Some Questions For Bass Players

[JaySwear]

anybody know if the dimarzio Model P and Model J are passive? i'd really like to keep the pickups passive, and a PJ-style pickup layout looks perfect for me. appreciate the help!

There are very few active pickups on the market.
I would say 95% of all pickups are passive.

EMG, MEC and a few others do make actives though.

ok thank you. it seems like more basses have something active (either pickups or otherwise) and i've had a hard time finding information on which were which. probably because, like you said, very few were active so i had a hard time finding anything that said otherwise.

 

[drewfx]

Most "active" basses use regular passive PU's + active preamp/tone.

As line6man said, (some) EMG's and others (like SD/Basslines Lightnin' Rods and Proactives) are truly active, but most PU's are passive, and it's usually made pretty clear if they are active.

 

[JaySwear]

any opinions on whether it's worth it or not to save up for ultralite tuners? the neck isn't exactly light, but the ultralites are expensive and i can get a set of tuners ripped off a fender for cheap on ebay. thanks for any input!

 

[line6man]

any opinions on whether it's worth it or not to save up for ultralite tuners? the neck isn't exactly light, but the ultralites are expensive and i can get a set of tuners ripped off a fender for cheap on ebay. thanks for any input!

I've never found the Ultralites to be that expensive, but in whatever case, they are absolutely worth it to me.
I love mine. Excellent tuners, very light weight.

I love my detuner as well.
Detuners are definitely expensive, but it was worth every penny to me to put one on my bass.

 

[JaySwear]

the only sets i've seen have been $120 or more versus $40 to $70 for old fender tuners on ebay. i guess i'm just really hoping that they'd do great things for either neck weight or tuning stability. the downtuning is a really cool idea too though. i've heard a lot of good things about them but i'd never be able to make the most out of it unfortunately.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

i know this is more a wiring question, but since i have a thread going... anybody know of a good way to switch between two pickups if i ended up making it a PJ bass? i'm worried i won't think the p-bass pickup has enough treble to it. but at the same time i don't want to sacrifice my tone control for a 3 way toggle. i never use a tone control on a guitar really, but i think it's definitely important on a bass

also, do you (or anybody else) know if warmoth offers nitro finishes on bodies? i thought i had heard something about them offering that, but i didn't see anything on their site. i may have just been looking in the wrong place.

This is a neat thread.

If you end up doing a J-Bass body like you pictured.  You could use a 4-hole J-Bass plate with V-V-3 way toggle-T and side jack.  I have this on both of my J-Basses and prefer it far more than a pan or blend knob.  Most times I leave the switch in the middle position and role either volume knob off to taste.  The switch is usually only moved to the bridge position for tuning purposes.

As far as Nitro finshes on bodies, they don't offer them.  They do them on the satin finish necks. 

 

[line6man]

the only sets i've seen have been $120 or more versus $40 to $70 for old fender tuners on ebay.

WHAT!? :tard:

I paid $22 each for my chrome Ultralites, and $85 for the detuner.

http://www.bestbassgear.com/hipshot-ultralight-tuners.htm

 

[JaySwear]

thank you both! i've definitely realized there are more ways to make this into a P-J bass with the controls than i had imagined.

and thanks for the great link to the tuners! the ones i had found were $28 a tuner. looks like ultralites are definitely in my budget now

 

[baskruit]

An on/on/on will work fine.

But there should be no problem getting them to do a side jack either. Just tell them what size.

Not sure if that can be done just like that.
If you want to combine a top route and a side jack, you'd have to drill at like 3'' deep from the side because the top route doesn't go all the way to the side where the jack is supposed to come.
(Does it make sense what I just said?)

Well, at least rules out the 1/2'' side jack option.

 

[whyachi]

thank you both! i've definitely realized there are more ways to make this into a P-J bass with the controls than i had imagined.

and thanks for the great link to the tuners! the ones i had found were $28 a tuner. looks like ultralites are definitely in my budget now

If you're looking at black hardware, I have a set of brand new 3/8 Ultralites I'd be willing to part with. They're currently on eBay but if you're interested I can pull them down and get you a Unofficial discount.

 

[drewfx]

Not sure if that can be done just like that.
If you want to combine a top route and a side jack, you'd have to drill at like 3'' deep from the side because the top route doesn't go all the way to the side where the jack is supposed to come.
(Does it make sense what I just said?)

Well, at least rules out the 1/2'' side jack option.

All I can say is my top route '72 P-Bass was done "just like that". I just asketh and I receiveth. And it was good.

 

[baskruit]

Not sure if that can be done just like that.
If you want to combine a top route and a side jack, you'd have to drill at like 3'' deep from the side because the top route doesn't go all the way to the side where the jack is supposed to come.
(Does it make sense what I just said?)

Well, at least rules out the 1/2'' side jack option.

All I can say is my top route '72 P-Bass was done "just like that". I just asketh and I receiveth. And it was good.

Excellent.  :icon_thumright:

 

[JaySwear]

If you're looking at black hardware, I have a set of brand new 3/8 Ultralites I'd be willing to part with. They're currently on eBay but if you're interested I can pull them down and get you a Unofficial discount.

tempting! unfortunately i'm looking for chrome hardware. and i called warmoth last night and they'll route any showcase pieces for a 7/8" jack, which is perfect for me.

not that i've decided that i've decided that 2 pickups is doable i'm trying to decide what i want that second pickup to be. the P-Bass pickup is perfect. i thought the jazz was too, but like any instrument i've built from warmoth i started to think... why so standard? i could put whatever i want in there! now i'm half back to the drawing board.

 

[JaySwear]

any idea if one of warmoth's routing would allow for one of these?

i was thinking maybe one of their Bartolini BC or BD routings with a pickup ring. not sure though. the pickup rings are already proving hard to find just looking around the web.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

With their bass pickup routings, they pretty much have all of their routes listed.  For whatever reason, the "Darkstar" routing is on their list but it has a $45 upcharge.  Both of the pickups you showed look like they are mounted in pickup rings or pickguards like a guitar.  I'm not aware of any of their pickup routings for bass being like that.  Call and ask.  They sometimes do stuff (for an upcharge) not on the site.

 

[JaySwear]

good point. i was thinking more about the one to the left. i'll try to call and ask, but it might be tough since i don't know the exact

TWO QUESTIONS

1. i'm thinking more and more about the ability to get multiple sounds from one pickup. anybody have any suggestions as to what that one pickup would be? i've been thinking about the quarter pound from seymour duncan. only heard good things about that one.

2. i really want a side jack. the output mounted to the pickguard just looks like the pickguard is begging to be cracked. any suggestions as to what i could do with another knob if i had one? one volume, one tone, and something else. i was thinking about maybe adding a second tone knob and having two different sized capacitors. dumb idea? or interesting? is there a way i could brighten up the sound instead of mud-it-up if you will? i may very well end up going with a P/J pickup set-up, but it's interesting to hear what other people have in mind.

anyway, thoughts appreciated as always :icon_biggrin: :icon_thumright:

i'm starting to think i should look into active electronics. maybe just a preamp of some sort. i barely know how to wire passive pickups, and active anything would take some research. but it's a thought.

 

[tubby.twins]

any suggestions as to what i could do with another knob if i had one? one volume, one tone, and something else.

You could go for a passive midrange control.  I've got a few of these and they're really useful.
http://www.stanhinesleypickups.com/passive_controls.htm

As far as getting multiple sounds out of one pickup, the easiest way is to get a "quad coil" pickup which can give you more tonal options.  The differences between them may be subtle, but at least it's an improvement over having just one tone.

i'm starting to think i should look into active electronics. maybe just a preamp of some sort. i barely know how to wire passive pickups, and active anything would take some research. but it's a thought.

I wouldn't be too quick to go active on a bass.  You can get a lot of usable tones simply by a combination of passive controls and by varying your fingering technique.

 

[drewfx]

SD does offer dimensions on their page:

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/dimensionpages/srb1n.shtml
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/dimensionpages/srb1b.shtml


If you want more tonal options, I think you're much better off with 2 different PU's, than you are with 1 PU and extra active or passive tone knobs.

But with 1 PU, if it is either split (P-Bass, some Dimarzio J-Bass, etc.) or humbucking, a series/parallel switch for the 2 coils might be useful if you want lots of options. Not appropriate for all PU's though...

 

[dNA]

I would say that

If you want more tonal options, I think you're much better off with 2 different PU's, than you are with 1 PU and extra active or passive tone knobs.

But with 1 PU, if it is either split (P-Bass, some Dimarzio J-Bass, etc.) or humbucking, a series/parallel switch for the 2 coils might be useful if you want lots of options. Not appropriate for all PU's though...

I think it depends on the tastes and the pickups. Some pickups get you some really nice diversity between series/parallel/split and the difference is not the same as the difference you get with another pickup in the bridge position. like a bridge position pickup isn't just a brighter/cleaner neck pickup, the way going from series to parallel might work.
I think exploring what a versatile pickup can do for you is to your advantage, because you don't have to do any rerouting to try it out first. Then if that's not doing it for you, you have more to eplxore

 

[drewfx]

I would say that

If you want more tonal options, I think you're much better off with 2 different PU's, than you are with 1 PU and extra active or passive tone knobs.

But with 1 PU, if it is either split (P-Bass, some Dimarzio J-Bass, etc.) or humbucking, a series/parallel switch for the 2 coils might be useful if you want lots of options. Not appropriate for all PU's though...

I think it depends on the tastes and the pickups. Some pickups get you some really nice diversity between series/parallel/split and the difference is not the same as the difference you get with another pickup in the bridge position. like a bridge position pickup isn't just a brighter/cleaner neck pickup, the way going from series to parallel might work.
I think exploring what a versatile pickup can do for you is to your advantage, because you don't have to do any rerouting to try it out first. Then if that's not doing it for you, you have more to eplxore

Agree 100%.

My points were just that if it's a new build, I think you get better tonal options from 2 PU's than one, and also some, but certainly not all, PU's will give nice variations with serial/parallel/split.