EMG alternative

azzyrazzy · #1 10-06-2006, 06:03 AM

Lately I am not satisfied with the EMG's in my bass. I think my taste has mellowed. The bass is (custom)made of Swamp ash with a wenge/maple neck, pau ferro fingerboard. I just think it's too aggressive sounding, and sometimes too sterile. It's got a 40CS at the bridge and a 40J at the neck.

I dream of a open, warmer sound thats full of life, but not closed sounding, or too dark. More like open warm and liquid caramel

I am looking for an alternative, either to put in new pickups, or change the onboard preamp(EMG BQC) or both!

Any suggestions?

Edit: for the heck of it, here is a pic of the bass

**David Wilson** · #2 10-06-2006, 07:59 AM

Have you narrowed it down to whether it's bridge/neck pickup sounds you don't like, or is it both?

Bartolini make replacement pickups in EMG sizes, I'd suggest their 'classic bass' series which are a bit closer in voicing to regular pickups.

jady · #3 10-06-2006, 08:46 AM

Check out Aero pickups, You Email Larry with your bass specs (woods, scale, etc) what style you play, what sound you are looking for, etc, and he handwinds you pups. they are awesome...

azzyrazzy · #4 10-06-2006, 09:08 AM

Good question David, and thanks for the suggestions both. Both pickups sound bright, but not open, so I guess its both of them.

Jady, can you tell me abit more about the Aero's? What did you replace with them?

Thanks

12bass · #5 10-06-2006, 11:40 AM

If it is open highs you are looking for, I have to recommend Q-Tuners...... Don't know of any other pickup with such extended highs.

azzyrazzy · #6 10-06-2006, 02:41 PM

Intriguing website for the q-tuners. Exciting, or mumbo-jumbo?? I wanna know more. Anyone got info to share?

12bass · #7 10-06-2006, 07:59 PM

If you are interested in hearing them, search for my previous thread comparing the BL-5 with two Bartolinis (C and CX)

Website aside, IMO the Q-Tuners are remarkable sounding pickups with remarkably extended frequency response. I find the BL-5 in my Pedulla Rapture 5 to sound somewhat similar to the Lane Poors in my Hamer 12-string.

IMO, they are bright and open, not harsh, and not at the expense of other frequencies, as they also have good fundamental response. As magnetic pickups go, Q-Tuners are they closest I've found to being without inherent coloration of the sound of the instrument.

azzyrazzy · #8 10-07-2006, 05:39 AM

Thanks man, I read all the Q-tuner threads now, and I listened to your clips many times. Great clips! I am actually enjoying the Bartolini CX clips a lot.

The Q-tuner sounded metallic in my ears. Of course, strings are metal so maybe they represent a sound closer to the true sound of the strings and bass. It got me a bit worried though, that they are so bright that I'd have to tame them or something. How are they when you play with a pick ? And slapped!?

12bass · #9 10-07-2006, 07:14 AM

What sort of monitoring system are you using? Although admittedly bright sounding, I don't find the Q-Tuner to be metallic.

That said, I don't add much treble these days. If you desire less highs, you can dampen the treble by lowering the center row of polepieces. For my last gig I bypassed the preamp and went passive.... sounded great!

Interesting that you liked the CX. It seems that not many others preferred the CX sound. Might also be worth checking out the Bartolini CB.

The CX would probably be in the Rapture 5 right now if the pickup's radius was better matched to the Pedulla's neck. Given the adjustable design, the Q-Tuner doesn't have any radius problems.

azzyrazzy · #10 10-07-2006, 07:57 AM

Hmm I boosted the bass on my pc speakers(with subwoofer), and now the Q-tuners sound better. All sounded crap in my headphones though, hehe. Not too easy this. Thanks for the help

Poon · #11 10-07-2006, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidmwilson

Have you narrowed it down to whether it's bridge/neck pickup sounds you don't like, or is it both?

Bartolini make replacement pickups in EMG sizes, I'd suggest their 'classic bass' series which are a bit closer in voicing to regular pickups.

I'd second this suggestion as well...but also encourage you to look at the duncan basslines. Their voicing is half way between the EMG's and the Barts. My other suggestion would be to try switching out the pre-amp (what pre-amp do you have right now?). I've had great luck with putting a EMG 40P in the neck and EMG 40TW in the bridge. I also put the BQC and now I love the sound.

12bass · #12 10-07-2006, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poon

I'd second this suggestion as well...but also encourage you to look at the duncan basslines. Their voicing is half way between the EMG's and the Barts.

I have heard this statement before, perhaps from Bass Player magazine. However, I'm not sure what to make of it, as I don't see how a pickup could sound somewhere between and EMG and a Bartolini. IMO, the differences in tone are many, and I don't see a "happy medium" between them.

In my experience, EMG pickups tend to have a sterile sound with exaggerated harsh upper mids and treble, probably most pronounced in the 3.5 kHz to 5 kHz range, with little true extension in the high frequencies about 10 kHz. Bartolinis on the other hand never sound harsh, as they seem to be focused more in the lower mids, generally having the upper mids and treble rolled off. Newer Barts like the CB and CX have more open treble response, but still nothing like a Lane Poor or the especially open-sounding Q-Tuner.

azzyrazzy · #13 10-08-2006, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poon

I'd second this suggestion as well...but also encourage you to look at the duncan basslines. Their voicing is half way between the EMG's and the Barts. My other suggestion would be to try switching out the pre-amp (what pre-amp do you have right now?). I've had great luck with putting a EMG 40P in the neck and EMG 40TW in the bridge. I also put the BQC and now I love the sound.

Thanks Poon, I do have the BQC system on the bass. Coming back to the original issue, I do believe that the EMG hardware is top notch, it's quiet and does exactly what it's supposed to. However it just doesnt sound right to me on this particular bass.

As you know, it's hard to predict a new sound without actually buying and installing the pickup/preamp so it's why I asked for help and got great suggestions. At the moment I lean towards getting the new Bartolini CB-series soapbars named M45CBC which is the same size as the EMGs. Will look into the Basslines too though. Wish I had them all to try

BullCityBass · #14 10-09-2006, 07:54 PM

for what its worth, I just finished installing a Aggy OBP-1 into my Warwick which has active EMGs in there. I too was not happy with the brittle/sterile sounds of the higher freqs with my EMG BTC. No quite sure what to do, I researched the crap out of every pre/pup combination on here and its all just so subjective... I thought I wanted to change pups but something was holding me back. SO out of the blue I just happend to call my local shop and see what they do have in stock, sure enough they had an OBP-1, so I told them to hold it for me, I was coming over.

All I can say is WOW! it took all the harsh, brittle highs away, made the low end even creamier, and that is all with little to no boost on the bass pot. I bumped the treb. pot up just a little to bring them to life. BUT WOW, I feel I have a whole new bass and I just had to pay $99.

I have always loved my corvette 5 string but there was just always a little something missing... so I started to tinker and I can now say, I am 100% in love with the way she sounds now!

So maybe before you get rid of the EMG, see if you can find a different pre out there, mine just happened to be the aggy.

Chris

azzyrazzy · #15 10-10-2006, 12:42 AM

Thanks man, very interesting!

azzyrazzy · #16 10-11-2006, 03:28 AM

Since turning me on to the idea of changing the preamp first (or only the preamp), I have decided to do just that. I am now ordering a NOLL preamp with 4 band EQ on it.
This will work with my active EMG's though I won't have the option to switch to passive, which I am fine with.

If this isn't enough I might change the pickups later. I will let you know how it goes, but from here it may take a while to get it , and to get it installed.

BullCityBass · #17 10-11-2006, 07:12 AM

good luck with it, let me know how it goes!

alexclaber · #18 10-11-2006, 08:48 AM

If you're not already running the EMGs on 18V power, then doing so should smooth out the top and fatten up the bottom.

Alex

john keates · #19 10-22-2006, 06:04 AM

Maybe Villex? They are passive with a mid control. They have a strong base but are clear. There is a split coild desing which can be built into the same shape housing as those ones you have there

www.villex.com

Nordstrand also get a good rep around here.