Are Nordstrands really worth it?

[Simon Langley]

As an experiment and because of all the hype and talk I bought an SX J-Bass so I could try out the Audere preamp. Fell in love with it so much I decided to build a better bass around it.

Ended up with a 70's style J made with mostly Fender parts. Some of you have probably seen it in another thread. Anyway I was considering putting Nordtrand pickups in it but because of the cost and in trying to keep with a Fender theme I went with Fender vintage noiseless pickups instead.

I like the Fenders fine but continue to hear nothing but good things about the Nords and how much they are worth the extra money. My questions are these:

*Are they really worth it?
*Will I really notice an improvement over the Fender pickups?
*Does it even matter when paired with the Audere preamp?

[needmoney]

Answered in red...

Originally Posted by Simon Langley

*Are they really worth it?
SH|T YES!

*Will I really notice an improvement over the Fender pickups?
Absolutely. I've been through different types of Fender, Dimarzio, and Fralin pickups, and both sets of Nordstrands I've replaced them with (NJ4/NJ4SV) crushed them all IMO.

*Does it even matter when paired with the Audere preamp?
The Audere only improves upon the Nordstrands awesomeness, Nord + Audere is one of the best possible pickup/preamp combination around.

[dean82]

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Double Yes

Nordstrand's are not hype, they are that good. They really work well with preamps as well. The two that I have experience with is Sadowsky and Audere. If you like your current sound now, wait until you try some Nords in there.

[Valerus]

I have an NP4 in my P-bass that I just bought. Man...that with passive electronics, it sounds awesome.

This is making me kinda GAS for the nordy jazz pups...

[fourstringdrums]

I just replaced my Fender Highway One Precision pickups with Nordstrand NP4's and the difference is night and day. The tonal spectrum and from string to string and across the fret board is much more balanced. The tone is much clearer as well.

Definitely go for it. As for the Audere, I can't comment. I'm not familiar.

[Hyssar]

Of course, they're worth it, but it's maybe not the sound you are looking for.

Listen to the sound clips of the following pickups (they all sound metallic because of the DR Hi-Beam strings, but there's still a big difference between each pickup) recorded by David Wilson with a Geddy Lee Jazz Bass :

Villex
Dimarzio J
Dimarzio Ultra Jazz
EMG JV
Nord 4JSE
Aero single coil
Sadowsky hum cancelling
Bartolini 9J
Bartolini 9 Classic Bass
SD Antiquity II single coil


http://pickups.dmw.ftml.net

[4StringTheorist]

needmoney and dean82's posts have me antsy to get these NJ4SVs on my bass. Just waiting for that Audere to get delivered now...

*starts singing "Anticipation"*

[Simon Langley]

Wow! Thanks for the sound samples. That must have taken quit some time not to mention dollars to put together. Very helpful though. From your samples it sounds like the Nords are exactly what I am looking for tone wise. Big bottom, very evenly balanced across all strings and a smooth high end. Perfect. Thanks again.

[Robert Sjea]

I can't believe how good my bass with the NP4 sounds. I was skeptical but it makes a huge difference.
robert sjea

[Beefbass]

Another NP4 lover here!

[Zombbg4]

Nordstands are amazing...

[Blues Cat]

YES Big Singles user.

[jwymore]

And now you can pair them with a Nordstrand preamp too ...

[r379]

I've got a set of NJ4s in one of my jazzes and they are they are really nice. My problem is that I shouldn't have listened to the clip of the Type 1 Aeros. Now I want a set for my Highway One.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Simon Langley

As an experiment and because of all the hype and talk I bought an SX J-Bass so I could try out the Audere preamp. Fell in love with it so much I decided to build a better bass around it.

Ended up with a 70's style J made with mostly Fender parts. Some of you have probably seen it in another thread. Anyway I was considering putting Nordtrand pickups in it but because of the cost and in trying to keep with a Fender theme I went with Fender vintage noiseless pickups instead.

I like the Fenders fine but continue to hear nothing but good things about the Nords and how much they are worth the extra money. My questions are these:

*Are they really worth it?
*Will I really notice an improvement over the Fender pickups?
*Does it even matter when paired with the Audere preamp?

1) Yes... but no more than Seymour, Aero, etc. Very nice pickups with their own tone profile that many like.

2) You will notice a difference (a bit warmer, a bit smoother, a bit fatter, a bit less aggressive than what most consider a classic Fender tone). If you like the difference, you will hear it as an improvement

3) The Audere is pretty subtle and will not 'cover up' the tone of a given pickup, so IMO that's a moot point.

[Ryan Mohr]

Originally Posted by KJung

1) Yes... but no more than Seymour, Aero, etc. Very nice pickups with their own tone profile that many like.

2) You will notice a difference (a bit warmer, a bit smoother, a bit fatter, a bit less aggressive than what most consider a classic Fender tone). If you like the difference, you will hear it as an improvement

3) The Audere is pretty subtle and will not 'cover up' the tone of a given pickup, so IMO that's a moot point.

So do you think the NJ4s wouldn't acheive a pre-CBS early '60s Jazz Bass tone? I'm considering replacing my Fender CS '60s pickups because of the raised pole pieces (annoying to me) and unbalanced string volume, but I don't want to deviate from that tone.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Ryan Mohr

So do you think the NJ4s wouldn't acheive a pre-CBS early '60s Jazz Bass tone? I'm considering replacing my Fender CS '60s pickups because of the raised pole pieces (annoying to me) and unbalanced string volume, but I don't want to deviate from that tone.

I'm not really an expert on the pre CBS vintage tone, since that's not particularly my thing. I've played a few basses with the NJ4's now, and they don't sound particularly 'Fenderish' to me, due to the smooth, warm, mid present tone. However, that could just be my bias towards the more grindy single coil tone that is more associated with, for lack of a better term, 70's J type tone.

They sounded darn good though, very warm and smooth, with lot's of mid definition. I'll let the 60's experts handle this one though.

[Ryan Mohr]

Originally Posted by KJung

I'm not really an expert on the pre CBS vintage tone, since that's not particularly my thing. I've played a few basses with the NJ4's now, and they don't sound particularly 'Fenderish' to me, due to the smooth, warm, mid present tone. However, that could just be my bias towards the more grindy single coil tone that is more associated with, for lack of a better term, 70's J type tone.

They sounded darn good though, very warm and smooth, with lot's of mid definition. I'll let the 60's experts handle this one though.

Yeah I know you are a '70s J guy, no problem.

That's funny, I think of the early '60s Fender tone as smooth, warm and mid present, but tone is so subjective. I'm not particularly into a grindy/aggressive/sizzly/bright J tone, which is why I like the early '60s alder/rosewood combo. Great example of this tone here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKZVNrC0QYA But don't get me wrong, my favorite sound is still a passive Jazz with singles, just not a super grindy one. To me a passive Jazz with singles is perfect Thanks!

[brandau]

That's funny, I think of the early '60s Fender tone as smooth, warm and mid present, but tone is so subjective. I'm not particularly into a grindy/aggressive/sizzly/bright J tone, which is why I like the early '60s alder/rosewood combo. Great example of this tone here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKZVNrC0QYA But don't get me wrong, my favorite sound is still a passive Jazz with singles, just not a super grindy one. To me a passive Jazz with singles is perfect Thanks!

You sound like a candidate for some Frailins. The tone you describe is what I like as well. Check out "Papers In Order" here http://www.myspace.com/theoldceremony 75 Jazz w/ frailins thru a 64 Bassman

[ac11367]

I have a set of NJ4's for my Lakland Skyline DJ4 and MM5.4 for my Skyline 5502. One thing that really sticks out about the Nords is articulation and clarity, while still maintaining ballsiness.