. It sounds nasty (in a good way) like a P pickup should.
I've had a set of Dunlop Super Bright Nickels on my bass for about a month or two now, and the older they get, the better this setup sounds. When the strings were new it was a tad too brash and I was utilizing the tone knob more, but now that the strings have broken in I have no problem running it wide open.
As I think is common with hotter pickups, the PB-90 is very "mid-centric" bordering on brash/barky with brand new strings, or with "flatter" amp settings. After coming from using Dimarzio Model Ps for years, I didn't really notice at first (it is less middy than the Model P), but as the honeymoon period waned I found myself cutting more and more mids at the amp to try and get less brash midrange and more phat! Lowering the pickup helped clean it up a bit, but using the EQ at the amp was a much better solution. That being said, it can be EQ'd very nicely to achieve a wide variety of tones. I would have liked to try it in a PJ bass to see how the comb filtering between pickups made it sound, but that's not an option right now.
Eventually I emailed Curtis and he said it was no problem to exchange it for a different model, and recommended the PB-CC. He said it should have the same hot sound, but with much less pronounced midrange. He even offered to send me the new pickup first so I could try them out back to back and not have any downtime on my bass... then just return the one I didn't like and "settle up when we're done". This is great for me as this is my primary bass in two busy bands. I am averaging 2-3 rehearsals per week right now with at least one gig per month, so I didn't really want this bass down for a month while pickups were getting mailed back and forth across the border.
The PB-CC arrived last night, on my birthday no less, and I hope to get around to installing it this weekend. At first glance it looks like it has the same pole pieces and ceramic bar magnets as the PB-90, but it is wound with thicker gauge wire resulting in the pickup being much taller than standard. See pics below.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Long Story Short
1a) Curtis Novak makes really high quality pickups and is great to deal with. He was nice to talk to on the phone, shipped promptly, and will let you exchange pickups within a reasonable time period if you decide you don't like them, no questions asked.
1b) My PB-90 did not come with a plastic cover, and the center-to-center pole piece spacing was slightly different than the stock Fender and generic Best Bass Gear covers that I had on hand. I had to drill out the holes on the cover in order to fit the pickup. Best to ask Curtis to supply a cover with your pickup and avoid this issue altogether.
2) The PB-90 is a hot precision pickup with steel pole pieces and ceramic bar magnets. Very responsive to right hand technique, going from phat and warm to gnarly grind with increasing strength of attack. Sounds great finger style and very growly with a pick. However, it can lean towards a brash/barky midrange sound, as is common with hotter pickups. I would not describe is as a "vintage" sounding P pickup, but great for someone wanting a hotter, more upfront sound with a more pronounced midrange. Takes EQ well at the amp and the extra mids can be tamed easily enough.
3) I just received a PB-CC from Curtis to try/exchange for the PB-90. Review forthcoming. By Curtis' account it should be just as hot but without the pronounced midrange. Construction seems top notch, with the same pole pieces and bar magnets as the PB-90, but thicker gauge wire.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Clips
PB-90
">
PB-CC
">
Last edited:
