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Hey again, peeps! New questions for yallsen. This a long one, so get a cup o' Joe and have a seat.
I own a straight-up American P-bass (not highway, but not delux, either) with an S1 switch. I've been thinking of different ways to pimp it out. I just need some advice, suggestions, and basic info on the good resources. Here's what I've thunk up:
First idea: get new pickup in. The stock pup on the S1 is thouroughly unimpressive once you live with it for a while. I play a bit of slap, and this thing just doesn't get the brightness that I want, even with brand new stringys. I want something with a little more brightness and sparkle. I recently played on a "vintage" '81 G&L SB-1 with the p-style MFD pup. I want a sound SIMILAR, but with a little less output, and a little more mid range warmth. But I want something louder and brighter than whatever pickup is in now. More low end would be nice, too. And I'm pretty sure I want a Duncan. Any suggestions on what I should get? Hot vintage? Quarter-pound? If I were to get any of these, or even an Antiquity I, would I be able to make use of the S1 switch?
(BTW, does anyone know what exactly the S1 switch does? All's I can figure is that it's a transistor or other little device that reverses the polarity of one of the coils in the pickup. But Fender really isn't any help. They've got no specs at all, even on what pickups are in this piece o' junk.)
Second idea: get Antiquity I P-style and install a preamp. If I go active, I would plan on completely replacing the pots with a Bass/Treb boost/cut stack, Mid Freq/Mid boost or boost/cut, and a master volume. Also want a switch to bypass the preamp and just go passive. Is that too much work? I like the idea of making my bass active, but is there anything I should know about running passive pickups through a preamp? Is signal headroom going to be a problem? What's the best resource for finding info on how to go about routing and intstallation and so forth? Does anyone have any preamp reccomendations? I was thinking Aguilar...
Second-and-a-half idea: after going active, I was also playing around with the idea of getting a SMBa MusicMan style humbucker to get that sweet-@ss Stingray sound that I love so much. Obviously would not be operable with the preamp bypassed. There'd be no blend, just a pickup select. I'd have a coil split on the SMBa. Is this starting to go overkill? Is there going to be impedance problems with the volume pots?
Also, I'm unhappy with the action (even after a setup by the local whizz). It really seems that Fender is being super-devious and making sure that their delux guitar line is the most desireable by cutting corners on EVERY other guitar and bass they make. I will replace the bridge. I want something more solid. the sideways movement in the saddles is bugging me, and burs keep appearing after I sand them down. Any suggestions on something that will fit in the holes already drilled in my bass?
Yeah, I think that covers it... Thanks guys!
Celticafro!
I own a straight-up American P-bass (not highway, but not delux, either) with an S1 switch. I've been thinking of different ways to pimp it out. I just need some advice, suggestions, and basic info on the good resources. Here's what I've thunk up:
First idea: get new pickup in. The stock pup on the S1 is thouroughly unimpressive once you live with it for a while. I play a bit of slap, and this thing just doesn't get the brightness that I want, even with brand new stringys. I want something with a little more brightness and sparkle. I recently played on a "vintage" '81 G&L SB-1 with the p-style MFD pup. I want a sound SIMILAR, but with a little less output, and a little more mid range warmth. But I want something louder and brighter than whatever pickup is in now. More low end would be nice, too. And I'm pretty sure I want a Duncan. Any suggestions on what I should get? Hot vintage? Quarter-pound? If I were to get any of these, or even an Antiquity I, would I be able to make use of the S1 switch?
(BTW, does anyone know what exactly the S1 switch does? All's I can figure is that it's a transistor or other little device that reverses the polarity of one of the coils in the pickup. But Fender really isn't any help. They've got no specs at all, even on what pickups are in this piece o' junk.)
Second idea: get Antiquity I P-style and install a preamp. If I go active, I would plan on completely replacing the pots with a Bass/Treb boost/cut stack, Mid Freq/Mid boost or boost/cut, and a master volume. Also want a switch to bypass the preamp and just go passive. Is that too much work? I like the idea of making my bass active, but is there anything I should know about running passive pickups through a preamp? Is signal headroom going to be a problem? What's the best resource for finding info on how to go about routing and intstallation and so forth? Does anyone have any preamp reccomendations? I was thinking Aguilar...
Second-and-a-half idea: after going active, I was also playing around with the idea of getting a SMBa MusicMan style humbucker to get that sweet-@ss Stingray sound that I love so much. Obviously would not be operable with the preamp bypassed. There'd be no blend, just a pickup select. I'd have a coil split on the SMBa. Is this starting to go overkill? Is there going to be impedance problems with the volume pots?
Also, I'm unhappy with the action (even after a setup by the local whizz). It really seems that Fender is being super-devious and making sure that their delux guitar line is the most desireable by cutting corners on EVERY other guitar and bass they make. I will replace the bridge. I want something more solid. the sideways movement in the saddles is bugging me, and burs keep appearing after I sand them down. Any suggestions on something that will fit in the holes already drilled in my bass?
Yeah, I think that covers it... Thanks guys!
Celticafro!
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