[Lincoln]

I stumbled across this while doing some research into bass guitars and pickups. Some very good reading in here if you guys haven't seen it already.

The Best Pickups for Bass Guitars

 

[Ti-Ron]

Nice reading, thanks for the link!

 

[keto]

The pickups listed below that article, I have used a few. The EMG Geezer Butler set, which is passive despite what you might think from EMG, is amazing. I add my voice to the hundreds if not thousands on talkbass who love them.

The DiMarzio rail thing, I dunno if it's just the bass I put it in, but it's awful for me. I suspected my wiring job so redid it, it always did put out sound but it's just not clear at all. Blech.

 

[Ti-Ron]

@keto I have heard so much praise about the Geezer Butler set that I want a PF just to try them out!

 

[keto]

@keto I have heard so much praise about the Geezer Butler set that I want a PF just to try them out!

Not sure what a PF is, but I own the set, had both in a P-J bass, took them out and have just the P in my USA P Bass now, it alone is also outstanding.

 

[oheare]

I stumbled across this while doing some research into bass guitars and pickups. Some very good reading in here if you guys haven't seen it already.

Lincoln, no disrespect meant to you, but I confess that the lousy editing and just plain wrong info in the article turned me off:

• there's no mention of why a jazz pickup or precision pickup is called that
• J pickups are not placed *ON* the bridge or the neck but near
• the neck J pickup is NOT wider; it's usually narrower, sometimes the same size
• the description of a blend control indicates that it's required on a bass using J pickups
• a P pickup *is* a dual-coil humbucker setup by default
• the bit on bladed pickups says that they are both good for you if you bend strings and not really needed since you'll buy a higher output pickup anyhow
• 9V batteries don't create an electrical field
• what makes a pickup "active" is the preamp
• not all single coil pickups have one magnet under each string
• "single coil pickups...are better for single-string plucking"? Really?
• "It will sound brighter if you play the guitar near the neck, while it will sound darker if you play down toward the base"? Uh, no.
• "the Nordstrand Big Split...is available in either the EMG or Bartolini designs"? Uh, I think you mean sizes?
• I wonder what the writer meant by saying "The Lace Sensor USAB...Produces a buzzing or feedback sound" under Cons

At that point, I gave up the enumeration.

A quick look at other articles on the website show the same lack of attention and plain carelessness. They have an article on the "best upright bass guitar" for example, an article that describes an unpowered stage monitor as powered, and an article on strings says one should buy strings that are "cut to the right length" for your instrument. Yeesh.

(Full disclosure -- I worked as a technical writer and editor for many years. Stuff like this just reinforces my thought that everybody needs an editor. And that all generalizations are wrong. )

 

[_Azrael]

Lincoln, no disrespect meant to you, but I confess that the lousy editing and just plain wrong info in the article turned me off:

• there's no mention of why a jazz pickup or precision pickup is called that
• J pickups are not placed *ON* the bridge or the neck but near
• the neck J pickup is NOT wider; it's usually narrower, sometimes the same size
• the description of a blend control indicates that it's required on a bass using J pickups
• a P pickup *is* a dual-coil humbucker setup by default
• the bit on bladed pickups says that they are both good for you if you bend strings and not really needed since you'll buy a higher output pickup anyhow
• 9V batteries don't create an electrical field
• what makes a pickup "active" is the preamp
• not all single coil pickups have one magnet under each string
• "single coil pickups...are better for single-string plucking"? Really?
• "It will sound brighter if you play the guitar near the neck, while it will sound darker if you play down toward the base"? Uh, no.
• "the Nordstrand Big Split...is available in either the EMG or Bartolini designs"? Uh, I think you mean sizes?
• I wonder what the writer meant by saying "The Lace Sensor USAB...Produces a buzzing or feedback sound" under Cons

At that point, I gave up the enumeration.

A quick look at other articles on the website show the same lack of attention and plain carelessness. They have an article on the "best upright bass guitar" for example, an article that describes an unpowered stage monitor as powered, and an article on strings says one should buy strings that are "cut to the right length" for your instrument. Yeesh.

(Full disclosure -- I worked as a technical writer and editor for many years. Stuff like this just reinforces my thought that everybody needs an editor. And that all generalizations are wrong. )

I wasn't going to say anything, but I felt the same way. Seemed like the article was written by a beginner who was researching bass pickups and mis-interpreting a lot of the information he'd been discovering.

Kind of felt like I was getting advice about pickups from someone who'd never played any of those pickups.

 

[Lincoln]

And as I non-bass player just trying to learn about bass guitars, and not knowing any better.......I fell into the trap.

Anybody want to take the time to put a better a link with correct info?

 

[Casey86]

If you want to learn about all things bass I suggest you visit talkbass.com. I'm a pro electric/upright bassist with 45 years of gigging experience, you can learn what you need to know there...

Cheers
Casey

 

[laristotle]

+1 on talkbass.

 

[Ti-Ron]

Not sure what a PF is, but I own the set, had both in a P-J bass, took them out and have just the P in my USA P Bass now, it alone is also outstanding.

Hahahaha, I mistyped this! It was a PJ, of course!