I know there's a million of these threads already, but I can't find an answer to my question yet.

I need help picking out a musicman pickup for my olp mm2 bass. I also own a fender mim jazz bass and I'm looking to get a sound out of the musicman bass that is different than what I can get out of my jazz bass. I think it makes sense for my two basses to sound different. As of right now the olp just sounds "cheap" to me. I don't know how to explain it. Plus the poles pieces sticking out is a pain when I slap.

I have quarter pounders installed on my jazz and it has a series/parallel push/pull pot installed so I can get a wide range of tones and sounds from my jazz.

In series, my jazz has a lot of oomph to it with some growl. This is my favorite setting. If I want some more growl I can always put it to parallel and roll off the neck or bridge pickups depending on what I want. I was thinking of going with a musicman pickup that is really low end and kind of muted, but I thought I could just roll off the tone on my jazz and it would sound about the same.

So my question is, can I get a sound from a passive musicman that I can't get out of my jazz? Unplugged my jazz is much brighter than my olp, so I was thinking that would be a start towards developing individual sounds. The olp sounds more mellow and sounds a bit twangy (I'm not too fond of the twangy sound). Any advice or tips? Sorry about the long read, and thanks for any help.

FWIW:

Flats alone may get you what you want with the existing pup. Won't be no ring with those and tone will be on the muted side.

I'd think about installing an active preamp before I swapped out the pickup. That is the key...

As far as the exposed pole pieces, where are you slapping that they get in the way? I slap at the neck, and the pickup is next to the bridge, so it really couldn't be farther away!

If it's really a problem, Bartolini and EMG make a smooth pickup. I don't think either one will get you that classic MM tone though...

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll check into buying some flats, I'd save a lot of money that way. As for the preamp, I'm strictly as passive kind of guy. I know it's kind of stupid, but I just don't want to have to deal with a battery and stuff. I slap flea style and I really go at it. I've broken three strings by slapping so you can imagine that I'm getting some clacking from the pickup. I put some clear nail polish and five layers of electrical tape over it to solve the problem, but the tape get's really annoying when i play.

As for the whole smooth pickups thing, I was thinking a mellow tone with some growl kind of like flea's sound, but I don't want to end up like all the other people trying to sound like flea. I'm just thinking that if I tried to go with a classic stingray sound with a passive pickup then I would just end up getting something too similar to my jazz. So as of now I guess a mellow "flea" tone is the only thing I can do... Such a dilemma. Thanks for the help guys, and I'm all ears for any more advice.

Bart MMC...

http://www.box.net/shared/static/3qgrtjua7r.wav

Bart MMC...

http://www.box.net/shared/static/3qgrtjua7r.wav


I literally went :eek: when I heard that. I think that is the exact sound I'm looking for. Thank you so much for that recommendation and sound clip.

FWIW:

I assume you got the PM I sent. In recall those pups sounded alike (or splitting hairs) and both are in FAQ in Dimento's MM experiment.

Some pickups here made like the original MM pickups:

http://www.nordstrandpickups.com/bass-pickups/modern/modern.html

I literally went :eek: when I heard that. I think that is the exact sound I'm looking for. Thank you so much for that recommendation and sound clip.

I love the MMC. That clip was actually made with the pup hooked to the output jack, before I installed any onboard EQ. So what you hear is unadultraited Bart. :D

Yeah, now I'm almost 100% sure I'll go with the MMC. Luknfur, I just noticed the pm, thanks. Ah, thanks so much guys.

Yeah, now I'm almost 100% sure I'll go with the MMC. Luknfur, I just noticed the pm, thanks. Ah, thanks so much guys.

FYI, Bart makes several MM replacements. Some descriptions from their website:

MMC - bright, smooth humbucker - strong lows and low mids

MMK - brighter humbucker - treble enhanced version of the MMC

MMX - brightest, but not harsh, humbucker - more treble and bass than the MMK

MME - bright, smooth triple coil design

MMEX - brightest, treble enhanced version of the MME

Here's a soundclip of the Bart with EMG BTC Control electronics to bring out the bottom a bit more. -
http://www.box.net/shared/static/8zuqldzepz.mp3

Maybe you can have the existing pickup rewound to achieve the tone you want. Lindy Fralin is known for vintage fender tones, you may want to see if they would/ could do this for you.

http://www.fralinpickups.com/

Wow that's a lot of advice. Thanks for all the help guys, I really appreciate it. As of right now the MMC is for me. Every time I listen to that sound clip I go crazy. But first I need to replace the cracked nut on my olp though. Does anyone know of a good site that sells pre-threaded stingray nuts?

I just picked myself up a MME on ebay for $60 Australian. Bargin! it's going straight in my olp too.

Sweet, are you replacing any pots with your new pickup? I was thinking of Installing one 500K pot and an on/on toggle switch for a parallel/series, volume, tone set up.

I just picked myself up a MME on ebay for $60 Australian. Bargin! it's going straight in my olp too.

That's the pup I emailed boonerstreet about.

In the price list on the Bart site the MMC and MME are listed as deep tone dual coil and deep tone triple coil respectively. I had them both and that was the difference I recalled. Tons of wire options with the MME, too many actually.

What's going on with Aussie shipping anyway? Ten pounds to UK and $180 usa "cheap air." What's up with that? You can mail global to Austrailia from here for $5 and get it there in a week max. I emailed a guy about some piccolo bass strings in Austrialia and he wanted more for shipping alone than you could buy the strings for here. He'd mail them anywhere in Austrialia for $25 au. I guess so. What are they sticking it in some Kangaroo pouch to bounce off into the sunset never to be seen again then collecting insurance? :D

Yeah, the MME sounds cool, but the wiring may be too complicated for me. I was thinking of just doing a simple job. I still need to find a darn nut...:scowl:

Yeah, the MME sounds cool, but the wiring may be too complicated for me. I was thinking of just doing a simple job. I still need to find a darn nut...:scowl:

FWIW:

the MME you can wire like the MMC (which in recall stock is hot and ground but I'm guessing it could be wired each coil depending on the solder points Bart has on it - which I don't remember either) or as complicated as you want. At any rate, I hadn't noticed the shipping comment which may not have been there when I first looked anyway. He said $130 not $180 but what's $50 on a pup shipping price like that. You could have the pup shipped from bestbassgear new for less than his shipping.

The typical parts places have nuts: stewmac, guitarelectronics, allparts, etc. You just need one to fit the width (or wider if a blank). There is no standard per se' cause different string gauges and player height preferences changes what the nut "should" be. Probably most guys including myself don't mess with it unless there's an issue with a string change.

try a TUSQ nut by Ghraph Tech. Great tone and they don"t chip easily like bone.

www.graphtech.com

If it weren't for the exposed pole pieces, I would say that you should skip the rest and go with Nordstrand. The Bartolini sounds fantastic though (my point of reference is an MMC in a previous bass) and it has no exposed pole pieces.

If the wiring seems difficult, find a shop who will do it for you. Most of them will either do it onsite or know a place which will do it.

If it weren't for the exposed pole pieces, I would say that you should skip the rest and go with Nordstrand. The Bartolini sounds fantastic though (my point of reference is an MMC in a previous bass) and it has no exposed pole pieces.

If the wiring seems difficult, find a shop who will do it for you. Most of them will either do it onsite or know a place which will do it.


Bartolini also has wiring diagrams online. I used them to wire mine with a series parallel switch. Straight forward if you are handy with a soldering gun.
link for some suggested wiring schemes:

http://www.bartolini.net/instructions/pickups/passive/switching/Switch_Wiring_DualCoil_Pickups4_cond.pdf

Wow. Internet at my house was down for a day and I come back and you guys added so much information. Man I can't thank you enough. I'll look into every thing you guys have mentioned. Thanks again.

One last question. Stock, the olp is wired like a jazz bass so all the pots are 250K. I was planning on buying a 500K volume pot when I rewire it. Do I need a 500K tone pot, or will the stock 250K tone pot work?

I hate to keep bringing this up, but I could really use an answer to my pot question above. Then the thread can go away forever, I promise.