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Big Splits were the missing piece in my new build

ric426

ric426

In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
Supporting Member
Mar 27, 2002
1,507
1,835
Southeast Michigan
#1
I've been putting together my dream Jazz Bass for several months now, but I just couldn't get the sound I wanted, despite using top quality parts and components. Until tonight.

I bought a 4 band Pope Flexcore preamp from BBG, so I was reasonably confident that I was starting from a good point for the preamp. I first tried a set of Bart classic J bass pickups that I had and they sounded ok, but kinda compressed. Then I tried a set of vintage style single coils that a friend of mine makes (www.budzguitars.com) and they had a great vintage sound, but they still sounded compressed and I was getting worried that I wasn't going to be able to get away from that with this particular body/neck combo. After a lot of research and reading a lot of threads here, I took a leap of faith and ordered a set of Nordstrand Big Splits from BBG, knowing that I was gonna have to rout bigger pickup cavities and commit to soapbars, but I figured there were enough choices in that size that if I didn't like the Big Splits, I'd eventually find *something* I liked.

Well, the search is over. The Big Splits opened up the sound of this bass, giving me good dynamics, the tone I was looking for and great response to right hand technique and position changes. As a bonus they're also dead silent in terms of hum and noise and they work really well with the Pope preamp. With the other pickups I had to use more EQ from the Flexcore than I liked, but with the Big Splits I get a good sound with everything flat and can enhance it from there, just the way I like it.

In case you're interested, here are the other parts I used:
Warmoth chambered Dinky J ash body with a quilt maple top. I did a sort of honey burst finish by hand with dyes, but it was a nightmare journey, but I learned a lot doing it. Like next time, pay the pros to do it.
Warmoth wenge neck with ebony fretboard and 6230 vintage sized frets. Made some threaded inserts and used stainless machine screws to mount the neck. I've done that on three of my basses and like the results.
Hipshot A style aluminum bridge
Hipshot Ultralight tuners

I know, I know, no pictures, no bass, but I'll take care of that tomorrow.
 
#5
ric426 said:
I've been putting together my dream Jazz Bass for several months now, but I just couldn't get the sound I wanted, despite using top quality parts and components. Until tonight.

I bought a 4 band Pope Flexcore preamp from BBG, so I was reasonably confident that I was starting from a good point for the preamp. I first tried a set of Bart classic J bass pickups that I had and they sounded ok, but kinda compressed. Then I tried a set of vintage style single coils that a friend of mine makes (www.budzguitars.com) and they had a great vintage sound, but they still sounded compressed and I was getting worried that I wasn't going to be able to get away from that with this particular body/neck combo. After a lot of research and reading a lot of threads here, I took a leap of faith and ordered a set of Nordstrand Big Splits from BBG, knowing that I was gonna have to rout bigger pickup cavities and commit to soapbars, but I figured there were enough choices in that size that if I didn't like the Big Splits, I'd eventually find *something* I liked.

Well, the search is over. The Big Splits opened up the sound of this bass, giving me good dynamics, the tone I was looking for and great response to right hand technique and position changes. As a bonus they're also dead silent in terms of hum and noise and they work really well with the Pope preamp. With the other pickups I had to use more EQ from the Flexcore than I liked, but with the Big Splits I get a good sound with everything flat and can enhance it from there, just the way I like it.

In case you're interested, here are the other parts I used:
Warmoth chambered Dinky J ash body with a quilt maple top. I did a sort of honey burst finish by hand with dyes, but it was a nightmare journey, but I learned a lot doing it. Like next time, pay the pros to do it.
Warmoth wenge neck with ebony fretboard and 6230 vintage sized frets. Made some threaded inserts and used stainless machine screws to mount the neck. I've done that on three of my basses and like the results.
Hipshot A style aluminum bridge
Hipshot Ultralight tuners

I know, I know, no pictures, no bass, but I'll take care of that tomorrow.
Click to expand...

:D
 
#9
bassist4dalord said:
Subscribed, can't wait to see this thing. I've always thought Nordstrand Big Splits looked awesome; if they sound anywhere near as good as they look, I want a set..
Click to expand...

Actually, I think they sound even better than they look.

Here are some shots of the bass. The finish didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, but finishing is my least favorite part of woodworking. I put a lot of time into the finish (mainly fixing my mistakes), but I finally reached a point that was a combination of "it's good enough" and "I don't want to do this anymore!".

WJBFullFront.jpg
WJBBodyFront.jpg
WJBBodyBack.jpg
 
#11
maurilio said:
Doooode, that's nice! Good choice! I'm actually working on my own neck/s (way overdue) and I'm going wenge/Mac ebony (ash body)!
Any recordings?
Click to expand...

Thanks! The finish came out a little blotchy, especially on the back, but otherwise I'm delighted with the results. I'm really a fan of quality wenge necks. I've played some cheap ones that didn't sound too good, but that could have been for a number of reasons.

Don't have any recordings at this point. If I come up with any that aren't too embarrassing I'll post 'em here.
 
#15
BrokeDownSouth said:
Man, that is super close to the project I have in mind. How are you liking the Mike Pope preamp? I was thinking about the Nordstrand Dual Coil soapars - kind of a Hi-Fi J bass.
Click to expand...

I really like the FlexCore preamp. I wondered whether I'd really need the 4 bands, but went for it anyway and I'm glad I did. I like having more control and the stock frequency centers work well together. I haven't even tried the alternate centers yet, so I may be able to dial it in to my liking even better. The preamp is quiet, smooth and very intuitive and a breeze to install. It was a little tight in the J bass control cavity, but I was able to rout the cavity a little wider and with careful placement of the modules it fit nicely. With some patience you could fit one in a stock J bass rout,but you'd probably have to locate the batteries elsewhere. BTW, I've been running it at 18v. I haven't tried it at 9v because I have room for two batteries. If I have any criticism it would be that the passive tone control isn't as effective as I'd like, but it's still perfectly adequate.
Overall, it's the best preamp I've tried. If cost is an issue, my second choice would be a Nordstrand 3 band. I've got one in another bass and until I got the Flexcore, it was my favorite.
Using the Flexcore with a pair of Nordstrand Dual Coils would give you a super flexible bass, especially with the coil switching options. HTH!
 
#16
Hobobob said:
Must post clips! I'm sort of in the planning stages of a build very similar to this, and I'd love to hear what this pup/pre/woods combo sounds like before I start doing anything concrete.
The finish looks great to me! Love the color.
Click to expand...

I'll try and get some sort of recording setup going, but life is a little tumultuous right now, so I won't be able to spend any time on it until at least the weekend. I'll do my best to get something posted to give you an idea of the sound if you can overlook my mediocre playing. I'm better at assembling basses than playing them. :eyebrow:
 
#18
Great pickups but not a good match with a Bartolini preamp. Had a set in my Lakland but they sounded horrible paired with the Bart pre I have in there.

I'm kinda surprised the Bart Classics didn't satify you. I have a set of Bart Classic Series 'Brights' in my Fender Jazz and that bass smokes! No compressing at all. They may just not match up to the Pope pre.
 
#19
ric426 said:
I'll try and get some sort of recording setup going, but life is a little tumultuous right now, so I won't be able to spend any time on it until at least the weekend. I'll do my best to get something posted to give you an idea of the sound if you can overlook my mediocre playing. I'm better at assembling basses than playing them. :eyebrow:
Click to expand...

I understand if you've been busy, but I would still love to hear how this bass sounds!
 
#20
Well, it took a while and the results are less than stellar, but given my limited abilities it'll have to do for now. They were recorded using an ART Dual Tube USB interface into Audacity. I tried to keep things as clean as possible, but the results are, well... you'll see. Please excuse my bad timing. I'm working on it.

All three samples were recorded in passive mode with the Pope preamp bypassed.

Oh, BTW the strings are D'Addario XL nickels.

First is the neck pickup soloed and just a touch of passive tone control rolled off:

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Next is both pickup on full and a touch of passive tone rolled off:

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Last is with the neck pickup soloed. The melody track has the passive tone rolled back a touch and the bass track has more rolled off.

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Listening to recordings of your playing sure spotlights all the problems and weak spots. I've got a lot of work to do...
 

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