I have an old SB1000 that had the pup go bad. Not sure, but seems like a common problem. I was lucky enough to find a thread about Kent Armstrong on Talk Bass. I contacted him and he made me a new pup for my bass. He is a GREAT guy and took the time to HAND MAKE a new pup from an old mold he had in his shop. After slapping on a set of Blue Steel strings, I can not tell you how pleased I am with the sound. I hear others saying that the SB1000 is lacking a good tone. Not any more! This thing growls like no other bass I own. Hope this helps anyone out there lucky enough to have a SB1000.
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ARIA Pro II SB1000 Pickup Fix WOW!
- Thread starter RWP
- Start date
One more thing about the SB-1000. Before I replaced the pup the rotary 'attack' switch seemed useless. The volume level would decrease as you turned it counter clockwise so I always left it in the first position, very bright. After the pup replacement the bass level stays constant but the tone changes. The third position is where I am finding the best growl. Really cuts through the mix.
As far as I know KA did not make the original pup for the SB1000. When I talked to him and described the problem I was having, his first comment was an open pickup. The factory unit is sealed in epoxy of some sort, so there was no way I would have been able to fix it. After installing his new pup the bass retained its classic SB sound and look but somehow sounded even better. Hard to describe. I suspect Kent was able to come very close to duplicating the factory pup and added some of his magic 
GERRR! I tried to upload a pic but I am such a bone-head I can't figure out how to resize my JPG down to 640x480!!
GERRR! I tried to upload a pic but I am such a bone-head I can't figure out how to resize my JPG down to 640x480!!
Thanks for the help guys. Looks like I am getting the hang of things here. Imageshack did the trick. I bought this bass in 83 after having my Guild B302 fall over and head stock broken off. See there is a reason for everything! At the time the singer wanted me to get a Kiss Ax bass, but this one sounded much better.
Do any of you guys know how much one of these aria replacement pickups cost?
My SB r60 needs a new one. I've emailed Kent and Aaron Armstrong numerous times over the past to months for no reply.
I really want a pickup that is the right fit and specifically built with the Aria SB in mind. With the lack of communication from their end I may just drop in an EMG35 or a Bart or Baselines in a 35's dimensions. Anyone used one of the above in their Aria SB's, If so what's the verdict?
Thankyou,
Tom.
My SB r60 needs a new one. I've emailed Kent and Aaron Armstrong numerous times over the past to months for no reply.
I really want a pickup that is the right fit and specifically built with the Aria SB in mind. With the lack of communication from their end I may just drop in an EMG35 or a Bart or Baselines in a 35's dimensions. Anyone used one of the above in their Aria SB's, If so what's the verdict?
Thankyou,
Tom.
somebody on ebay put tbird pickups in an sb.
the dimensions were about the same....
but yeah,my sb 900 has an original in the bridge and a KA in the neck position,unfortunatly the original neck pup was allready gone when i bought it,so i have no "original sound" to compare it to.
but hey,ANY sound is better than NO sound!!!
the dimensions were about the same....
but yeah,my sb 900 has an original in the bridge and a KA in the neck position,unfortunatly the original neck pup was allready gone when i bought it,so i have no "original sound" to compare it to.
but hey,ANY sound is better than NO sound!!!
Kent and Aaron build great replacements but Rautia Guitars in Finland makes beautiful ones also. There is also Reed james who makes traditional architecture MB pickups but also makes a Neodymium magnet version for a more modern sound.
Back from the dead thread. FWIW, I restored an old SB-R80 a few years ago, the dual pickup model. As is common, a coil was dead in one of the pickups and I had Aaron Armstrong make a replacement. It was a fine pickup in its own right but it sounded nothing like the original, not even close, and the new and old pickups really clashed as a pair. It's a shame because I think the original MB pickups sound great, very punchy.
