Swapping out MECs for EMGs in Fortress 1??

[jonotronic]

Good evening,

I have a warwick fortress one fretless (c. 1994) that has seen little action of late. The volume pot is currently dodgy, and I feel the tone is a bit lacklustre. In particular the preamp is nasty - the treble boost adds harshness and the bass boost is a bit muddy. It sounds nicer in passive mode but the output is fairly weedy.

I'm looking at dumping the entire MEC system for an EMG P-J set and a BTS preamp. Are the EMG's the same size, ie no routing required? Has anyone tried the EMG-X set? Are the EMGs an improvement over the passive (dynamic correction)MECs installed? If anyone has any info I'd be grateful.
Thanks!

[cliff78]

the emg's are better. you you plan to take of the preamp i'll gladly get it

[BigOldHarry]

hmmmm...

EMG's would not be my first choice.... but it rather depends on what you play. I used EMGs for years and was pretty happy until I started doing more jazzy stuff... but for rock they were fine.

[jonotronic]

Originally Posted by cliff78

the emg's are better. you you plan to take of the preamp i'll gladly get it

I'd happily send you over the MEC preamp, but the postage to florida would probably be more than it's actually worth!!!!
Have played a few basses with EMGs before (a long time ago) and they always sounded pretty meaty to me..

[OneMoreRobot]

SWEET BABY JESUS IN A HAY RIDDEN MANGER WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A THING???

I mean, whatever floats your boat man.

Or makes your meatloaf.

[cliff78]

Originally Posted by jonotronic

I'd happily send you over the MEC preamp, but the postage to florida would probably be more than it's actually worth!!!!
Have played a few basses with EMGs before (a long time ago) and they always sounded pretty meaty to me..

the preamp in my warwick is kinda messed up./ it would be a big help

[jonotronic]

Originally Posted by cliff78

the preamp in my warwick is kinda messed up./ it would be a big help

Is this the one you posted about in another thread with Bartolini pickups? Treble control not working?

[cliff78]

Originally Posted by jonotronic

Is this the one you posted about in another thread with Bartolini pickups? Treble control not working?

yup its the one. i hope i could still fix it though

[bassman74]

do yourself a favor and order some delano pickup and preamp...

I had warwick basses for years buut always tought i could upgrade pickups....

i had seymour duncan and bartolini, sounded goog but not better IMO

I installed the delano and it retained all the warwick sound but more musical, never harsh and string to string balance is now perfect...

You'll get the same detail tone with the EMG but not as musical, you may fing them harsh souding once in a while...

good luck

[jonotronic]

Originally Posted by bassman74

do yourself a favor and order some delano pickup and preamp...

I had warwick basses for years buut always tought i could upgrade pickups....

i had seymour duncan and bartolini, sounded goog but not better IMO

I installed the delano and it retained all the warwick sound but more musical, never harsh and string to string balance is now perfect...

You'll get the same detail tone with the EMG but not as musical, you may fing them harsh souding once in a while...

good luck

Interesting! I played a Sandberg with Delanos recently and it sounded awesome - need to check out availability. The ease of install appeals with the EMG system, as I don't like soldering anything too intricate. Thanks for that.

[UrbanIvy]

I have a warwick thumb and replaced the MEC's with an Aguilar pre and Bart Pickups.

It is much better than the MEC setup imo, but still very harsh sounding.

I was thinking the other day out of the blue about going with Nordstrand PU's. The Delano sounds like a good call as well.

That reminds me, I have the original pre and pickups if anyone's interested.