bartolini disappointment...

[MoEllis]

So I have a victor bailey 5string jazz bass and it came with the stock open coil SN pickups. I got tired of everything interfering with them so I put in some Barts. I dont have nearly the same tone as I a did with the SNs. The barts have less body and less lows and low mids even though the are advertised for the opposite. Am I missing something, or is this common?

[LightGroove]

Bartolini.... not missing anything...I'm coming to the conclusion they are waaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy overrated .

I think your experiencing the wool soooo many people talk about.

[excane]

What model of Barts did you put in and was it done professionally? Did you replace just the PU's or the pre as well?

[emjazz]

Originally Posted by MoEllis

So I have a victor bailey 5string jazz bass and it came with the stock open coil SN pickups. I got tired of everything interfering with them so I put in some Barts. I dont have nearly the same tone as I a did with the SNs. The barts have less body and less lows and low mids even though the are advertised for the opposite. Am I missing something, or is this common?

It depends which one's you got.....I would send an email to Brian at www.bestbassgear.com and let him know what you're looking for. He'll point you in the right direction. You want humcanceling pickups right? You're not going to find a humcanceling pickup that sounds like singlecoils......

Bartolini does offer some great pickups, but they're not all great.

[capnsandwich]

Originally Posted by excane

What model of Barts did you put in and was it done professionally? Did you replace just the PU's or the pre as well?

Originally Posted by emjazz

It depends which one's you got.....I would send an email to Brian at www.bestbassgear.com and let him know what you're looking for. He'll point you in the right direction. You want humcanceling pickups right? You're not going to find a humcanceling pickup that sounds like singlecoils......

Bartolini does offer some great pickups, but they're not all great.

Like these guys mentioned, it really does matter which ones you actually got. Bartolini has many different voiced pickups in the same shape. You really need to know what exactly you want before you order them I've heard Bartolinis that are smooth and warm and then turn around and play a set that are hotter and more aggressive than any EMG or SD pickups I've ever heard.

[excane]

I'm also curious....what was lacking in the SCN pickups (other than interference as you said) that you felt a replacement was necessary?

[WRXbase]

Although Barts are a quality p-ups and pre-s, they have become standard if not over-done.

[Hyper-sloth]

Originally Posted by emjazz

It depends which one's you got.....I would send an email to Brian at www.bestbassgear.com and let him know what you're looking for. He'll point you in the right direction. You want humcanceling pickups right? You're not going to find a humcanceling pickup that sounds like singlecoils......

Bartolini does offer some great pickups, but they're not all great.

emjazz is correct; your dual coil won't sound like a single.

[pickles]

For a J-bass you really want to stick with Duncan, Nordstrand, Fralin, Aero ... pickups that really make a J sound like a J.

[fullrangebass]

I have to thank Bartolini for steering me to Villex pickups!!!

I replaced the pair of Barts three times over in my Warrior bass only to be longing for more than what they delivered. Once I placed Villex pickups on, the tone was huge, full, balanced, organic and the Bart preamp never saw any action after that

[PSPookie]

I've had a few basses with Brts in them. I have not been impressed. They never sounded bad but never really good either. Auditory vanilla -- pretty boring.

IMO/YMMV

[MoEllis]

does anyone know if the bartolini "fender replacements" actually sounds like the true single coils that came in the jazz bass? Because I want the original jazz bass sound but without all the interference.. thats bassically the only things i'm trying to get rid of

[narud]

scn's arent single coils, theyre humcancelling. if you want something similar to that, the dimarzio ultrajazz set is in the same ballpark.

[spade2you]

Originally Posted by emjazz

It depends which one's you got.....I would send an email to Brian at www.bestbassgear.com and let him know what you're looking for. He'll point you in the right direction. You want humcanceling pickups right? You're not going to find a humcanceling pickup that sounds like singlecoils......

Bartolini does offer some great pickups, but they're not all great.

I'm a big fan of the Bart CB P and J pickups. If you cut the highs and boost the heck out of the lows and mids, you can get a very strong signal and a very vintage tone. With the Bart 3 band (especially w/selectable mid frequencies) I'd venture to say you shoud be able to dial in almost any sound you'd want.

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by MoEllis

does anyone know if the bartolini "fender replacements" actually sounds like the true single coils that came in the jazz bass? Because I want the original jazz bass sound but without all the interference.. thats bassically the only things i'm trying to get rid of

Even the Bart single coils don't sound exactly like the Fender pickups. They are more hi-fi and smoother because they are lower impedance.

There are a lot of hum canceling Jazz pickups on the market that sound pretty close to single coils though.

[spz8]

This thread has intrigued me, because I think I've come to the realization of late that I hate my Bartolinis as well. I have an Ibanez BTB1006E with dual Bartolini soapbar pickups with Bartolini pre-amp. This was one of the last BTBs from Japan before they went to Korea. The original specs list the pickup type as "custom," and the pre-amp is B/M/T with mid freq. selector, balance and volume.

A previous poster described Bart tone as "wooly." I never realized how accurately that describes my bass sound. Weak low mid punch with dull high end, becoming harsh if too much treble EQ is added. It doesn't comfortably sit in a mix with guitar, drums, and vocals.

The bass feels great, sounds good unplugged, and of course looks beautiful. It's sad that somehow I loved its sound when I first tried it (my first 6). Am I crazy for even thinking about a pickup change? Should the pre-amp go as well? Maybe I should just keep searching for a bass with my perfect tone? Here's a clip someone posted on another thread of a Peavey Cirrus that blew me away...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWEjrFxfaBE

Wow, if my bass sounded like that, I'd be in heaven! Any suggestions are appreciated.


Thanks,

Steve

[LightGroove]

Good stuff there SPZ...its all in the mids ,,and well the bass player isnt half bad.

I will say I have heard a few Barts that were decent but they all seem to be custom wound varieties.

I do plan I trying some CB jazz style sometime this year but was less than overwhelmed with the CB MM I tried.

[MoBeach]

Pedulla owners have no beef with Barts, but they've put tons of time into finding the right ones for their basses. The same should hold true for other basses.

[JEDI BASS]

I've had a couple of the US custom Cirrus 6 string basses, they're NICE, very nice actually. But, I found my "ONE" perfect fretted bass, a Bart-loaded Lakland 55-94, and the ONLY PERFECT fretless (for me anyways) my Bart-equipped Pedulla Pentabuzz. So, I love Barts !

As for Cirrus basses.... my fretted one had the closest buzz-free action that I've ever encountered, PERIOD! And, the graphite reinforced neck, and awesome build quality contributed to their sound. It's not always just the pickups...

[LightGroove]

Hey Jedi,

Didn't Lakland have custom wound Barts? I believe they did but could be wrong. Same with Pedulla. Which is my point..Off the shelf Barts have been a bit meh in my experience.