Love my Kingfisher bass but hate the pickups

[David Goldstein]

I hate the low volume output and noise from the pickups on my Kingfisher bass. Before I decide to sell the bass-which I love for other reasons-I want to switch them out.
Which pickups can I use to replace the PRS pickups?

 

[markd21]

Does that bass have an active preamp or EQ? I have always found that MM type pickups like having active electronics. I have has EBMM basses and have never gotten along with a passive version. Now, a two or three band EQ with some splitting options make for a BEAST of a bass. Even my current bass - a German Masterbuilt Warwick FNA Jazzman has an active 3 band EQ and a three way splitter for the MM pickup.

You can get after market active electronics from a lot of outlets - GFS offers stuff at a budget range - but I prefer going with EMG. Just swap to their MM sized pickups and an active electronics set that will suit your needs. A lot of times you can turn the electronics on and off if you still want passive output.

 

[Rodney Fritz]

Has anyone used Seymour Duncan SSB-4 pick-ups in the Kingfisher SE?
Will the STC-2P 2 band active pre-amp fit in the existing pot holes and cavity?

If not, any suggestions?

 

[alex1fly]

EMG's solderless pickups can be a good solution. However be aware that the solderless connectors can be VERY large and you may need to expand the hole for the wires to make it to the control cavity. Regular pickup leads should not have this problem.

Active preamps are a whole 'nuther beast. More control & fine-tuning, could be fussier, and the feel can be different. I'd treat this is a bigger project than a simple pickup swap.

Don't underestimate the power of amp settings, pickup height, and string choice. Bigger strings can be louder, right? Low output can be fixed by juicing the gain knob on the amp or boosting with a pedal.

But sometimes you just need a pup swap. I've had success with Duncans, Dimarzio, GFS, and Dragonfire. You'll want to match the dimensions of the Kingfisher's pickups to the dimensions of the ones you're ordering. Pay special attention to the CORNERS of the pickup - the dimensions can be identical but if the replacement pups' corners are more straight than the Kingfisher's rounded corners, they may not fit or you'll need to remove a bit of wood from the pickup cavities to get them to fit.

Also look at the locations of the screws that fasten the pickup - the Kingfisher looks to have 1 on each side, but many Musicman style pickups have 1 on one side and 2 on the other. Whether you mind drilling holes in your instrument is up to you.

I guess I'm also assuming the pickups in the Kingfisher match the dimensions of your standard Musicman style pickup. They look the same with the big double row of polepieces, but again measure things to be sure.

 

[Rodney Fritz]

Thanks for the response. Very helpful.

I'm going with the Seymour Duncan SSB-4 pick-ups. I think I'm going to leave it passive for now. I have more than enough gain through my rig; I'm just looking for a different sound with more versatility. I really want more bottom end.

Will these be a good fit? Will any modifications be required?

I have loved the look of this bass from the moment I first laid eyes on it. I don't want to touch it anymore than necessary.

Thanks again!

 

[alex1fly]

Check the dimensions of the pickups against your own setup. Here's the pickup dimensions: https://www.seymourduncan.com/images/dimensions/SSB-4.jpg

I can't find measurements of the SE pickups to verify.

If you buy 'em from Seymour Duncan directly, you get a 21 day window to exchange for a different set if they don't fit or aren't to your liking: https://www.seymourduncan.com/single-product/passive-soapbar-4-string

I maintain that you may need to sand the corners of your pickup cavity. Maybe not. I did when swapping out soapbars on one of my basses. Just a few millimeters to get the pups to fit.

 

[Rodney Fritz]

I appreciate it. I will let you know in about a week.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Rodney Fritz]

I have an outside the box question. If the soapbox pickup has a plastic cover and I only need 1 or 2 mm, can't I juts file down the bottom edges of this pick-up cover?
I REALLY don't want to cut the bass at all. I would much rather take my chances modifying the pick up covers.

Do the pick-up covers come off? What does the pick up look like without the cover?

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Depending on what the covers are made from, you may be able to adhere a piece of sandpaper onto a flat surface and remove the unwanted material.

Have you removed the pickup from the guitar ?

The reason I ask, is that depending on what is being used to level the pickup, you may be able to make other adjustments.

 

[Rodney Fritz]

I put my SSB-4 pick-ups in today. Piece of cake. Fit like Cinderella's foot in the glass slipper. Didn't have to touch the body.

They sound SOOOO good. Beefy bottom, slightly scooped mids, bright treble without being tinny. The tone knob has much more effect.

However, the new pick-ups exposed the pots to be terrible. Also, I had to stretch the springs under the pick ups to get them to be long enough to properly position the pick up. I'm taking it into the shop tomorrow to get the best new wiring, pots, and jack possible. No weak links in the chain. I want to install foam under the pickups to make them set up nice and firm and even. Then she will be perfect.

It is so easy to play, it's like buttered lighting! Now I have a bass I can really be proud to own. Smoking!!!

 

[rbrown1969]

Nordstrand Big Splits!

I love my Kingfisher. The stock pickups sound great when practicing at home (although not a lot of sonic variation from neck to bridge) and they look fantastic. However, when playing on stage they are a problem. They are very low output which is an issue if you are plugging directly into a PA system. Worse, they are extremely noisy around electronically-controlled lights.

I went for the Nordstrand Big Splits. They fit perfectly and it only took about 15 minutes to do the swap. I also added some extra foam under each pickup to firm them up a bit.

Wow - this is now the perfect bass. Since they are split coil, using just the next results in a true vintage P-Bass sound. Using both results in a modern J-bass sound. I couldn't believe the difference. When playing at home through a Fender Rumble on clean (not load), my wall pictures started shaking. It was tough forking out the $$$ for these, but I guess sometimes you get what you pay for. They also look great with their offset pole pieces. I couldn't be happier. This is now the perfect passive bass.

 

[Rodney Fritz]

Nordstrand Big Splits!

I love my Kingfisher. The stock pickups sound great when practicing at home (although not a lot of sonic variation from neck to bridge) and they look fantastic. However, when playing on stage they are a problem. They are very low output which is an issue if you are plugging directly into a PA system. Worse, they are extremely noisy around electronically-controlled lights.

I went for the Nordstrand Big Splits. They fit perfectly and it only took about 15 minutes to do the swap. I also added some extra foam under each pickup to firm them up a bit.

Wow - this is now the perfect bass. Since they are split coil, using just the next results in a true vintage P-Bass sound. Using both results in a modern J-bass sound. I couldn't believe the difference. When playing at home through a Fender Rumble on clean (not load), my wall pictures started shaking. It was tough forking out the $$$ for these, but I guess sometimes you get what you pay for. They also look great with their offset pole pieces. I couldn't be happier. This is now the perfect passive bass.

Sounds like you make a great choice. I agree this is one of the sweetest bass guitars I have ever strapped across my shoulders. It just needs the pick ups to live up to the potential of the rest of the instrument. Awesome!

 

[Jamook#4]

I have to agree with the comments about the feel and playability of the Kingfisher. I have a good selection of basses to choose from and from the moment I began playing this bass I fell in love with it and haven't played any of my other basses for weeks now.

The one thing I would say about the pickups is that I absolutely love their sound. I'll get to the RF noise in a moment but the reason I think most people who say they dont like the sound of the pickups is due to the fact that they do not and are not made for a traditional Fender P type sound....... at all. They are a very modern sounding punchy and produced sound. This is a sound I've been after for years.
I've got basses with both the Seymour Duncan SS-4 and the EMG HZ soapbars DC and CS. These range across Schecter, Dean and two Custom basses. I've also got a Sire Marcus Miller V7 and a 74 Fender Jazz with EMGX's in it. All of these basses have a fairly modern sound but none of them are as clean detailed and punchy as the Kingfisher. I'm about to copper shield the pup cavities and wiring cavity in the hope I can sort out the hum/buzz problem. Really not sure why a twin coil pickup should hum at all but I really want to sort this problem without altering the current sound of the pickups.

 

[RPJ2112]

I replaced my pickups with
EMG Tom Araya Signature Active 4 String Bass Guitar Pickup Set
35DC paired with the 35J - Humbucker in the neck and a jazz in in bridge. Two 9 volt batteries.

It was a SIMPLE Pickup swap. Nothing had to be altered and everything fit perfect. These are solderless UNLESS you use two batteries (which you don't have to). If you use two batteries your going to want to solder the wires you add in and heat shrink wrap them. I have zero connection issues after 2 years and the Lithium Ion batteries last forever. The system has a VERY low electrical draw on the batteries. You can also just swap out EMG pickups real easy for different configurations. also considering they are just snap together connections. I'll give you an example......... I bought my set new for 180.00 USD i believe. A year later I found a set on Reverb for 100.00 so I bought them. The original sets have a 35DC paired with the 35J ( Humbucker and a Jazz single coil). Now I can make my bass 2 Humbuckers or 2 Jazz pickups in about 5 minutes time --- 4 screws, unplug the pickup, replace, screw in, time to rock.... 5 minutes max. Pretty cool. I like active pickups. My setup is VVT (volume volume tone) I did not add on onboard EQ ..... yet. If I do it is simple as snapping it in. Highly recommended and the pickups sound just amazing.