Seymour Duncan SPB-1 Vintage

Passive p-bass pickup upgrade for my MIM p-bass.

MIM p-bass, mid-90's replaced the stock pick ups and basically gave my bass a tune-up ( new pots, bone nut, fixed the neck.. ect.) wanted a warmer, "rounder" tone (ala,"no sugar tonight" by the guess who) also installed some vintage rotosound flatwound "jazz-bass" strings.

no sugar tonight by the guess who

a little more output, more bass (important!) amd smoother treble (also due to the flatwounds) I play Power-rock! a mixture of punk, hard rock, and metal. great to get that iron maiden steve harris sound ( with the clackeys when you really dig in) but i was surprised that it had a good slap and pop sound even with the flats (cuts down on the harsh highs) if you play at lower volumes you can totally get a james jamerson thump. I play it through a hardke hybrid solid state with a tube pre-amp. sounds great but i think i might get a sans amp to even out the sound and also everybody is playing through those now so it seams like a standard thing and it's not too expensive.

I chose this pickup because it was on sale and used, i was going to go with the dimarzio split rail deallies but i could not pass up the price! but i'm glad i chose this one. i'm still searching for that round wooly sound ( my favorite is scott reeder's tone on "when the circus leaves town" by kyuss but i think he has a really nice tube amp to get that sound.) but with this pickup, i'm close!

Pickup features: standard vintage p-bass
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: G&L l-100 and a SB-1
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: original pickups
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: unknowen
You musical style(s): late 50's,60's,and 70's classic rock
Reason for pickup change: vintage tone at non vintage prices.

Perceived output level: vintage low output and warm
Tone: low and warm
Sonic evaluation: I am playing tru a 1969 b15.and useing flatwounds.I wanted a vintage sounding p-bass but not pay vintage prices a refinished 59 is $3000.00 and a 70 routed $2000.00 60's p-basses are $7000.00 to $10,000.00, Can you aford that I can't

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: R&B,classic rock.

Comments: I couldn't be more pleased after 19 yrs. of this and that bass and $1000's of dollars and euro's wasted I got the sound perfectly.
I bought a 86 G&L l-100 maple fretboard and alder body in belair green, and a 83 G&L sb-1 rosewood fretboard and swap ash body in tobbacco sunburt. the 86 had a white pick guard with white pickups. We swaped necks with no hassle and dicks music shop techs got me white pickup covers, unpotted and repotted them and it looks as good as it sounds. it is so cool I giged just 3 days ago and when I rolled it out and we went into respect it was just divine, I nailed it cold. with flat wounds and the tone rolled back I killed.I will NOT say I was channeling Jameson.But damn it was awsome.It was warmer then my 25th anniversary p-bass and plays better too.But in the 80's and early 90's they were all hand made with hand carved necks. I am so happy my 19 year quest is thru!

Pickup features: P-Bass split coil humbucking
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Precision (circa 1972)
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: original Fender pickup
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Rock, blues
Reason for pickup change: One of the coils on the original pickups had died.

Perceived output level: Higher output that the original Fender pickup which had a coil that was degrading.
Tone: Great vintage P-bass tone. Not too agressive, but fat and round with that Fender growl.
Sonic evaluation: This pickup is connected to a Raven Labs PBR-1 onboard preamp which also enhances the sound of this bass. After installing this pickup, I installed flatwounds on this bass, and I'll never turn back. Awesome vintage sound, just like on all your favorite recordings from the '60s and '70s.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: Great pickup for getting that vintage P-bass sound. I looked into some of the "hotter" and more agressive P-bass pickups that were available from Seymour Duncan, but decided they would be too harsh for this 30+ years bass. Also, this bass has one of the heaviest ash bodies I've even enountered, so it doesn't need help with brightness. The only problem with the installation is that I had to use the grounding plate and foam supports from the original pickup to hold up the SPB-1's coils. The pickup comes with mounting screws, but no springs, so the old grounding plate was the easiest solution.

Pickup features: Typical P-bass passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Turser P-clone
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: factory
Other pickups on guitar: N/A
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): Rock, pop
Reason for pickup change: Factory pickup was ass.

Perceived output level: O/P level appears to be inline w/traditional fenders
Tone: Very clear. Nice top end, but w/some warmth underneath
Sonic evaluation: The bass is used D/I for recording. The pickup, simply, is outstanding. It doesn't do anything special, just that good early 60's p-bass tone.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: If you've got a p-bass, chances are you'd like this. It's versatile

Comments: The quest for oldschool PBass tone stops here. If you want a more modern sound, this may not be for you, but if you like that classic sound, this is your pickip.

Pickup features: Humbucking split-coil p-pup
Impedence or other specs: 11.6 k ohms

Model of guitar or bass: '78 Fender Precision
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: DiMarzio Model P
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: I don't know
You musical style(s): Contemporary Christian, rock, blues
Reason for pickup change: Looking for the "traditional" p-bass sound.

Perceived output level: Kinda like a P-bass...
Tone: Very balanced, but with the usual mid-range bump
Sonic evaluation: I play this bass through my Sansamp Bass Driver, and from there either into my practice amp (as a monitor) and the board, or into my Carver power amp and Black Widow cab.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This pickup is good for any music where you want the P-bass sound.

Comments: I have tried many P-bass pickups, though certainly not all of them: DiMarzio Model P, Duncan SPB-1, 2, and 3, Bartolini 8SU, EMG-P, and a few others. I haven't tried the Fender Original '62, Lindy Fralin, or other "super-vintage" pickups. However, the SPB-1 is my favorite of the ones I _have_ tried. Very much what I expect a good P to sound like. I've used this pickup in three basses so far, and gotten good results each time. If you want old-school thump, it's here. If you want Mike Dirnt-style click and grind, no problem. In an ash-bodied Franken-P, it was almost brutal with heavy flatwounds. In my current Fender, it's just exactly what I want. With a twist of the tone knob, I have everything I need.
In comparison to other pups, here are my perceptions: The DiMarzio really wasn't bad at all, I'm going to use it in my next Franken-P. The highs are a little different, I guess the SPB-1 just sounds more traditional. Hard to quantify. The SPB-3, for me, was too harsh and too boomy. The SPB-1 has very solid lows, without boominess. I have the SPB-2 in another bass right now, and it's not bad, but more midrangey, with less highs. The Bartolini made my bass sound like a P-bass with a Bartolini in it. Barts seem to have a signature top end that always come through. Again, not necessarily a bad sound, but not traditional P-bass to my ears. I've tried a couple of EMG-P's in different basses, and I like them fine, but I'm not really into changing batteries, and at this point the SPB-1 gives me what I want, so why bother? And finally, I may eventually try the Duncan Antiquity in this bass (it would look really cool as well, since this bass has a few miles on it), but I'm in no hurry, since this pickup gives me the sound I like.