Nordy Big Splits—Who's Got 'Em and Why?

[Lincoln]

'Kay, it seems my last thread is either too boring or too vague. Sooooooo let me ask this question?

Who's got Nordy Big Splits and Why? What do they sound like? I'm looking to possibly swap out my Bart soapbars in an effort to get a more Marcus slap sound.

Woods are ash/maple/wenge/ebony and the pickups are 4 inches apart from outer edge to outer edge of each pickup. And a pic to show you where the pickups are placed.

Thoughts??!

[bassplayer7770]

Originally Posted by Lincoln

'Kay, it seems my last thread is either too boring or too vague. Sooooooo let me ask this question?

Who's got Nordy Big Splits and Why? What do they sound like? I'm looking to possibly swap out my Bart soapbars in an effort to get a more Marcus slap sound.

Woods are ash/maple/wenge/ebony and the pickups are 4 inches apart from outer edge to outer edge of each pickup. And a pic to show you where the pickups are placed.

Thoughts??!

First of all, additional routing will need to be done to for the Big Splits to fit in the routes. The Big Splits are 4.25" x 1.25".

Also, what pre is in the bass? I know you'd mentioned this in the Clement Club thread, but I forget...

FYI, I've never tried the Big Splits, and I'm not a great Slap player, so I'll refrain from making actual suggestions for you.

[narud]

Originally Posted by Lincoln

'Kay, it seems my last thread is either too boring or too vague. Sooooooo let me ask this question?

Who's got Nordy Big Splits and Why? What do they sound like? I'm looking to possibly swap out my Bart soapbars in an effort to get a more Marcus slap sound.

Woods are ash/maple/wenge/ebony and the pickups are 4 inches apart from outer edge to outer edge of each pickup. And a pic to show you where the pickups are placed.

Thoughts??!

well, it looks like both pickups are shifted back too far towards the bridge for it to sound like a jazz bass.

you said you had a glock pre right? i put some big splits in my fodera for a while and matched up with the pope pre, it was the brightest/clickiest/string noise'y thing ive ever heard. id be scared of that combo. the duncans and aeros i also had in that bass were no where near as bright as the nords. however, a buddy has a groove shop bass with big singles and the glock pre and he loves it.......

[Lincoln]

Originally Posted by bassplayer7770

First of all, additional routing will need to be done to for the Big Splits to fit in the routes. The Big Splits are 4.25" x 1.25".

Also, what pre is in the bass? I know you'd mentioned this in the Clement Club thread, but I forget...

FYI, I've never tried the Big Splits, and I'm not a great Slap player, so I'll refrain from making actual suggestions for you.

No I won't, actually. The P2's are exactly that size ( I wouldn't carve this baby up, anyways!!)

Single coil pickups are 4in apart on a jbass - should I get a coil tap switch so that I can move it into single coil mode and get the Fat stacks so that I can not have the hum? Since the pickups sit closer to the bridge?

[bassplayer7770]

Originally Posted by Lincoln

No I won't, actually. The P2's are exactly that size ( I wouldn't carve this baby up, anyways!!)

Single coil pickups are 4in apart on a jbass - should I get a coil tap switch so that I can move it into single coil mode and get the Fat stacks so that I can not have the hum? Since the pickups sit closer to the bridge?

My mistake. The 4 inches was referring to a different measurement. I know the Big Splits (and Big Singles which I have) are direct replacements for the P2s. Just make sure the pole pieces are spaced properly. My tech took several measurements of my bass before ordering from Nordstrand, but it turned out the pole pieces on the stock Big Singles were perfect for my bass (which does have 70s J pickup spacing).

[koobie]

Originally Posted by Lincoln

Who's got Nordy Big Splits and Why? What do they sound like? I'm looking to possibly swap out my Bart soapbars in an effort to get a more Marcus slap sound.

I've got one Big Split in a J parts bass with rounds, I like it a lot. It's placed fairly close to the standard J neck position and has good output with plenty of harmonic content, zero mud. It's a single pickup bass so I can't guide you on how a Big Split will sound in the bridge position.

My main basis of comparison is the Ultra J's in my Lull J bass which have bigger bass and a scoop in the mids. The Nordy is not nearly as big on the bottom, but is quite present & detailed. I suppose if I were to go active, I could add in some of the lows that the Ultra J produces passively. I don't slap and I run it passively so my experience might not be especially useful to you.

[EricF]

Although I can't comment of their sound for slapping, I really like the sound of the Big Splits in my Lakland 55-01 (it turns out I'm not much for 5'ers, however). The tone is big, open, and detailed. I'm going to be sad to see them go when my 55-01 sells.

[bassplayer7770]

BestBassGear.com lists the Treble frequency of the Glock pre at 18kHz. Is that correct? That just seems insanely high to me...

By comparison, the Treble frequency on my Nordy pre is 4kHz.

[Lincoln]

Originally Posted by bassplayer7770

BestBassGear.com lists the Treble frequency of the Glock pre at 18kHz. Is that correct? That just seems insanely high to me...

By comparison, the Treble frequency on my Nordy pre is 4kHz.

I think so, but since it is boost/cut I can roll off quite a bit of treble if need be. Which I've been doing when doing the Richard Bona fingerstyle thang.

So I'm thinking of adding a coil tap switch, any brave souls tried this, yet?

[4Mal]

I replaced the Bart MK1's in a 55-01 with Big Splits. To my ear it was a major upgrade but - I detest the Marcus tone thing ... I felt the Big Splits were kinda P-Bass like - Big! Clear! Quiet! - yeah, you could slap with 'em - but it would be more like the guy from Chic than Marcus... now for me that would work, you ? maybe not so much ...

[Lincoln]

Originally Posted by 4Mal

I replaced the Bart MK1's in a 55-01 with Big Splits. To my ear it was a major upgrade but - I detest the Marcus tone thing ... I felt the Big Splits were kinda P-Bass like - Big! Clear! Quiet! - yeah, you could slap with 'em - but it would be more like the guy from Chic than Marcus... now for me that would work, you ? maybe not so much ...

No I'm definitely a Marcus guy, though Bernard was a Monster!

[billbern]

I've got big splits in my Clement fretless, so not much slapping. But, i think the mids are complex (sorta "growly") with tight lows. I would not think they would produce that scooped sound without quite a bit of eq.

[4Mal]

'xactly - Frankly if I wanted that exaggerated scoop thing, I would turn to a really good stomp pre. The old Trace SM-7 EQ pedal would do that tone nicely.

[Lincoln]

Originally Posted by 4Mal

'xactly - Frankly if I wanted that exaggerated scoop thing, I would turn to a really good stomp pre. The old Trace SM-7 EQ pedal would do that tone nicely.

I'm leaning toward a coil tap ( or cutter ) switch, so that I can use the outside coils to get the j slap sound. I'll try that first with the Barts and see how that goes. Before I drop a coupla hundred $$$ on the Nordy's. Everything is shielded so that will minimize the hum...

I know Marcus turns up his pickups on full, so I'll be curious what the difference will be with a Volume Blend Pot rather than separate volumes

[billbern]

Originally Posted by Lincoln

So I'm thinking of adding a coil tap switch, any brave souls tried this, yet?

Once again, not exactly. I had a set of Nordy dual coils in my 55-01 w/coil select. Single coil mode gets close, although not exactly the same as single coil pick ups.

[Lincoln]

Originally Posted by billbern

Once again, not exactly. I had a set of Nordy dual coils in my 55-01 w/coil select. Single coil mode gets close, although not exactly the same as single coil pick ups.

Close is good