Warwick Fretless Thumb 6 with Basslines - replace pickups or preamp or both?

[Bassflute]

One of my students is really not happy with the sound coming from his bass anymore, a mid-90's Warwick Thumb fretless 6 with Basslines pickups and the stock bass and treble preamp. The BASS itself sounds amazing acoustically (but freaking H-E-A-V-Y!!!), that's not the problem, but the pickups are SO dark and scooped and bottom heavy it is becoming a problem for him. The output on this thing is really really low, like lower than a passive bass. We don't want to butcher the bass, but would like to upgrade its electronics. Would a Bartolini preamp in there boost output and give him a more balanced, 'flat' tone, with more brightness and top end, or is the problem really in the pickups? We could swap the preamp out pretty easily, and just get a Bart with bass and treble; swapping the pickups might be more difficult (size wise) and much more costly.

Any thoughts and or opinions by people who have done a swap would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Cameron

[emjazz]

Hey Cameron.

I'm not sure what's under the hood of those Duncun's but I'm assuming they're just off the shelf Duncun dual coils. They should be more open and clear then you're describing. I'd start by wiring the pickups straight to the output jack to see what they sound like by themselves. If he likes the sound at that point then put a different preamp in there. If not then you know it's the pickups that aren't working. What are the size of the pickup shells? See if they're a Bartolini P4 shape or similar. If so you'll have a few options such as Barts, Nordstrands, Delano....etc. Check out www.bestbassgear.com for some pickup choices. I've had good luck with Bartolini Classic Bass dual coils. Great sounding pickups. More open sounding and less dark than the standard Barts. The Delano dual coils are wonderful as well. If the pickups are an odd size then contact Kent Armstrong and let him know what you're looking for. I love his pickups. I just got a custom set for my next bass....it only took like 2 weeks to get them. If you end up needing Kent's number then PM me and I'll give it to you. Good luck!

Andy.

[Bassflute]

Originally Posted by emjazz

Hey Cameron.

I'm not sure what's under the hood of those Duncun's but I'm assuming they're just off the shelf Duncun dual coils. They should be more open and clear then you're describing. I'd start by wiring the pickups straight to the output jack to see what they sound like by themselves. If he likes the sound at that point then put a different preamp in there. If not then you know it's the pickups that aren't working. What are the size of the pickup shells? See if they're a Bartolini P4 shape or similar. If so you'll have a few options such as Barts, Nordstrands, Delano....etc. Check out www.bestbassgear.com for some pickup choices. I've had good luck with Bartolini Classic Bass dual coils. Great sounding pickups. More open sounding and less dark than the standard Barts. The Delano dual coils are wonderful as well. If the pickups are an odd size then contact Kent Armstrong and let him know what you're looking for. I love his pickups. I just got a custom set for my next bass....it only took like 2 weeks to get them. If you end up needing Kent's number then PM me and I'll give it to you. Good luck!

Andy.

Great ideas, esp about routing it right to the jack - we'll definitely try that. And yeah, Kent's number if you would be so kind.

Cheers,
Cameron