« previous next »
Pages: [1] 2   Go Down

Author Topic: Hacking my P Bass into a P-rick.  (Read 3072 times)

Alanko

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1651
    • View Profile
Hacking my P Bass into a P-rick.
« on: October 02, 2020, 01:35:13 PM »
I've been working from home for 28 weeks now, and starting to hatch bad ideas.

My P Bass has sort of 'split in two'. The neck on it is now on my Jazz Bass, and I replaced the body with a white P Bass body.... so that leaves this sunburst body looking for a purpose in life:



I've been messing around with neck pickups in basses for years. I've chopped up a fair few basses to add extra pickups. My plan is to install a Roswell-branded mini humbucker in the neck position on this P Bass.



They've cheekily made it look just like a Rickenbacker Toaster pickup. I already have one of these pickups in my 4003 and it sounds pretty good! Darker than a normal Rick pickup, but in such a tonal 'dead zone' this isn't really a problem. It delivers lots of low end.

I'm sticking one of these in the bridge position:



Its a Roswell 'QPA' pickup, which looks like a SD Quarter Pounder copy, with chunky alnico poles.

I'm going to wire it like a Jazz Bass, with three controls. I will use a 4.7 nF capacitor as a treble bleed on the bridge pickup volume control. This means that if I roll back the volume to 8 I should get a tone that is like the 'vintage' setting on a 4003 bass.

I will update this thread with photos when I get round to doing anything.

Logged

Alanko

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1651
    • View Profile
Re: Hacking my P Bass into a P-rick.
« Reply #1 on: October 29, 2020, 01:56:07 PM »
So for once I actually did exactly what I said I would do.



I carved out my P Bass body and then shielded liberally with copper tape.

This gave me enough room to implement this:



And this is what it sounds like:

Logged

Dave W

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 22243
  • Got time to breathe, got time for music
    • View Profile
Re: Hacking my P Bass into a P-rick.
« Reply #2 on: October 29, 2020, 10:20:15 PM »
That came out nice!  :toast:
Logged

OldManC

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 3116
    • View Profile
Re: Hacking my P Bass into a P-rick.
« Reply #3 on: October 29, 2020, 11:35:51 PM »
Very nice!
Logged

amptech

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1510
    • View Profile
Re: Hacking my P Bass into a P-rick.
« Reply #4 on: October 30, 2020, 12:19:23 AM »
Not bad! Now put a bar bridge on it and you're done 8)
Logged

Basvarken

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 6878
  • hobby luthier. gibson bass nerd
    • View Profile
    • www.enkoo.nl
Re: Hacking my P Bass into a P-rick.
« Reply #5 on: October 30, 2020, 03:51:57 AM »
Nice.
A little bit Sheehan-esque.
Logged

morrow

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 933
    • View Profile
Re: Hacking my P Bass into a P-rick.
« Reply #6 on: October 30, 2020, 06:01:18 AM »
Nice , but there should be a big gaping hole around the bridge pickup .
Logged

gearHed289

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4438
    • View Profile
    • Book of faces...
Re: Hacking my P Bass into a P-rick.
« Reply #7 on: October 30, 2020, 07:15:08 AM »
That looks great. Every P bass could use a neck pickup.  :-X  ;D
Logged

BTL

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1111
    • View Profile
    • Lowe Custom Guitars
Re: Hacking my P Bass into a P-rick.
« Reply #8 on: October 30, 2020, 08:30:24 AM »
That looks and sounds great!
Logged

Rob

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1817
    • View Profile
Re: Hacking my P Bass into a P-rick.
« Reply #9 on: October 30, 2020, 10:07:46 AM »
Fender should use that!
Logged

Alanko

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1651
    • View Profile
Re: Hacking my P Bass into a P-rick.
« Reply #10 on: October 30, 2020, 02:19:50 PM »
Quote from: morrow on October 30, 2020, 06:01:18 AM
Nice , but there should be a big gaping hole around the bridge pickup .

Time to fire up the Forstner bits!


There is a certain oomph you get from a true neck pickup that you can't really fake with cunning EQ'ing, shelving etc.
Logged

Highlander

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12542
  • There Ken be only one...
    • View Profile
Re: Hacking my P Bass into a P-rick.
« Reply #11 on: October 30, 2020, 03:23:28 PM »
 :mrgreen:
Logged
The random mind of a Silver Surfer...
If research was easy, it wouldn't need doing...
Staring at that event horizon is a dirty job, but someone has to do it; something's going to come back out of it one day...

clankenstein

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 992
  • Never Gutless!
    • View Profile
Re: Hacking my P Bass into a P-rick.
« Reply #12 on: October 30, 2020, 07:47:49 PM »
Very Cool. Lots of useable tones on tap!
Logged
Louder bass!.

slinkp

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1363
    • View Profile
    • slinkp home page
Re: Hacking my P Bass into a P-rick.
« Reply #13 on: November 01, 2020, 09:47:21 AM »
Oh I like that. What are the settings on the different parts of the video? Sounds like the pickups combine pretty well!
Logged
Basses: Gibson lpb-1, Gibson dc jr tribute, Greco thunderbird, Danelectro dc, Ibanez blazer.  Amps: genz benz shuttle 6.0, EA CXL110, EA CXL112, Spark 40.  Guitars: Danelectro 59XT, rebuilt cheap LP copy

slinkp

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1363
    • View Profile
    • slinkp home page
Re: Hacking my P Bass into a P-rick.
« Reply #14 on: November 01, 2020, 09:50:04 AM »
Looks like you also changed the bridge. And bought a maple neck for it?
Logged
Basses: Gibson lpb-1, Gibson dc jr tribute, Greco thunderbird, Danelectro dc, Ibanez blazer.  Amps: genz benz shuttle 6.0, EA CXL110, EA CXL112, Spark 40.  Guitars: Danelectro 59XT, rebuilt cheap LP copy
Pages: [1] 2   Go Up
« previous next »