Nordstrand Fat Stacks/Dual Coils

[BassAgent]

Hey fellow TB'ers,
I'm making a bit of a list for my new custom bass, it now is as follows:

Custom design body
5-string
35” scale
Bolt on
Ash body
Spalted birch or maple top
See-through wine red finish
Nordstrand Fat Stacks or Dual Coils
Aguilar OBP-3 preamp
Birdseye maple neck with purpleheart laminates
Ebony fretboard
Hipshot tuners
Monorail bridge
Heavy frets
Chrome hardware
Controls: Volume/balance/master tone/bass/mid/treble/active-passive switch

Thing is: I'm not sure about the pickups. I want a big, fat, kickass tone which also can be subtile. It has to be as allround as possible. I was thinking of the Dual Coils with split option...

What do you think?

[smperry]

I have limited experience with the Dual Coils but a lot with the FatStacks, which I love. I strongly recommend a single coil switch if you go with the Fatstacks however. Single coil mode is "bigger" with deeper lows and "fatter" or more "round" in its attack than in stacked mode. Stacked mode is lower volume, but when it's at about the same volume, it cuts through better, in my opinion, but is less pretty - more growl, less fatness...which makes for a terrific rock sound. Dual Coils might be great too; I just don't have as much experience with them.

[frankie5string]

I just put the 6 string fatstacks in my MTD... They're excellent pickups... The single coil volume bump isn't as big as they make it out to be and I find that even in single-coil mode they're pretty resilient to hum. I'm running mine into a Bart 5.4 harness...

[jokerjkny]

Originally Posted by smperry

I have limited experience with the Dual Coils but a lot with the FatStacks, which I love. I strongly recommend a single coil switch if you go with the Fatstacks however. Single coil mode is "bigger" with deeper lows and "fatter" or more "round" in its attack than in stacked mode. Stacked mode is lower volume, but when it's at about the same volume, it cuts through better, in my opinion, but is less pretty - more growl, less fatness...which makes for a terrific rock sound. Dual Coils might be great too; I just don't have as much experience with them.

i think you mean the other way around? cause my valenti's fatstacks in "non single coil" mode is exactly as you described.

along w/ fatstacks, i'm using the aguilar opb-1 preamp. the sound is very smooth and even. and yes, very fat! has this juicy quality to it. and its very nice for slap, too! for r&b / gospel, its a terrific setup.

but i do wish i had a lower mids option, cause for rock, it'd be helpful in punch thru better. so good call on the obp-3!

if you'd still like something more smoother and almost gooier, try the J-Retro preamp. that preamp has always sounded very smooth too, and even if you crank the lower mids, it still has a nice smooth quality.

i think i used the word smooth too many times in this post.

[smperry]

Originally Posted by jokerjkny

i think you mean the other way around? cause my valenti's fatstacks in "non single coil" mode is exactly as you described.

Hmmm. I don't think its the other way around. I thought the single coil mode was the louder and smoother one and that's the one where I get a bit of hum under some conditions. The non-single coil mode (well, the one I think is) sounds like a humbucker sound to me, but it wouldn't be the first time I got something wrong. For my show last night, playing Thin Lizzy covers, I was in the less-smooth mode the whole time, but for my jazz gigs, I'm in the other one.

[Jared Lash]

I've played both, but they were in very different basses so take my comments with a grain of salt.

I tried the DCs in a buddy's Lakland. They sounded modern, but not too hi-fi. They weren't "crispy" or "thin" sounding like some boutique basses I've tried. I don't know if they are more scooped or the Fat Stacks are heavier in the mids, but there's definitely a difference in the mids. If I were a big slapper I'd take the Dual Coils, no doubt.

The Fat Stacks are in my Stambaugh. I paired them with an Audere pre and I LOVE the sound. Warm, growly and versatile. While not as good as the DCs, the Fat Stacks get a great slap tone too. I actually run them split most of the time. That bass fulfills all my "jazz bass" needs and then some.

I didn't play the DCs with a full band, but the Fat Stacks cut through a mix fantastically without being obtrusive and I'm guessing the Dual Coils are the same.

BOTH of these will give you "a big, fat, kickass tone which also can be subtle" and both are versatile. The real question is, do you want a more modern (DC) or a more vintage (FS) tone? Good luck.

[BassAgent]

I'd go for a more modern tone. I'm still doubting, whether to do the Fat Stacks or the Dual Coils, because both sounds appeal to me...

[jokerjkny]

keep in mind that the dual coils wired in series makes for a very midrangey and thicker sound, while if wired in parallel makes for a smoother, somewhat scooped sound.

[bassadicct]

Is series growlier than paralell

[frankie5string]

Originally Posted by BassAgent

I'd go for a more modern tone. I'm still doubting, whether to do the Fat Stacks or the Dual Coils, because both sounds appeal to me...

I would have to concur with others here... I paired a set of six string fat stacks with a Bart pre, and unless I dial in a fair amount of top end, and dial out a fair amount of low-mids, I end up with something akin to a hotter, punchier jazz bass tone. Even so, they're not like some of the boutique bass pickups out there that have a lot of zing, and not much else - which was good for me because that wasn't really the tone I wanted.

By punchier, the fat stacks seem to carry a lot more low frequency voltage through the system - you can very easily make your speaker pound with the neck fatstack pickup soloed even when running them through the passive bypass...

They are fairly unique... They're also very even string-to-string... and respond very well...

The DC pickups, from what I've seen seem to be a little more controlled in the high-mids and maybe a little less meaty in the low mids and upper bass frequencies.

Remember, in this case: "Your Blend is your Friend"... blending both pickups at the centre detent is an easy way to mellow out the edge these pickups have. Roll to the bridge and it'll be burpy but not thin. Roll to the neck pickup and you'll get pretty darned close to a precision bass sound if you bump the low mids somewhat.

[BassAgent]

Originally Posted by jokerjkny

keep in mind that the dual coils wired in series makes for a very midrangey and thicker sound, while if wired in parallel makes for a smoother, somewhat scooped sound.

I know that, but I could install a parallel/series switch, right?

[jokerjkny]

Originally Posted by BassAgent

I know that, but I could install a parallel/series switch, right?

maybe,

from what i was told when i was getting the dual coils, a series setup pickup wont quite sound as smooth as the parallel even if the pickups are wired thusly. and vice versa. so choose accordingly.

[DaveAceofBass]

What about Big Splits?

[Ken Baker]

Originally Posted by DaveAceofBass

What about Big Splits?

I've got those in a Lakland 55-01 with an OBP-3. Wonderful stuff. Great clarity all over and very responsive to my right hand.

Ken...

[jokerjkny]

Originally Posted by smperry

Hmmm. I don't think its the other way around. I thought the single coil mode was the louder and smoother one and that's the one where I get a bit of hum under some conditions. The non-single coil mode (well, the one I think is) sounds like a humbucker sound to me, but it wouldn't be the first time I got something wrong. For my show last night, playing Thin Lizzy covers, I was in the less-smooth mode the whole time, but for my jazz gigs, I'm in the other one.

whaddya know,

you're absolutely right. the single coil sound is louder and waay more aggressive. was told that the fatstacks are more subdued to cut down on the noise, etc. FYI, i now have my fatstacks wired in single coil mode now, while humcancel is the alternate. but makes me wonder how the true big singles would sound!

[HUnt49]

Originally Posted by DaveAceofBass

What about Big Splits?

I'm running a set passive, and loved them at the first gig last week. Solid and full- I was after smooth, and they might sound a little raw solo'd, but in the mix what growl there is sits nicely in the mids and... growls politely?

Very nice, and mellowed out by my outboard obp-1 if needed. These sit in a live mix really, really well.

[Matt Dean]

You might want to consider Big Singles... lots of pros like them.

Matt