What does a Model One sound like?

[lowend1]

Not a joke - I've had a couple over the years, and I could never accurately describe  the character of the pickup. DiMarzio used to say that one wiring option sounded like a P-Bass and with the switch thrown sounded more like a Rick. Personally, I never heard either of those tones in the pickup, and was wondering what you all thought.

[Aussie Mark]

I had a Model One in a Rivoli, and to my ears it sounded somewhere in between a mudbucker and a TB Plus.  Definitely a wider tonal range than a mudbucker, but not as middy as a TB Plus.

[Pilgrim]

The Model One in my EB-0 at the bridge position has more definition than the original Gibby mudbucker, but definitely more aggressive than most pickups.  It's an "in-betweener" that probably fits today's music better than the old style mudbuckers.

[uwe]

"DiMarzio used to say that one wiring option sounded like a P-Bass and with the switch thrown sounded more like a Rick."

There may be some truth in that. In my Attitude it sounds warm and fuzzy, but unfocused, and on my Hoyer Eagle single-coilish, I assume they chose the Ric wiring there.

I'd say a Model 1 lacks the definiton of a TB Plus in the neck position and the ooomph of a TB Plus anywhere else.  It's clearer overall though. I don't find it a very rockish sounding pup from my experiences with the Hoyer Eagle (it has two and is a neck-thru-maho bass) at all, that bass always sounded what today you would call boutiquish, very transparent, but not cold, assertive in treble and high mids, but lacking ooomph. Great to solo with, not so great for foundation work.

And on the Attitude, all it does is provide added sublows. All the aggressiveness and cut of the Attitude comes from the very hot DiMarzio P split coil which is probably the most assertive split coil I have ever played on any bass without active electronics.

[mc2NY]

I'd agree with most of the above, mostly a hot PBass or TB Plus. I used a pair of Model Ones in a rather odd application....in a Vox Teardrop hollowbody bass. It gave it a ballsy, unique sound and I used it alot in both the studio and live years back. Live, I had to be real careful to stay away from my bass rig if I didn't want any accidental feedback...did use it for a few deliberate controlled feedback/sustain fills.

Actually had the infamous House Of Guitars do the install and, man, did they give me shit about hacking up my minty Vox. But he was able to jam the Model Ones in where I just have enough of the original PUPs and rings to put it back to the originals if I ever want to....but never have after decades. It sounds SO much better than the original PUPs.

The Model One is a great replacement for the much maligned Gibson Mudbucker; a no-brainer there.

I guess the main negative is that it is a pretty big PUP and for most other replacement applications you will need to do some routing.

[Highlander]

I bought one shortly after they were launched - I fitted it in the neck position of my Peter Cook T'Bird (through neck and mahogany) - I liked the sound but I was plagued with microphonic issues... might have been bad luck or just a mismatch...

[clankenstein]

i used one in my eb4l for a long time.in the end i decided that the the low end was a little weak and that the mid /tops were a bit raspy sounding.but hey thats very subjective and may be related to the e140 i used to play through.i only ever used the loudest setting though,the other one seemed a little thin to me. no microphonic problems with that one,even through my fuzz box.