What should I expect from a set of Nordy Big Singles?

[Molan]

Apologies if this has been covered - I did a quick search and found lots of positive comments about Nordstrand pickups but didn't spot any direct comparisons.

My SKB4 came with Barts in the slant position but the previous owner had bought some Big Singles and not got round to fitting them.

Given all the positive reviews of the Nordys I was tempted to jsut fit them anyway but I do like the sound of the bass as it is and just wondered what kind of difference the Big Singles will make?

[LightGroove]

Well in general speaking terms it is my understanding the Roscoe barts are in the realm of the P-Bass..Real punchy. The big singles I would assume would be more J like..Maybe more bite and more aggressive.
Make sure the pickups are custom made to the bass. It has been mentioned several times off the shelf Nordstrand poles don't line up with the strings correctly in the slant position.

[jzbass6]

Originally Posted by Molan

Apologies if this has been covered - I did a quick search and found lots of positive comments about Nordstrand pickups but didn't spot any direct comparisons.

My SKB4 came with Barts in the slant position but the previous owner had bought some Big Singles and not got round to fitting them.

Given all the positive reviews of the Nordys I was tempted to jsut fit them anyway but I do like the sound of the bass as it is and just wondered what kind of difference the Big Singles will make?

Super charged jazz pickups or as some have described " jazz pu's on steroids", bright punchy very versatile sound. Make sure the pole pieces line up when there in the slant position.
Peace

[Bfinest25]

I personally think that you should definitely try the big singles!

[JOME77]

I've only played one Roscoe with the Nord Big Singles. It was very bright sounding (maple neck, mahogany body, myrtle burl top) and more open sounding than the Barts. Great slap style tone but a bit thin finger and pick style.
I preferred the overall sound of the Bart p/u's. IMO the Bart's are much warmer, produce a phatter sound and provide a larger array of usable tones. Unlike some, I also like the slap sound of the Roscoe with Bart p/u's.

If slap is your thing, and you're going for more of a Marcus tone, you might really like them. If not, I'd stay with the Bart's.

....of course this is just my opinion!

[Molan]

Originally Posted by JOME77

I've only played one Roscoe with the Nord Big Singles. It was very bright sounding (maple neck, mahogany body, myrtle burl top) and more open sounding than the Barts. Great slap style tone but a bit thin finger and pick style.
I preferred the overall sound of the Bart p/u's. IMO the Bart's are much warmer, produce a phatter sound and provide a larger array of usable tones. Unlike some, I also like the slap sound of the Roscoe with Bart p/u's.

If slap is your thing, and you're going for more of a Marcus tone, you might really like them. If not, I'd stay with the Bart's.

....of course this is just my opinion!

Thanks for this - I wish swapping pickups in and out was a simple job so you could A/B quickly between them.

I don't have any problems with the Barts really, possibly a bit thumpy on the E string up around 10th fret for my liking but that's being really picky!

If anything I would like a bit more bottom from the D & G strings up near the nut.

One thing I thought was that the Nordy's might be a bit more balanced than the Barts. This might mean that although they'd be thinner sounding, I could use the tone controls to add more depth if required.

My other main bass is a Sadowsky which is wonderfully balanced across the board &, if anything has more low end than the Roscoe - obviously that's with the heavy duty Sadowsky pre-amp boost dialled in!

[lsu921]

Originally Posted by JOME77

I've only played one Roscoe with the Nord Big Singles. It was very bright sounding (maple neck, mahogany body, myrtle burl top) and more open sounding than the Barts. Great slap style tone but a bit thin finger and pick style.
I preferred the overall sound of the Bart p/u's. IMO the Bart's are much warmer, produce a phatter sound and provide a larger array of usable tones. Unlike some, I also like the slap sound of the Roscoe with Bart p/u's.

If slap is your thing, and you're going for more of a Marcus tone, you might really like them. If not, I'd stay with the Bart's.

....of course this is just my opinion!

Joe, I actually owned that bass. Sha975's LG. Those were fat stacks, but your description is still spot on. It was bright, the only bass I ever CUT the treble on. Slap tone was fantastic. I actually really liked the fingerstyle tone of it though. Punch for days.

Here's the bass..

[CrashClint]

lsu921 sure has owned some beautiful Roscoe basses!



smpugh had some big singles in a LG3000 and I really liked the tone. IMHO it was like a sweeter sounding jazz, very clear but could get dirty with boosting the mids on the bart. I imagine it would get really sweet tones with an Audere so you could fine tune your mids. I can't believe I mentioned an Audere.

Well, a Demeter would make the singles too bright and an Aguilar would make the mids too aggressive.

[JOME77]

Originally Posted by lsu921

Joe, I actually owned that bass. Sha975's LG. Those were fat stacks, but your description is still spot on. It was bright, the only bass I ever CUT the treble on. Slap tone was fantastic. I actually really liked the fingerstyle tone of it though. Punch for days.

I stand corrected Jason! That is the bass and I just assumed that they were big singles.
I also agree with Clint, you have had some nice looking basses!

.............But then again, so have we!

[Molan]

The Big Singles are in & I think I'm liking them

More open sounding than the Barts I reckon and maybe more responsive to playing dynamics.

Haven't had enough time to really try them out at any sort of volume yet though.

[Fab Savage]

Reviving an old thread but can anyone else add to the discussion on Big Singles in a Roscoe?

I am about to put a set in my SKB3006 and replace the Audere with an Aguilar OBP3

....Yep I do like an aggressive Jazz sound

Cheers

Mike

[GeorgeG]

Hey Mike,

The Nordy BS in combination with the Aggy OBP3 definitely will give you that aggressive edge you're looking for. They are a little more brighter, open sounding as others have said already here. Doesn't seem as focused in the low to middle mids but enough to at least compare with a typical J tone.
You might need to double check if the BS will drop straight into the Roscoe though. Gard might have a better idea on this.

[Fab Savage]

Originally Posted by GeorgeG

Hey Mike,

The Nordy BS in combination with the Aggy OBP3 definitely will give you that aggressive edge you're looking for. They are a little more brighter, open sounding as others have said already here. Doesn't seem as focused in the low to middle mids but enough to at least compare with a typical J tone.
You might need to double check if the BS will drop straight into the Roscoe though. Gard might have a better idea on this.

Hey George great to hear from you on this forum. Yup I checked with Gard already and Nordstrand have to custom make the BS to line up with the 18.3mm spacing.

Hope your well and business is good. Still got my eye on a custom Roscoe but am just investing in other things at the moment.

Def gonna try the Aggie first and see how that lines up with the CB Barts but I reckon Ill end up dropping in some Big Singles after anyways, but I thought I d see what others who might have this combo already thought, good or bad.

Cheers

Mike

[GeorgeG]

Thx Mike - everything going along steadily so can't complain with that.
I think it's a good idea to try the Aggy first because it might just give you enough edge combined with the Classic Barts.
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts if you do end up dropping some Nordy BS into your Roscoe as well. keep in touch - cheers!