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

#41
tercesyrev said:
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...
Click to expand...
I have and it makes a huge difference, especially if you do your homework and install PUPs and a pre with voicing to your liking.

On a side note. It sounds like you have a BTB with the BH-2 and Ibby pre. I have and have had a couple of the Premium IBbys with the Nordstrand Big Singles and ibby Pre. IMO the Ibby pre makes them sound modern, but very electrinic, not very warm or organic at all. I’d say if you want a change start with the Pre and go from there.
 
#42
Geri O said:
With a few Jazz pickup changes, yes, the difference was notable and what I was looking for...

A 2000 MIM Jazz 5 that I made fretless - went from stock single-coils to Nord humcanceling models. Big difference. Made the bridge pup usable for that you-know-who sound.

A 2014 AM STD Jazz 5 and an American Elite - changed our pups in both basses to Nord vintage single-coil 70s wind and Nord preamps. Definitely an appreciable difference. Not big, but appreciable.

Mike Lull P5. Changed pup from the custom SD pups to the Nord (see a pattern here?) NP5 Vintage pups. This has been the most noticeable pup change I’ve ever experienced. The SD was nice and polite, knew its place in the mix. I wanted grindy hi-mid Precision growl. And boy, I have it now. Not only is the tone what I’m looking for, but the B string sounds way better and like a Pbass B string should. Also, the high notes still sound like the P bass, too. For my tastes, in Precision bass tones, it’s a serious improvement.

So as always and like it or not....

It depends.....

Sorry.
Click to expand...

I've been thinking about swapping out the stock custom 60s in my Fender for some Nords. Any thoughts?
 
#43
I replaced the preamp ,pickups and tuners on my Marcus Miller Fender MIJ.. Put in a John East preamp...An original '77 Fender Neck pickup and Fender Super 55 Split Coil in the Bridge position..Got rid of the reverse tuners and put on some nice Schallers. Took it to the next level and then some..
20180304_195045.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: carsbybigd and Geri O
#44
jmattbassplaya said:
I've been thinking about swapping out the stock custom 60s in my Fender for some Nords. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I’m a big fan of all things Nordstrand, but I’ve never had a Fender with those custom 60s, so I can’t really offer anything on that particular swap.

And I’ve heard good things about the custom 60s pups on here and other bass discussion sites.

Hopefully someone else has had experience with that swap and will offer some ideas.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jmattbassplaya
#45
Geri O said:
I’m a big fan of all things Nordstrand, but I’ve never had a Fender with those custom 60s, so I can’t really offer anything on that particular swap.

And I’ve heard good things about the custom 60s pups on here and other bass discussion sites.

Hopefully someone else has had experience with that swap and will offer some ideas.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the response!

The C60s are sweet, but I do find them to be a hair too friendly sounding. Would definitely prefer something with a bit more punch, balls, and growl.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Geri O
#48
Richard Cranium said:
Sounds to me like a lot of people are just concerned about the brand name on their pickups. I mean, why would you spend thousands of dollars on a bass and immediately replace the pickups at added cost otherwise? Just my thought.
Click to expand...
Not all of us are like that. For many It’s nice to have the bass grow with you over time. Some mods are just basic maintenance also. If you play the hell out of any bass for a decade and get covered in sweat at gigs constantly you’ll eventually have to replace the electronics. Lot of the 50 year old basses you hear about that have all original parts haven’t been played. Most of them were forgotten in a closet or attic for decades.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MoeTown1986, Geri O and Richard Cranium
#49
I changed the Nordstrand Big Singles and Ibby preamp on my SR1206e for Aguilar DCBs and OBP-3 and the change is VERY noticeable. I changed the pre out first and that was a big change in fidelity, then the pickups which was an obvious change in sound going from single coils to dual coils.

If you're not sure about what to do, change out the preamp. The Ibanez pre is the weakest component, and, from my experience with quite a few Ibanez basses, changing it will almost always improve the sound quality enough to make the pickups work for you.
 
#51
Richard Cranium said:
Sounds to me like a lot of people are just concerned about the brand name on their pickups. I mean, why would you spend thousands of dollars on a bass and immediately replace the pickups at added cost otherwise? Just my thought.
Click to expand...

If you are referring to me, that’s okay. I’m not going to defend my choice of an alternative pickup or preamp in a bass, new or otherwise.

The Mike Lulls play wonderfully. I’ve said before that my M5V Jazz is perfect the way it came, I have no desire to change anything about it (yet, and if that changes, so what?). The P5 plays wonderfully and feels awesome. But came with a more-mellow P pup than I like. Hence the change to the Nord I spoke about earlier.

Sorry if that rubs you the wrong way. But we all like what we like, right.
 
  • Like
Reactions: carsbybigd and mark beem
#53
The deluxe jazz left has SD SJ5 pickups and an Audere 4 band pro jz6 preamp. The deluxe jazz in the middle has Aguilar J60's and an Audere 4 band with tone preamp. The standard jazz on the right has been routed and fitted with Aguilar PJ's and an Audere 4 band pro jz3 preamp. These are my 3 main basses for my cover band and are the most versatile (we cover almost all genres) instruments I've ever owned. They sound much better than the stock fender preamps (deluxes only) and pickups that were in them.
3 amigas.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: mark beem
#54
tercesyrev said:
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...
Click to expand...
100%....changed out Schecter stuff and put in Seymour Duncan PUPs and an Aguilar OPB-1. Oh yes, a great change.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zoobiedood
#57
Any time I have changed pickups on bass or guitar it was definitely noticeable. Better/worse? Well, that's in the er, ear of the beholder.

One thing I wish I had done in the past: do a recording of pickup set A before doing the swap, then do a recording of pickup set B after the swap, using the same exact setup, so I could compare afterwards and know the differences for sure.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MoeTown1986
#59
I replaced the bridge pickup in my Precision Bass with a Dimarzio Area J. Huge difference. I had a Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass pickup in there before.

I replaced the neck pickup with a Seymour Duncan SPB-1. Not much of a difference at all. I had to make a recording and listen to it a bunch before I might have noticed a difference (honestly it was probably just my mind trying to justify the purchase). I had a Squier Classic Vibe Precision Bass pickup in there before.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back