Those who have changed PUPs and pre-amp ... was the change noticeable?

[mikewalker]

I'm up for throwing away the preamp, to get rid of HISS (even one decibel of extra hiss bugs the heck out of me - and sadly I cannot currently afford to install Rupert Neve preamps in my basses...). Going to uninstall a preamp in the very near future, actually.

As for pup swaps - I have one coming up: "Duncan quarterpounder P/J" vs. "Duncan P + Bartolini humbucker J" vs. Bartolini P/J" vs. "EMG active P/J"... As soon as I can clear enough space here in my micro-home for recording and soldering, I'm going to make a hi-fi A/B/C/D comparison video and publish it

 

[Frenchy-Lefty]

All basses always sound exactly the same regardless of what you do ; )

 

[rufus.K]

Super useful thread.

 

[DavC]

YES ... got some homework to do ... like; what fits ..? can i get the tone i'm after with what fits..??

preamp ... again , homework ... what pre has the sound and features wanted ..?!!

that's why i said YES ... 8 out of 10 times , my swaps have been a very good noticeable upgrade ..!

i get more from reading stuff at various manufacture websites than i do with video demos of someone wanking away ..!

 

[MobileHolmes]

Yes, If the changed components are different enough. Some changes are going to be subtle. Some are huge

 

[MordBass]

Depends on what youre replacing... but yea.. pretty much always been an improvement when Ive done it for guitars or basses

 

[MordBass]

If the pickups in your Ibanez are actual "USA" Bartolinis, you might be satisfied by making only a pre-amp swap from the Ibby pre to something like a Bartolini NTMB three band preamp. Heck, even if they are the "designed by" Bartolinis you might find the preamp alone to be the change you're looking for. I find that Ibanez preamps sound pretty good though.

After owning like 6 soundgears.... yes. The weak link is that ibanez preamp.. the usa barts and even the cheaper barts are good pickups

 

[brett adams]

i've changed the pickups in most of my instruments. usually because there's a particular sound i'm after and i know i can get that with a specific pickup or set of pickups. sometimes i go for lower output to get a more vintage sound. other times i want a humbucker or noise cancelling pickup instead of the noisy single coil that came stock. other times i want something with more beef. if you're not getting the sound you want and it can't easily be achieved with an eq or preamp pedal or with the knobs on the amp, i say do it. change the pickups.

 

[yaksonator]

I changed the pickups in my reissue antiqua pbass. They came with stock fender pickups, I put lindy fralin 5% overwound pickups in and the difference was huge. More defined and clear with less clank. Heftier in the low mids. I didn't need a preamp.

 

[el_Bajo_Verde]

In what way do you find your current set to be restricted?

In my experience, I notice a huge difference when changing pickups. If I keep the pickups the same amd change the preamp, I don't notice a difference before and after.

 

[Blaze Barlow]

Considering gutting my bass and upgrading pick ups and preamp. I have an Ibby with the Bartolini BH-2 pups and Ibby active pre-amp. Sounds pretty good, modern ... but restricted.

Not asking what do I replace them with but rather did you notice a big enough change in tone and presence to warrant the expenditure?

Let me know...

well..I have never been a fan of Ibanez bass guitars..I changed out the pickups in an american fender jazz bass 1999 year model..the american models of that year had the classic wound pickups..and sounded really nice to me..the copper windings on the pickups were small diameter wire..I replaced with seymour duncan quarter pounders..and the overall tone was a definate improvement all across the spectrum..first of all..the copper wire used in the windings was a larger diameter wire than the original pickups I had..usually..larger diameter wire gives a warmer..larger low end response..without loss at the mids and highs..also..there were more copper windings in the SD pickup than in the original F pickup..so more copper strengthens the signal..one of the other significant differences was that the seymours had 1/4 inch diameter magnet pole pieces..while the fender pickup pole magnets were only 1/8 inch diameter..so..more copper around larger magnets is definately an improvement in sound..didnt add a preamp..staying all passive on this one..if you want to add an onboard pre..I would suggest the audere Z mode (4 band EQ)..the SD pickups were around $120 / pair...the audere pre will cost you about $160..

 

[avvie]

It depends. I generally don't switch pickups out (no reason) but I can tell a difference between Ibby, Bassmods and Audere preamps, with Aidere being my fave by far. Ibbys boost frequency but lack clarity and focus; Bassmods just feels cheap and flimsy and difficult to install. YMMV, my opinions are mine alone.

 

[Lowendtech]

The most common answer here seems to be

It Depends

Sorry, Now I've done it.....

 

[2tonic]

View attachment 2947960 It made a huge difference to me ......

Did you install the Q filter with those?
Regardless, how would you describe the sound?

 

[Jack Butler]

You’re probably getting annoyed with people saying it depends! However when there’s no info on what you will replace it with or what your goal is, it’s impossible to know if it’s “worth it”.
I have a Toyota Camry, if I sell it and get another car, will I like that one better? Better enough to justify the additional cost? Obviously not enough info to answer the question.

 

[carsbybigd]

Did you install the Q filter with those?
Regardless, how would you describe the sound?

No , just the volume & tone and Alembics closed system jack. It does have a nice adjustment dial along with the Alembiceasy connects . Tone wise , well I have Chrome flats on it , so everything from your classic Motown p sound with the tone rolled off to ( believe it ) the classic Ric sound with it wide open . I used to own a 4001 , and this is really close . And if you slap and pop, you would be hard pressed to believe you have flats on it !

If you have Facebook and you go to a group called “The Sound of My Alembic” I put up a live video ( I am not tech savvy or a show off bassist ) of my crappy playing , but it was more about the sound than anything else . If I could figure out how to copy /paste it I would post it here but alas I’m not that smart !

 

[carsbybigd]

I had a MIM Jazz when I first got back into playing and put an Auduere pre in it . It sounded great , better than the stock Fender set up ( didn’t change the pups )

 

[Aidil]

Nope ... just asking a generic question and hoping for feedback if the modifications are worth it.

I'm with the other which answer "depend" on the noticeable question...

Now on the worth considering the modifications, my take is... you also need to consider whether it's going to be one-way or reversible mod. Because similar size replacement pickups might or might not be available. If available, the change will most likely be reversible. But if not, then either the change would be one-way or it will take additional cost (money or time) to make similar dimension replacement pickups.

More on the this... because you've mentioned Ibby bass with BH2 pickups, which are the latest ones from Bill Bartolini and Ibanez collaboration, which dimensions are varied according to string numbers, which up to now similar size replacement isn't available yet except the 5 string version of BH2 that can be replaced by any of MK (or maybe also P2) size pickups.

 

[Dominic Heynderickx]

I did notice a significant change when I replaced a full EMG pickup and pre amp set with Wilkinson pickups coupled to a Noll 2 band pre amp.

The change took away the edge and overpowering EMG sound and I got a nice smooth and balanced sound in return that was much more versatile when compared to the EMGs.

 

[honeyiscool]

Pickups, you notice most when you change in spec. Like if you go from a single coil to a split coil. Or you go from ceramic to alnico. Or low output to high output. Or active to passive.

When you make a change to a different pickup with similar output and specs but supposedly of higher quality, that can often be so subtle that it’s not worth it.

Say you have tonal requirements that your current pickups weren’t designed to meet. Then you change your pickups to those that have your preferences. Then you’ll be happy. But say that you like vintage style P pickups and your current pickups are vintage style P pickups with the right output and alnico magnets, but you just get seduced into thinking that a boutique hand wound vintage style P pickup will transform your bass into something much more wonderful. Yeah, then you shouldn’t be surprised if you can’t tell the difference. You might be able to, but you also might not.

But I think usually people are pretty happy with pickup changes because stock pickups are designed to appeal to the masses and meet a certain price point, and then individual players agonize over what to install before they purchase aftermarket pickups, so chances are good that the pickups are closer to the desired specs.

Preamps, too, are a bit like that. Spec changes are noticeable. If you have a preamp which is designed to be neutral and have unity gain at noon with a certain amount of headroom, and you buy another preamp that is kind of the same in that regard, I wouldn't expect it to blow your mind. But if you change a preamp that has no headroom to another one that has tons, you'll notice the difference. If you change a preamp that inserts gobs of gain to another one that is unity gain, of course, you'll notice. If you change a preamp that is designed to be neutral to one that is designed to put a little character on your tone, you'll notice. If you change a preamp to another one that has a fundamentally different idea of how to adjust your tone, then you'll notice.

But like, if you swapped a bass with an EMG BTS to a Nordstrand 2B, which are both relatively neutral sounding, clean, 2-band EQs with relatively normal choices for EQ changes, I doubt I'd notice the difference until I looked under the hood.