Bartolini Sound Comparison: MK6CBC vs MK62J?

juggahnaught

juggahnaught

Feb 11, 2018
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#1
Quick overview - Ibanez SR506 player, upgraded preamp to OBP-3. Considering new pickups - I want to stick with Bartolini. (I have a 4-string with Nordstrands; I know they sound good. Sticking with Barts for this.)

Bartolini makes the MK6CBC and the MK62J in six-string soapbar formats. I understand that the CBC is a modern tone and I'm considering those, as they'd be a good match. However, I'm thinking about the MK62J in the bridge position (I could wire it now or later for coil-tapping) for a wider variety of tones.

A forum search didn't turn up anything, and I haven't found much online or on Bartolini's site. My specific question - does anyone know of a good sound comparison between the two pickups? Alternatively, has anyone used both? How would you describe the difference?

Thank you!
 
#3
I've had a pair of MK6CBC for quite some times (like 3~4 years) and also a pair of MK5CBC on another bass (two years after I got the MK6), so I'm quite familiar with them. But I've never used the MK62J, so I have no idea how it would sound.

I used both CBC pairs with coil selection feature enabled. I kinda like them more in their single coil mode (both outer coils only) compared to their full humbuncking mode, as the former gives clearer and more pronounced voicing than the latter. But they have the classical single coil hum problem when the neck & bridge coils aren't used in equal volumes.

And actually I've been thinking of getting the 2J Squared pickups too for my other bass, cause they can be used with coil selectors while still maintaining their in-line split coils humbucking capability. So, there shouldn't be any humming problem when using each of the 2J pickup in single coil with different volumes.
 
#4
Aidil said:
I've had a pair of MK6CBC for quite some times (like 3~4 years) and also a pair of MK5CBC on another bass (two years after I got the MK6), so I'm quite familiar with them. But I've never used the MK62J, so I have no idea how it would sound.

I used both CBC pairs with coil selection feature enabled. I kinda like them more in their single coil mode (both outer coils only) compared to their full humbuncking mode, as the former gives clearer and more pronounced voicing than the latter. But they have the classical single coil hum problem when the neck & bridge coils aren't used in equal volumes.

And actually I've been thinking of getting the 2J Squared pickups too for my other bass, cause they can be used with coil selectors while still maintaining their in-line split coils humbucking capability. So, there shouldn't be any humming problem when using each of the 2J pickup in single coil with different volumes.
Click to expand...

Hey, thanks for your reply! Do you think that the MK6CBC is an improvement over the MK1s? I understand that they're pretty clear, and I'd like to keep a fairly clear tone for this bass. (The MK1s aren't bad - they're fairly flat to my ears, but that means that they're a bit midrangey and bitey, and not super bassy like a Jazz. They work well with rounds, but are maybe a tad harsh.)

If you get the 2JS, let me know! I'd love to get a comparison. I'm not sure if mixing and matching pickups is the best option.
 
#5
Nope... they just have different voicing. Just like on my fretless Ibanez which came with the MK1 pairs, these fit very well. That I swapped them with the MK5CBC, turned out the sound became to muddy. I need to put the stock MK1s back in. So, each pair will fit the extent of a certain usage but might not fit other kinds of usage.
 
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