Pickups for a Bartolini HR-4.6

metallicafan18 · #1 11-27-2008, 01:16 PM

Hey all! I plan on getting a Bartolini HR-4.6 preamp for my Schecter Stiletto Custom-5. Thing is I don't know what pickups to get with it. Right now I have EMGHZ-40's. I hate these pickups, so I want to change them for something very nice. Like Bartolini's. So what pickup's will fit in the Schecter and work with the 4.6? The preamp is active/passive (pushpull) if you needed to know.

Also I would like to buy the preamp and the pickups from the same dealer or website, so what are some good sites to purchase pickups and preamps from?

Thanks for any help!

(edit)
ok, I've narrowed it down between 2 pickups. The XXM45C and the XXM45M.

The latter one is a split-coil, and the first is a quad-coil. What's the difference between split and quad? Tone, installation, etc...?

Stealth · #2 11-28-2008, 03:39 AM

Regarding the description of the split-coils and quad-coils, look at the Nordstrand Pickups page, under Modern, for the MM 5.4 - I assume that's how the XXM45C and M work as well.

As for the installation, contact Brian from BestBassGear.com - the guy's a real encyclopedia on the pick-ups he sells and I'm pretty sure he'll explain the hows and the whys of both those pickups - and he works with both Barts and Nordies, so he'll know what would work best.

metallicafan18 · #3 11-28-2008, 11:14 AM

I contacted bestbassgear.com and here was their response. This was very helpful.

The quads have more output and a bit fuller tone. The splits are a bit thinner sounding in comparison. Installation. Not a whole lot different. You'd probably run the quads in series to get most output and best lows, and the wiring difference would be simply having a couple extra wires to connect to each other (combining the coils essentially) and an extra ground wire.

The quads allow you to wire in a switch, and wire them in series or parallel. These each produce different tones. If you can wire in a switch, that will give you the most options, but installation gets slightly more complicated at that point. Series wiring gives fuller low end and most output. Parallel gives you less output, but more treble. One can also wire them to operate in a sort of single coil type mode...which would be somewhat similar to the parallel tone. Most
folks actually wire the quads in series as that is the most popular tone (more lows and more output)...and I do the same typically as well.

The splits while sounding somewhat thinner, still sound good. I have used them in a couple basses for years.