Q-Tuner Review with Bartolini Comparison Samples

[12bass]

Hi Everyone,

Ever since replacing the brittle sounding EMGs in my Hamer 12-string with a set of Lane Poor M3.5Ws, I've been interested in upgrading the pickups in my main bass as well, a Pedulla Rapture 5.

The Rapture 5 comes equipped with a custom wound Bartolini 66BD5C-T which matches the Pedulla's neck radius. My first attempt at replacing the Bartolini was with a Lane Poor wide aperture. However, after installing the Lane Poor SB3.950, I found that the pickup's radius was too flat for the curvature of the neck, resulting in the inner strings being too quiet relative to the outer strings. Luthier David King was kind enough to take the Lane Poor back for a refund.

My next attempt was to order a custom Bartolini 66BD5CX-T. Unfortunately, it never arrived.... having been lost in permanent Bartolini limbo. Then I decided to order the more common 72BD5CX-T, but it has the same problem with neck radius that I had with the Lane Poor, meaning that it wasn't usable in my bass. Right now I have the Bartolini 66BD5C-T and 72BD5CX-T in the parts bin.

After reading comments about how transparent sounding Q-Tuners are supposed to be, I decided to order a BL-5 for my Rapture 5. True, $160 is a fair amount of money to pay for a pickup, but sometimes great tone is worth paying for. I'm not disappointed with the results.

Here are some samples of my Pedulla Rapture 5 with two Bartolinis and the Q-Tuner.

Bartolini C (Bartolini's least bright pickup)

Bartolini CX (Bartolini's brightest - more treble and bass)

Q-Tuner

The recording was done in one session, swapping pickups between takes, using an Echo Gina 24 soundcard with Cubase SX. Each humbucking pickup was wired in series, connected directly to the output jack, then to the input of my Eden WT-500 to minimize pickup loading. The signal was then taken from the Eden's pre-EQ preamp output and sent to the Gina 24's analog input. No compression or EQ was applied after recording.

Tonally, the pickup is definitely different sounding than the Bartolini C it replaced. With the Q-tuner, the upper harmonics and fundamental frequencies seem more present. I get the impression that the Q-Tuner has a flatter overall frequency response than the Bartolini, which seems to have a preponderance of low mids and somewhat muted highs. Although the Q-Tuner has presence, I'm hesitant to call it a bright sound. Unlike EMGs which I find bright and harsh, IMO, the Q-Tuner has a clear, balanced sound, but is not harsh at all. At some point I would be curious to compare the Q-Tuner with the Lane Poors.

 

[Passinwind]

By any chance did get the Q in black insead of the clear case? Any pictures if so?

Sounds nice. That's just the difference from the Bart C I'm looking for, I think.

 

[12bass]

Nope.... liked the high-tech look of the exposed coils.....

I'm not sure if you referring to the difference between C and CX, or C and Q-Tuner.

 

[Passinwind]

Nope.... liked the high-tech look of the exposed coils.....

That cool, looks good with that finish on your bass I think. But I have all black hardware, hence my interest in seeing how the black ones look. Plus, I might just replace the bridge PU and keep the Bart in the neck postion. I'll just email the maker though, I guess.

I was referring to C and Q; didn't dig the CX as much as either of the other ones, based on your short clips.

 

[Toni L.]

Hi,
I have exactly the same problems with flat pick-ups s.a. Bartolini, EMG, etc... I wrote to Q tuner in order to eventually buy one of their pick-ups but so far, no response.
How and where did you buy your Q-tuner pick-ups and one last question... are the magnetic poles adjustable string by string?
You see, my custom built has a radium and the difference between E+G strings and A+D strings is of approximately 2 millimeters (sorry, I live in Europe & am not familiar with inches).
I'd appreciate if I could find out more about Q-tuner bass p/ups.
Thanks in advance. TONI L.

 

[Captain_joe6]

the best place to get info on Q-tuners is on their website, www.q-tuner.com

beyond that, the simple answer to your question is 'yes and no' because Q-tuners as far as I can discern from the info on the site and the pictures, don't have poles pieces. I know for sure that they're blade-type pickups, so string spacing isn't an issue. The nearest thing to poles that they have are the tiny Q magnets in the three rows across the face. The website goes into more depth as to why this is, but basically you can screw each individual little magnet up and down to change the sound.

And don't worry about the inches-metric thing. Every schoolchild in America for the last 40+ years has been told that everything is going to switch to the metric system 'really soon,' so we've got a basic grasp of things.

 

[12bass]

Here are a couple more Q-Tuner pics... a pickup seldom seen in captivity:

 

[Akami]

... are the magnetic poles adjustable string by string?

It appears to me from looking at the pictures that there is endless adjustment available, with the three rows of allen screws allowing you to fine balance to your hearts content.

 

[12bass]

Finally got some time to play around more with the polepieces to adjust the "Q" on the Q-Tuner.

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As detailed on their website, along with radius compensation, you can also adjust the height of the polepieces under each string to change local harmonic response. Basically, you can control the voicing of the pickup on a string by string basis. With this level of adjustment, you can bring more lows out of the treble strings and more harmonics out of the bass strings, if that's your desire. Truly a flexible pickup.

A couple of nights ago I spent a few hours tweaking, adjusting the heights of the 39 polepieces to even out the sound of each string.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with the natural, open sound of the Q-Tuner. My Pedulla Rapture never sounded better!

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

I know for sure that they're blade-type pickups, so string spacing isn't an issue. The nearest thing to poles that they have are the tiny Q magnets in the three rows across the face.

Those are the poles. They do not have blades. Those aren't magnets either... just steel allen screws, just like DiMarzio uses. You can see the neo bar magnet in the middle of the coil touching the allen screw pole pieces.

You can easily adjust those poles for the curvature of your fingerboard.

 

[pilotjones]

Nice comparison. In a bass only - solo setting of the clips, I actually like the Barts better. Natural sounding or woodier. Too much string noise for me with the Qs. But-- in a mix could it be a different matter.

It's nice to hear some samples and experience with the Qs, as opposed to the bull on their website.

BTW for the Q samples, how were the polepieces adjusted? Were they even, center row high, outer rows high?

 

[12bass]

Nice comparison. In a bass only - solo setting of the clips, I actually like the Barts better. Natural sounding or woodier. Too much string noise for me with the Qs. But-- in a mix could it be a different matter.

It seems that the terms used to describe sound can be taken in different ways. There is an inherent mid voice in the Bartolini C which I like, which might be described as "woody". However, if you listen to the chords played later on in the clip, the muffled, indistinct nature of the treble response on the higher strings with the Bartolinis is very apparent. IMO, the Q-Tuner comes closer to reproducing the acoustic sound of the bass, which I would say makes it more "open" and "natural", while the Bartolini is "euphoniously colored".

BTW for the Q samples, how were the polepieces adjusted? Were they even, center row high, outer rows high?

During the recording the Q-Tuner was basically set up with polepieces in the stock XXX position. If you prefer more low-mids and less highs you can use X0X. The difference is quite noticeable.

 

[sargebaker]

I'm glad to see some Q reviews here. I've been interested in putting them in a bass for some time... but they don't fit so I'll have to wait till I have a custom made

 

[12bass]

Perhaps it worth mentioning again that the clips were recorded through the preamp of my Eden WT-500, which means that there will be some coloration of the sound before the Gina24's A/D converters. There was a little Enhance added to the preamp, about 8:00 or 8:30 or so. Otherwise, the preamp's output was sent pre-parametric EQ section. I would have recorded direct into the Gina24, but the analog inputs don't seem well matched for a passive bass.

 

[rpatter]

That cool, looks good with that finish on your bass I think. But I have all black hardware, hence my interest in seeing how the black ones look. Plus, I might just replace the bridge PU and keep the Bart in the neck postion. I'll just email the maker though, I guess.

I was referring to C and Q; didn't dig the CX as much as either of the other ones, based on your short clips.

They made me a black one for my fretless. When I get home I'll post a pic for you. A few months ago I ordered a pair of black q-tuners for a fretted bass I'm having made. In communicating with them by email, it sounded like they were having trouble getting the black cases, but they did come through for me. It only delayed the pickups a week or so.

Ralf

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

In communicating with them by email, it sounded like they were having trouble getting the black cases, but they did come through for me.

That's interesting because the pickups don't actually have cases... they are cast in some kind of resin (probably epoxy). So to get a black pickup they just have to dye the resin. They probably didn't have any in stock. This is the same way Kent Armstrong makes his pickups.

It was great hearing some comparative sound clips!

 

[Passinwind]

They made me a black one for my fretless. When I get home I'll post a pic for you.

Cool. Thanks Ralf!

 

[12bass]

Jim Scholten from Sawyer Brown told me about the black Q-Tuner he had in his G&L. Sadly, the bass was destroyed in a fire.
Here's a pic:

One further note: The sound clips were recorded with each pickup wired directly to the output jack. The result is that the highs are more pronounced because they are not dampened by the potentiometer.

 

[rpatter]

That's interesting because the pickups don't actually have cases... they are cast in some kind of resin (probably epoxy). So to get a black pickup they just have to dye the resin. They probably didn't have any in stock. This is the same way Kent Armstrong makes his pickups.

It was great hearing some comparative sound clips!

The black ones are different. When I ordered them in black Erno asked me if I was OK with the different shape. I actually prefer it. It's more of a traditional look.

Ralf

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

The black ones are different. When I ordered them in black Erno asked me if I was OK with the different shape. I actually prefer it. It's more of a traditional look.

Ralf

Ah! Well that's interesting. I like that shape also. I wonder why they aren't just dying the clear ones? Black covers are probably easier to work with.