Bartolini vs Nordstrand Pickups

[tonymcbony]

I think Barts sound good, very smooth and polite. That's not my taste though, and I really love the aggression and bite of the Nordies.

 

[OOTB68]

Thank you for your input. I think I hear what you mean, now that I think about it. I currently have Barts in a '90 fretless Thumb Bass and now that you mention it, I think I DO hear that. I feel sort of foolish sometimes since I've been playing for 30 years and have owned dozens of different instruments but I have never been into swapping pups or anything. I've always pretty much kept my instruments stock and have appreciated them as is. Therefore as a result, I have never really had a good handle on the subtle or drastic differences between individual components. I've always only heard the sum of all the parts so im not sure just how much any one component is affecting the overall tone. Is it the wood combination and construction method, the pups, the preamp? I dont know if one is having a greater effect on a given instrument than the others (without experimenting, how can you tell?). I guess unless I am able to completely compare apples to apples and dig in and experiment a little, I will never truly have a handle on the individual components and the potential difference each will make to the overall sound. For the time being, however, I think I'm going to stick with the Nordy's that are in the Q4. All I know is it sounds fantastic and if it ain't broke I'm not going to attempt to fix it. Thanks again for your input. Im certainly open for any suggestions or further input. Thanks again.

 

[levis76]

I was really glad to stumble upon this post. I purchased a beautiful dead mint '06 Modulus Q4 with the 3-band Bartolini preamp. The previous owner swapped out the original Bartolini pups for a pair of Dual Coil Nordy's. He included the original pups with the bass, however. I have had Bartolinis in other basses before (never had any Nordys tho) and they've always sounded great in the instuments they were in. Was wondering about changing to the original Bartolinis...I love the sound of the Q4 as is so I have no immediate intention of making the swap. But at the same time I wonder what the difference would be since I have no basis for comparison (a true apples to apples comparison in the same bass with the same preamp). What would I stand to gain and/or lose were I to put the stock Barts in and take the Nordys out? Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Gain - knowledge of what each set of p'ups can achieve tonally.

Lose - the short amount of time it takes to swap them.

I say go for it and swap them. If you don't like them, swap them back.

 

[Bruno Maia Jazz]

Hello
I had posted a thread before but I couldn't get an answer
so I post it again!

I have a Jazz bass which has Jazz, Musicman Hum, Jazz pickups
Jazz(single) for bridge pu
MM Hum for middle pu
Jazz(single) for neck pu
with aguillar obp-3

Hello,
I know this is +10 years old, but if you are reading this, I am at this point in experimenting with Jazz Bass tones where you were when you wrote this. I played double bass and 6 string electric for decades, so now Jazz Bass is now to me.

I am curious about how the wiring for this was like. Did you have a 5-way switch for that bass?
And would you remember if the pots were 250k, or 500k? Likely your luthier set up with telecaster pre-wired harness, and 500k for bass does affect the tone considerably.

I had that same project in mind, having the MM in the middle. So your experience would really help.

Cheers,

Bruno Maia.

 

[pcake]

Hello,
I know this is +10 years old, but if you are reading this, I am at this point in experimenting with Jazz Bass tones where you were when you wrote this. I played double bass and 6 string electric for decades, so now Jazz Bass is now to me.

I am curious about how the wiring for this was like. Did you have a 5-way switch for that bass?
And would you remember if the pots were 250k, or 500k? Likely your luthier set up with telecaster pre-wired harness, and 500k for bass does affect the tone considerably.

I had that same project in mind, having the MM in the middle. So your experience would really help.

Cheers,

Bruno Maia.

the original poster last logged in in 2014.

 

[Geri O]

the original poster last logged in in 2014.

Can’t see how that negates the late poster’s question in any way.

 

[Meaculpa]

Can’t see how that negates the late poster’s question in any way.

2 years later the question remains unanswered.

 

[Meaculpa]

I'm on the fence of swapping my mk1 split coils for another brand...maybe Nordstrand Big Splits...I got a Markbass preamp that I love...but I keep reading here that mk1 pickups sucks..do I will get some advantage swapping to another soapbar split coils than keeping the mk1 pickups? I dont know if I'm asking on the right thread.

 

[iiipopes]

I'm on the fence of swapping my mk1 split coils for another brand...maybe Nordstrand Big Splits...I got a Markbass preamp that I love...but I keep reading here that mk1 pickups sucks..do I will get some advantage swapping to another soapbar split coils than keeping the mk1 pickups? I dont know if I'm asking on the right thread.

On my Ibby BTB845V I swapped the MK1 (or is it 2 now?) pickups for real USA Barts, including the CB in the neck. I gained clarity and lowered noise, and the bass became that much more versatile with an EMG preamp. Trivia: if you don't mind about a 1/32 inch gap, MK size pickups are the same length, just @ 1/16 wider, than standard P2 sized pickups, so that opens up a lot of aftermarket possibilities.

 

[BaltoNealio]

I'm on the fence of swapping my mk1 split coils for another brand...maybe Nordstrand Big Splits...I got a Markbass preamp that I love...but I keep reading here that mk1 pickups sucks..do I will get some advantage swapping to another soapbar split coils than keeping the mk1 pickups? I dont know if I'm asking on the right thread.

To add another dash of confusion to this thread, a few years ago I A/B’d two brand-new Ibby basses: SR500 and SR650 (IIRC), with Bart MK1 and Nordies respectively. Indeed, the MK1s were “polite,” while the Nordies did have appreciable bite/aggressiveness. I have no business telling others what to do unless asked for an educated opinion—that’s where I always seem to figuratively faceplant: the part about “educated!”
And yet, there were significant elements of both pickup brands that deserve some praise...so I used the store’s return policy for customer satisfriction [sic] and bought both to test them in a kind of controlled environment—my band’s rehearsal studio, with the plan being to run each through 3 full sets; since we always do each song twice the only imposition was swapping basses. But after the first set, I was leaning toward the 650’s Nordies—clear, aggressive with no mid scoop—only to receive shiite from the singer and lead for not playing their fave, the SR500. I listened to their rationale and found it valid; they liked the deep punch of the MK1s, and were ambivalent about the Nordies contribution in the mix. Confounded, I simply returned both and stood pat on my current primary gigging axe (a well-known brand with P/Js).

Moral of the story: I would have been delighted with the SR650 on face value. However the realities of recording and gigging can drive a decision in unexpected directions. (I know I can be long-winded, so thanks for not TL;DR)

 

[craigmack1979]

Barts are smooth and mild mannered ... Nordstrand have more bite, growl, and are more aggressive.

I disagree as matter of fact the way you described is exactl opposite of what I hear when I play my Ibanez SR 5005 with USA Barts vs my ibanez premium with norstrand pick ups . The norstand sound weak in bass dept no balls

 

[craigmack1979]

To add another dash of confusion to this thread, a few years ago I A/B’d two brand-new Ibby basses: SR500 and SR650 (IIRC), with Bart MK1 and Nordies respectively. Indeed, the MK1s were “polite,” while the Nordies did have appreciable bite/aggressiveness. I have no business telling others what to do unless asked for an educated opinion—that’s where I always seem to figuratively faceplant: the part about “educated!”
And yet, there were significant elements of both pickup brands that deserve some praise...so I used the store’s return policy for customer satisfriction [sic] and bought both to test them in a kind of controlled environment—my band’s rehearsal studio, with the plan being to run each through 3 full sets; since we always do each song twice the only imposition was swapping basses. But after the first set, I was leaning toward the 650’s Nordies—clear, aggressive with no mid scoop—only to receive shiite from the singer and lead for not playing their fave, the SR500. I listened to their rationale and found it valid; they liked the deep punch of the MK1s, and were ambivalent about the Nordies contribution in the mix. Confounded, I simply returned both and stood pat on my current primary gigging axe (a well-known brand with P/Js).

Moral of the story: I would have been delighted with the SR650 on face value. However the realities of recording and gigging can drive a decision in unexpected directions. (I know I can be long-winded, so thanks for not TL;DR)

Had bass with Nordys weak with no balks