Nordstrand vs. Bartolini pick ups

dladd06 · #1 12-04-2011, 10:13 PM

I am a current owner of a SKB six string roscoe with swamp ash body and birds eye maple fret board with audere pre amp. I thought about sending my bass back to Roscoe in order to swap out the Bartolini pu's for the Nordstrand. I am looking for a punchier /edgier sound. Will this help me to accomplish this. Anyone with any experience in this please help. Thanks

DGbass70 · #2 12-05-2011, 04:07 AM

I tried a custom bass not long ago that had an Aggie pre and Nordtrands and the sound was amazing.Very clear,nice bass,good sound overall.It actually made me re-think about what to do with my LG3005 for pick ups.

JOME77 · #3 12-05-2011, 04:56 AM

I've owned both and I wouldn't describe the sound of the Nords as punchier. The Nords have a more open sound which might be interpeted as what you describe as an edgier sound.

If you'e got the Roscoe Bart's then I'd say your've already got the punchier sounding pickups. At least I interpet punchier as more of a compressed tone that really blends well with the drum kick. If you're looking for a more open sound I'd just go with the Bart CB's and save yourself some money (verses the Nord P/U's.

Personally I've never really cared for the Aggie preamp but it sounds like you may favor the more aggressive tone and the Aggie's good at that. The Bart pre coupled with the Roscoe Bart P/U's = punch. But not edgier .....

Just my opinion though ......

Jeff Moote · #4 12-05-2011, 06:41 AM

I have the combination you're proposing (Nordstrand/Audere), though my bass is a little more polite in terms of the woods. I am inclined to agree with Joe that it will not be what you are looking for. The Audere preamp is never going to be "edgy" so I would definitely suggest swapping out that before the pickups.

The standard Bartolini preamp will be punchier than the Audere, but the Aguilar is by far the most aggressive of the three.

You've already got a pretty punchy wood combo going on, so you have to decide how far you want to go with that tone.

If the preamp swap is not enough, I think then swapping out the pickups to the Nordstrands or Bartolini CB model is the right step, but not before the preamp.

dladd06 · #5 12-05-2011, 08:10 AM

Thank you for all of your responses. I now have a better idea of what I would like to do.

LightGroove · #6 12-06-2011, 06:31 AM

I think youll be pleased with the Bart CB's IMO..to me they bring a little more edge overall while still retaining the Bart punch..Ive also found that the Bart mid settings are quite useful..perhaps dialing back the lows a touch and boosting the low mids will meet your needs..ive done this on occasion and have been pleasantly surprised.

Gard · #7 12-06-2011, 09:48 AM

My somewhat informed opinion (

):

They're both great, but I'd go with the CB's, if I were going to do ANYTHING at all.

FWIW, we don't stock the Nordstrands, so you'd be just as well off going either direct to them or to a dealer. You would need to custom order to get the correct spacing.

If you're really interested in CB's, shoot me a PM.

**Ryan L.** · #8 12-06-2011, 08:53 PM

I did not like the Nord/Audere combo in one of the 3006s that I owned. Definitely swap out the preamp first, as has been mentioned already.

**Freddels** · #9 12-13-2011, 08:32 PM

I'm thinking of the Nord Big Singles and the U-Retro Deluxe.