Mmmmm, Mosrite Bass vs. Fender P-Bass.

[Brian]

So, I love the look, feel, and playability of my Mosrite bass. . . nothing comes close to how amazing it looks, how light it is, and how easy it is to play. . . but I prefer the sound of my Fender P-Bass.

What can I do in the pickup department on my Mosrite bass (single pickup model) to get it closer to the sound of a P-Bass? Are there any pickups that are a direct replacement?

I know nothing about pickups, winding, etc. . . I just pick the thing up and play it.

[Bob Shade]

There are reasons beyond the pickups that the Fender sounds like it does and the Mosrite sounds like a Mosrite. The body woods are completely different and the scale length as well as the hardware. We could build you a pickup with alnico rods in it to replicate a Fender pickup design, but that is not all there is to it and you may not be completely happy with the results. The placement of the pickups also come into play. In other words, putting a tele pickup in a Les Paul is not going to give you a Tele sound. It will make it sound different, but not just like a Tele.

The original 66 Swept-Wing pickups used alnico rods in a P90 style cover. (Joe Hall got a call visit from Leo Fender telling Joe Fender would sue Hallmark if they continued to offer his pickup design, so Joe changed to another pickup design in 67). These Hallmark rod style pickups do not make the Swept-Wing sound like a Fender. It has to do with the Swept-Wing not being made from the same materials.

We are going to be releasing the H60C basses soon and these will have an alder body, a slightly longer scale, body binding etc. but will have the look and feel of the H60C. These will have better tone than some of the old basses.

My theory is having a variety is the spice of life, why not enjoy each for what it is? If you would like replacement pickups for the Mosrite in the Fender style give us a call or e-mail. We can certainly make them for you.

Bass regards, Bob

240-473-1157

[Mr. Bill]

Whenever someone tells me that they want to change something on their guitar because they "don't like the sound", I ask them to try and describe exactly what it is that they don't like. Is it a hum or noise? Is it the tone of the output? Is it clarity? Is it muddiness? I know that this is a difficult thing to put into words sometimes, but it can often lead you to a solution that is both simple and practical.

As Bob posted, there are many factors that contribute to the sound of an instrument, construction materials, construction methods, scale length, string gauge, etc. I'm sure that some of the builders here can better explain this. Some of these factors can be worked around and some can't. For example the Mosrite usually has a single coil pickup while the P-Bass is a humbucking design. A pickup can easily be changed, but whether or not it will give the desired results depends upon what change you were looking to make.

In my opinion, a short scale instrument will never have the low end that a longer scaled instrument will have. That doesn't mean that a short scale instrument can't sound huge, it just means that it can't produce the same fundamental frequencies that a longer scale instrument can.

Modern amps and outboard devices can do amazing things regarding tone control. In many instances selective boosting and cutting can tailor the sound of an instrument to better suit the player's needs.

Jim Rodford played bass in a number of bands through the years Argent, Kinks, Zombies, and for a lot of that time he played a Fender Mustang Bass. I've seen him perform live and was impressed with the sound that he got using that simple short scale instrument.

[Brian]

You guys are right, the wood, the hardware, etc. . but I'd like to get it sounding close to that of a p-bass, without destroying the integrity of the original instrument, so I thought that replacing the pickup, while not getting me all the way there, would at least get me a step closer, without doing anything drastic.

The p-bass sounds warm and full, while the mosrite bass sounds muddy (that's my best description, not sure if it makes any sense).

[Brinkman]

Brian - do you have a price range?

You got lots of good advice above, though honestly it looks like the Eastwood Hi-Flyer bass is affordable and describes the longest bass-scale neck you can find on a mosrite-shaped body at present.

There's guys on this forum who are probably able to fit a "staggered split coil" humbucking bass pickup within a footprint the size of an Eastwood P-90 bass pickup. It just won't have the exact dimensions or look of your average P-Bass style pickup, but it would be designed to function similarily without any woodworking.

[Nokie]

You guys are right, the wood, the hardware, etc. . but I'd like to get it sounding close to that of a p-bass, without destroying the integrity of the original instrument, so I thought that replacing the pickup, while not getting me all the way there, would at least get me a step closer, without doing anything drastic.

The p-bass sounds warm and full, while the mosrite bass sounds muddy (that's my best description, not sure if it makes any sense).

That does make sense. Of the factors mentioned by the previous contributors, scale length is of particular significance. The longer scale length of the Fender actually gives it a brighter tone than a shorter scale bass. It also adds to the fullness of the sound by lengthening sustain. The brightness of the longer scale makes it less muddy. IMHO, pickups aren't gonna get you where you wanna go.
-Marty

[Brian]

pickups aren't gonna get you where you wanna go.
-Marty

Not even a little? On my Fender bass the strings go through the body, I'm sure that's got a lot to do with the sound as well. Ugh, I love the look and feel of the Mosrite bass, but the sound leaves much to be desired.

[Mr. Bill]

Starting with the simplest things, what strings are you using on the Mosrite bass? Have you tried other types and gauges?

[JimPage]

I had the same thoughts that Mr. Bill did about your strings. I'd suggest a light-gauge set of flat-wound LaBellas. Musician's Friend and JustStrings.com carry them, I believe.

The light gauge would be to offset the shorter scale length and the flat wounds would replicate that Precision-bass deep but articulate thunk.

Worth a try.

--Jim

[rcblair]

pickups aren't gonna get you where you wanna go.
-Marty

Not even a little? On my Fender bass the strings go through the body, I'm sure that's got a lot to do with the sound as well. Ugh, I love the look and feel of the Mosrite bass, but the sound leaves much to be desired.

If you think about it a bit, the vibrating string terminates at the bridge saddle. The length of string between the bridge saddle and the tailpiece (whatever it may be) is so short that there shouldn't be much contribution to the sound of the instrument from that piece of string.

My single-pickup bass has a suprising amount of high end response. I wouldn't be suprised it there was a variation in pickup construction over the years at Mosrite.

Rick B.