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View Poll Results: Which Pickup should I use
Kent Armstrong Lipstick J 2 100.00%
Q tuners 0 0%
Ketn Armstrong Soapbars 0 0%
EMG J pickups 0 0%
Voters: 2. You may not vote on this poll

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  #1  
Old 01-27-2011, 11:09 AM
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Advice on pickups

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Looking to build a new bass with Warmoth and thinking about pickup selection.

It is going to be a Gecko 5 string fretless and I have narrowed it down to 4 pickups.

1. Kent Armstrong Split tube lipstick J pickups.
2. Q Tuners
3. Kent Armstrong Soapbar
4. EMG J pickups.

I want to stay passive on this one. The part I'm stuck on is while I LOVE the warm growl of J pickup on fretless the noise you can get with single coils can drive me nuts..

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Longshot
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  #2  
Old 01-27-2011, 11:11 AM
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EMG <> Passive
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  #3  
Old 01-27-2011, 09:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Longshot View Post
1. Kent Armstrong Split tube lipstick J pickups.
2. Q Tuners
3. Kent Armstrong Soapbar
4. EMG J pickups.

I want to stay passive on this one. The part I'm stuck on is while I LOVE the warm growl of J pickup on fretless the noise you can get with single coils can drive me nuts..
I'm not seeing too much in the "warm growl of J pickups" department there. EMGs are active, unless you get the HZ pickups. The Armstrong soapbar isn't a J and good luck getting some Q-Tuners. How did you pick those?

You can get passive hum canceling Jazz pickups. Getting them for a 5 string is another matter... but some are available.

Soapbars might be easier.
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  #4  
Old 01-27-2011, 11:21 PM
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I will suggest a few humbucking/humcancelling pickups that I've tried in my fretless Geckos:

Carvin "H50A" (or "H50AS" for the P2 shape soapbar model). Great clarity and warmth, and a very nicely focused tone which sounds like a nice single coil. The fundamentals are a bit thin for a bridge pickup, but the sweetness of tone makes up for it. These work well in any of the 3 Gecko pickup positions: bridge, sweet spot, or neck. I would pair these with a midrange-rich fingerboard wood such as Bubinga to get the most growl.

SGD Neodymium ND3 soapbars. These are not quite as bright as the Carvins, but there is a very good balance of tone across the frequencies, and the fundamental tracks very nicely. They do sound more like a humbucker than a single-coil, but when paired with a nice bright fingerboard wood (e.g. Ebony) the natural tone is unmatched. The midrange is very usable and works well with a fretless.

Villex "classic" series pickups, available as "split coil" J-shape or soapbars (custom order). Excellent grip on the fundamentals in any location, especially the bridge position. They have a rich, warm and very detailed midrange which brings out the nuances of the woods, and can growl to some extent. These have a very broad frequency response, and work well with any fingerboard wood.

My experience with Bartolini and Delano J-shaped pickups is rather limited. Their dual-coil humbuckers are nice, but probably not what you are looking for.

Q-Tuners are getting to be as rare as hen's teeth. If/when the shop ever starts production again, I'll be one of the first in line to buy another set. In the meantime, there are many great pickups out there.
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  #5  
Old 01-28-2011, 11:35 AM
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Bill Lawrence = vintage varmth + modern clarity
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Old 01-28-2011, 12:51 PM
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Ah Bill Lawrence....nice idea. I'll check into it.

Longshot
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Old 01-28-2011, 01:19 PM
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Tubby.twins I also like the carvin idea. For some reason I always seen to look over Carvin as an option. Not sure why though.

Thanks
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  #8  
Old 01-28-2011, 01:36 PM
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Have you looked into SGD pickups?
I hear good things about them.
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Old 01-28-2011, 01:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Longshot View Post
Tubby.twins I also like the carvin idea. For some reason I always seen to look over Carvin as an option. Not sure why though.

Thanks
After owning (for a very short stint) a mid-90's LB76, I was quite underwhelmed with the sterile tone and low output. I've heard that they're much nicer now, but it left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.

Plus, I'm in love with my EMG and Nordy pickups, so it's hard to justify trying out new Carvin products.
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Old 01-28-2011, 03:38 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FunkMetalBass View Post
After owning (for a very short stint) a mid-90's LB76, I was quite underwhelmed with the sterile tone and low output. I've heard that they're much nicer now, but it left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.

Plus, I'm in love with my EMG and Nordy pickups, so it's hard to justify trying out new Carvin products.
My Carvin LB75F came from the same era, and I wasn't pleased with its stock pickups either. But the new H50A pickup is a dramatic improvement. Plus, the price is right: at $50 each for the J-shape or $60 each for the soapbar-shape, it's a fairly low barrier to entry.
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