Wiring bartolini mk1s passive?

[ceeprm]

Hi Ive got an Ibanez sr905 (amazing bass....) which has the mk1 pickups and the 3 band eq. I really like the sound of the bass apart from the high end which is a bit brittle sounding which I think is due to the preamp not being the best. I could replace it but I dont actually use it apart from reducing the treble slightly and was wondering if I could go ahead and wire the pickups passive with just a volume and a blend- has anybody done this? Would wiring them passive with a dual concentric blend pot cause them to bleed into each other like on a jazz bass as I think it has an active blend at the moment? Any help is much appreciated.

cheers

Phil

[billbern]

I can't help with the wiring. I just thought I'd give you some input. I've got MK1's in a 55-01 w/NTMB pre and the highs are still a little "brittle" or harsh and the lows a bit boomy, even with the preamp bypassed, it still sounds good, I'm just nit-picking here. My point is that it may not be the preamp. you may not get the improvment you're looking for bypassing the pre.
Bill

[budreau]

I have a Conklin Gt5 with the MK1 barts. I tried to wire them active/passive when I replaced the preamp. Without power the output is nil. Very faint, and only at the extreme lower range. You could ditch the preamp and wire them up through pots, but they'll still need a battery. hope this helps.

[abriemzh]

hi ceeprm,

i have cort b4, wich has active/passive switch, believe me the natural sound of mk-1(passive) is still kind of brittle, so maybe you could change the preamp with better one.

[mikezimmerman]

Originally Posted by budreau

I have a Conklin Gt5 with the MK1 barts. I tried to wire them active/passive when I replaced the preamp. Without power the output is nil. Very faint, and only at the extreme lower range. You could ditch the preamp and wire them up through pots, but they'll still need a battery. hope this helps.

Weird--when I replaced the preamp on my 55-01, I found the output on the MK1's to be just fine. The pickups themselves definately don't require (or use) a battery--they're strictly passive.

I did find the tone a bit on the aggressive side even passive, but not bad...

Mike

[ceeprm]

Thanks- it will take me about 5mins with a soldering iron to try the the passive thing out- but maybe im looking at new pickups- us bartolinis perhaps?

[budreau]

Originally Posted by mikezimmerman

Weird--when I replaced the preamp on my 55-01, I found the output on the MK1's to be just fine. The pickups themselves definately don't require (or use) a battery--they're strictly passive.

I did find the tone a bit on the aggressive side even passive, but not bad...

Mike

Perhaps the MK1 is different for each application? Mine have a power lead which is separate from the sheilded output/ ground lead. If you don't apply dc power to them they put out almost nothing.

[ceeprm]

Right- ive wired the bass up passive and it seems to have got rid of the harsh high end. Only problem is that the bridge pickup is now a lot louder than the neck one- the pot value may be wrong at 25k- any ideas? I havnt had a chance to it play it through an amp yet but through headphones it seems to be closer to the sound im looking for...

Is it possible to get a preamp that is totally transparent when set flat?

thanks

Phil