Help me upgrade my Bass

[HCL]

I have a stock Fender P bass lying around that totally nails the whole "usable low end that compliments the guitars" thing but the high end isn't where I want it and if you pick in the wrong place it clips/farts out like mad. I really have no idea what I can do about it, what would you recommend? Swap the pups for EMGs? Install a humbucker?

 

[egan.]

The emg p is a great pup and definitely opens up the highs.

 

[jeid]

You could get the bridge routed for a Jazz pickup and get an EMG PJ set. You'll still have the P sound bit you can add in the J bridge sound to make your bass more versatile.

There's probably plenty of guys around who could do the job for you, but I'd happily recommend a guy in Newcastle who posts over on the Basschat forum who does great work. He routed out my Jazz bass for a precision bass pickup and did an excellent job and was pretty cheap too.

 

[HCL]

Would anyone recommend routing a humbucker in? I've only ever tracked a handful of basses with them so I'm not overly familiar with how they sound/feel.

 

[wishtheend]

I have a stock MIM Jazz that I dropped the Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders in and it was a nice upgrade. I have an ESP bass with EMGs (DC/CS) but I like having a passive bass, feel like I get more grind out of it.

 

[ArthurD]

EMG Geezer Butler?

 

[brianhood]

evertune for bass

 

[egan.]

Would anyone recommend routing a humbucker in? I've only ever tracked a handful of basses with them so I'm not overly familiar with how they sound/feel.

I wouldn't. In general they have thicker lows and mids with a little less bite up top than single (or split coils) when wired for series and are scooped when wired parallel. I love humbuckers but I would try to find another bass rather than routing the shit out of a perfectly good p.
OTOH, I would consider a pj route so I'm inconsistent. Honestly I'd try to find an EMG P used and give that a shot. You can always sell it if you don't like it. The second choice would be to go try other basses and see if one of them can get you where you want to be. Hold on to the P if you can (it's a classic, useful sound) but sell it if you must. My third choice would be routing the instrument to add a J in the bridge.

 

[jeid]

I wouldn't go for the humbucker. Routing for a Jazz pickup in the bridge would give you great tonal options if you get the balance of the pickups right. The Geezer Butler set is supposed to be great. The active EMG's also. If you're going for passive, try and get a matched set. It can be hard to get the Jazz bridge pickup to match the output of the Precision pickup.

 

[neptunian]

I'd go for the EMG P-X actives. More headroom, clear top end -- the two things it seems like you're wanting. Passives without an on-board preamp tend to get dulled by the guitar cable. I like the consistent sound of EMG actives regardless of cable length. I have a jazz config, but sometimes wish I had just a P style for the simplicity.