Lakland 44-01 -- Nordstrands?

[mister-o]

At my last bass lesson my teacher -- whose opinion I highly respect and who has not led me astray thus far -- looks at my Lakland 44-01 and comments that I would be well-served by installing Nordstrands. He said he had done so in one of his fivers and hasn't looked back, loving the tone live and in the studio.

Now, one of the reasons I initially bought the bass (besides the fact that it was one of the best I could afford at the time) was because of the pickups -- Bartolini MK1 soapbars -- so I'm a little hesitant to drop another few hundred on upgrading a bass I already like just fine (although I suppose I could find a buyer for the MK1s if I liked the switch, which would lessen the blow). OTOH, I trust my teacher and am pretty curious, especially if it's a sweet enough switch to stave off the GAS for a better bass for a little while.

Has anyone ever "upgraded" a 44-01 (or similar) in this fashion?

Any opinion on Barts vs. Nords?

Thanks in advance.

[j3b3r]

Bartolini MK1s are made in Korea, as far as I know. I had some experience with them in Ibanez and Cort Basses. The US barts are way much better.

If I were you, I'll get the Nordstrand for my Lakland. Or maybe Aeros, or Fralin...or..basslines or....anything better than the MK1s.

[basadam]

I did. On a Lakland 55-01 from MK1s to Nordstrand Fat Stacks. I completely removed the circuit as well, leaving it as a passive bass. The result "for me" was perfect. But you have to keep in mind several factors:
1) Do "you" (not your teacher or anyone else) have a problem with MK1s. If so, what is it? What would you be looking for if you upgrade?
2) MK1 is sort of P-pickup in a soapbar shape. Are you looking for a similar sound, or a J-type sound or a humbucker sound?
3) Many also reported good results keeping MK1 pickups but replacing the active circuit only (to Bartolini NTMB or Aguilar OBP-3).
4) There is no drop-in replacement from Nordstrand for 4-string MK1 pickups. It will be a custom order.
5) Then there is the problem of selecting which Nordstrand model. Big Singles? Big Splits? Fat Stacks? Duals Coil wired for series? Dual Coils wired for parallel?
6) Don't forget that there is a drop-in replacement from Bartolini.

I recommend bestbassgear.com for your pickups purchases.

Here are some clips I recorded with my (now gone) 55-01:
1) Stock MK1: http://mp3space.com/file/82519/5501-mk1
2) Fat Stacks both in stacked mode: http://mp3space.com/file/82517/5501-fs-stacked
3) Fat Stacks both in single-coil mode: http://mp3space.com/file/82516/5501-fs-single

I repeated the same boring line twice then again up one octave. First part is neck only, second part both pickups, third part bridge only.