varsatile pickups for studio P-J bass

G

Gabazz

Mar 17, 2018
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#1
I just bought a Squier P-J bass for the studio. As previously I used my brother's Squier P-J bass with reasonable success. The guitar is comfortable, but I the tone is not that great.


I would like my new bass to be versatile and not to spend more than 150-200. What pickups should I look into for this bass?
 
#2
To an extent, it depends on what sort of tonal goals you have. That said, for a cheap bass, almost ANY change in pickups is going to be an upgrade. You might browse the classifieds here, as there are pickups all the time in the strings and accessories forum. The one thing you might look for, if given a choice among sets, is a humbucking J pickup. They typically won't hum cancel at all with a P, and particularly for studio use, you will want to keep noise down. Nordstrand offers this as a set, but over your budget a bit. Duncan doesn't offer this as a set specifcally, but you could pair one of their Ps with one of their humcancelling Js for around 175 it looks like. You might contact them about which combos play nice together.
 
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#6
Dimarzio Model P and Model J set. The model P does a decent milder P sound with volume rolled back, sounds amazing for the slightly more aggressive midrangey P sound, and just “feels” good to play. The Model J bridge gets all your classic J bridge tones but fuller and more useable in my opinion. They also combine better than a typical vintage p j set.
 
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#8
The DiMarzio are tempting as they are the cheapest.

The SD SPB-1 seeks nice. I definitely did not like the SPB-3 though.

What about a Fender P-pickup. Then I have to add a J that sounds nice wth it. The Fender is the most expensive option.
 
#13
The emg sets are pretty affordable with thomann. absolutely get a set with a humcanceling j for studio use. Have a look at Delano’s, but they might be a bit above your budget. But as they are german they are cheaper than most high end american brands. The best bang for your euro imho ar the dimarzio’s. Also available at thomann.
 
#17
So I do not like the wilderness EMG wiring. I already have switchcraft socket, Orange drop cap and cuts pots for the bass. I will consider them, but I prefer something else.

The Di Marzio sound nice, but a bit muddy. I really like the tone of spb1 and fender. But these are more expensive.
 
#19
TuneSalad666 said:
I'd say the EMG Geezer Butler P/J set is pretty versatile.

Great tone and a lot of options for variation depending on your tone setting and blend.
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+1 on this. What I'm running in my Squire Jag, if you don't like the quick connect system, cut the connectors off the pickup wires and solder to your preferred pots and jacks, easy. It was between these and the QP's, I've heard the QP's in a buddies P/J, I don't think you can really go wrong with either.
 
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