Do bass guys do pup swaps / wiring changes like the guitar guys/gals?

[ArtieToo]

Re: Do bass guys do pup swaps / wiring changes like the guitar guys/gals?

That Ric has a heckuva lot of knobs on it for a bass. My kinda wiring.

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: Do bass guys do pup swaps / wiring changes like the guitar guys/gals?

Yes. Case in point, me in 1976 with my ‘73 Rickenbacker 4001. I changed the bridge pickup for a Hi-A mini humbucker. Hi-A was the original name of Bartolini. I changed the neck pickup for a Carvin APH-4N humbucker. I also had series parallel switches for each pickup. A switch to put both pickups in series. A phase switch. A 6-position Varitone midrange filter, and a Hi-A “Chip” preamp with active bass and treble controls. Oh, and a master volume. lol

Later I installed a DiMarzio Model P between the two pickups.

This continued with every instrument I owned. I had a ‘74 P bass with an added P pickup at the bridge. I replaced the stock pickups with a DiMarzio.

I replaced the stock J pickups in my ‘87 Ibanez SR-885LE with EMG Js.

The list is longer than this. lol. I also did a lot of crazy wiring and modified pickups.

This eventually lead to me designing my own pickups and bases.

Now all my guitars and basses have my own pickups.




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[chadd]

Re: Do bass guys do pup swaps / wiring changes like the guitar guys/gals?

I have a Squier J Bass that I'd love to put Apollos in. I think it uses 2 neck pickups, though- the sizes of these are exact, unlike USA models.

My old Epi Toby bass was like that, but I think they were both bridge units, I forget exactly. I just routed it for a P and threw QPs in there.

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Do bass guys do pup swaps / wiring changes like the guitar guys/gals?

For some reason lots of them seem to upgrade hardware at the drop of a hat though. Those Bad-Ass Bridges, and saddles, tuners and stuff seem to be big preference choices.

Some think a really heavy bridge sounds better. Some think that’s crap. The tuner thing is always getting really light ones. With that long of a neck, any weight reduction on the headstock is great, even if the bass balances well to begin with. I put Sperzels on my Warwick. I don’t remember the exact weight, but 4 Sperzels weighed the same as 3 of the stock tuners. It’s a heavy bass, but even that little change made it feel a lot lighter.

[mojosman]

Re: Do bass guys do pup swaps / wiring changes like the guitar guys/gals?

My buddies that play bass don’t talk about upgrades in terms of pickups and stuff, unless a specific instrument just has a really bad tone. Then absolutely they will upgrade. For some reason lots of them seem to upgrade hardware at the drop of a hat though. Those Bad-Ass Bridges, and saddles, tuners and stuff seem to be big preference choices.


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[Demanic]

Re: Do bass guys do pup swaps / wiring changes like the guitar guys/gals?

^^^ Me too. Are you going active or passive?

It's already active, so I'm looking for something that's just a direct swap.

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[ArtieToo]

Re: Do bass guys do pup swaps / wiring changes like the guitar guys/gals?

I'd really like to go with the AJJ-1 set, paired with the STC-3A preamp. I bet that would be a sweet combo, but it would cost more than the bass. Part of the reason for going with the AJJ-1 set is that it's one of the few Duncan sets with hidden pole pieces. That's what my Tobias has now, and I'd like to retain that look.

[Mincer]

Re: Do bass guys do pup swaps / wiring changes like the guitar guys/gals?

I have a Squier J Bass that I'd love to put Apollos in. I think it uses 2 neck pickups, though- the sizes of these are exact, unlike USA models.

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Do bass guys do pup swaps / wiring changes like the guitar guys/gals?

I didn't notice 'til just now, that the Model J's have the adjustable poles. That appears to be unusual in bass pups. You play bass a helluva lot more than me. How important, in practice, do you find that feature to be?

It may depend on the pickup, but if the Model J’s poles didn’t adjust, my A and D would be quieter than the E and G. The Model J is a split coil (two coils sitting end to end, like if a P pickup wasn’t overlapping), so that may have something to do with it.

On a P it’s not a big deal, since you can adjust each half of the pickup independently.

[ArtieToo]

Re: Do bass guys do pup swaps / wiring changes like the guitar guys/gals?

^^^ Me too. Are you going active or passive?

[Demanic]

Re: Do bass guys do pup swaps / wiring changes like the guitar guys/gals?

Thinking about changing the stock pups on my Jackson 5 string...

[Demanic]

Re: Do bass guys do pup swaps / wiring changes like the guitar guys/gals?

On the TalkBass forum, people are just as obsessive as we are...and they are talking about bass, forcrissakes....

And why not?

[ArtieToo]

Re: Do bass guys do pup swaps / wiring changes like the guitar guys/gals?

What I wound up with is pickups that sound good, don't buzz, and allow me to adjust each pole piece.

I didn't notice 'til just now, that the Model J's have the adjustable poles. That appears to be unusual in bass pups. You play bass a helluva lot more than me. How important, in practice, do you find that feature to be?

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Do bass guys do pup swaps / wiring changes like the guitar guys/gals?

I put the DiMarzios in my Warwick because the wiring in my house makes single coils super noisy, and I wanted to try something different. What I wound up with is pickups that sound good, don't buzz, and allow me to adjust each pole piece. I'll probably swap the stocks back in at some point just because, but I'm done shopping for pickups for that bass.

That said, I still have at least 5 or 6 sets of strings I want to try on it, all of which will make at least as much (probably more) difference as swapping the pickups did.

The joke was made about bass players being too busy gigging to tinker, and the aftermarket pickup offerings kind of reflect that. The options are pretty much vintage, hot, noiseless, scooped mids, boosted mids. It's not like Duncan guitar pickups where there are 53 variants of essentially the same pickup. Obviously, if bass players wanted and bought that many different ones, they'd be available, but I think those basic options usually fit the bill pretty well.

[ArtieToo]

Re: Do bass guys do pup swaps / wiring changes like the guitar guys/gals?

On the TalkBass forum, people are just as obsessive as we are...and they are talking about bass, forcrissakes....

Good point. I fell into both my P and my J by accident. But I'm glad I have one of each. They are fun to play with.