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Best Bass Pickups and Bass Preamps
- Thread starter Art1606
- Start date
Yes please.
His point is, each manufacturer makes a whole bunch of different pickups that all sound different, so it's not fair to say X brand is better than Y brand without taking into account the model. Much like saying "Chevy makes better vehicles than Ford" based on your commuting experience is absolutely useless when a construction crew ends up with a fleet of Chevy Sonics.
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My original post quoted for clarity:
"I have had basses with Bartolini and EMG pickups, neither of which did much for me. Nordstrands, however, rule my world."
Note that I am not saying one brand is better than the others. I am saying that, in my experience, the four different kinds of pickups I have used from Nordstrand in three different basses sound best to my ears.
It is entirely possible that there are pickups from EMG and Bartolini that would sound better to me than the Nordstrands. I simply haven't heard them.
The EMGs I have experience with are model 40TW
The Bartolinis are 8SU (P-bass shell) and 9J-L1 (jazz bass shell)
The Nordstrands are Big Splits, Big Singles, NJ4SE (jazz bass shell) and NP4A (P-bass shell)
Never played a Bart I liked. They aren't bad, just not for me. Not a fan of EMG or anything that requires a battery.
For a major brandname, I like Dimarzio.
For those more adventurous, I absolutely love the CaliG Neo pickups. Dirt cheap (when in stock) on eBay. GuitarFetish passive pickups are also awesome (I think Artec rebrands?).
For a major brandname, I like Dimarzio.
For those more adventurous, I absolutely love the CaliG Neo pickups. Dirt cheap (when in stock) on eBay. GuitarFetish passive pickups are also awesome (I think Artec rebrands?).
Can I ask what you did/didn't like about each of those pickups? Personally, I'm interested in the Big Split vs Big Single since I'm looking at those for a potential replacement in my Ibanez at some point.
I've got Lace Alumitones with a 4-band Audere preamp in my main bass and I love them. Very modern sounding, just super clear. I've got a set of Q-Tuners coming for another bass that I'm going to run passive, at least at first.
Did you purchase the custom Audere Classic preamp that is made to bring out the best in the Lace pickups? I did, and it makes QUITE a difference.
Since this thread is almost six years old, I'm not expecting to sell the OP on this-or-that pickup and preamp combo. But, I will give a shout-out to a pairing I feel are worth mentioning. Do take it with a grain of salt, though, since I do not gig or jam with others and I am relatively new to active electronics. Big picture...I'm just a tinkerer and a hobbyist.
Over the past handful of years, I've grown rather fond of Bartolini B-Axis Jazz pickups. They are bold, growly and modern sounding, but without radically altering their Jazzy character or being too harsh to my ears.
When I started to try out active preamps, I wanted a balance between quality, capability and price. When I came across Guitar Fuel/Tone Monster systems, I think I found that balance. Specifically, I've found a home with their SEB module preamps with the PA+ passive tone control for several reasons;
Over the past handful of years, I've grown rather fond of Bartolini B-Axis Jazz pickups. They are bold, growly and modern sounding, but without radically altering their Jazzy character or being too harsh to my ears.
When I started to try out active preamps, I wanted a balance between quality, capability and price. When I came across Guitar Fuel/Tone Monster systems, I think I found that balance. Specifically, I've found a home with their SEB module preamps with the PA+ passive tone control for several reasons;
- I like that the tone control is passive only and separate from the active EQ settings. I know some like to be able to use the tone control at all times, but for me, the treble controls cover that when I'm running in active mode.
- I can use it without a battery as if it were a standard, passive bass and still have all the basic, V/V/T controls I would expect. (I replaced the blend control with Tone Monster's TBDV pot, so I can control each pickup's volume independently.)
- While they claim they can run at 9-volts or 18-volts, I put together a clip using a pair of A23 batteries, which are considerably lighter, more powerful (12-volts each) and, purportedly, live longer. So far, everything is working just fine and I have a lighter bass, to boot!
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I know that this is an old post, but the tone control does work when the preamp is enabled, or at least it does on my 3 band version.
I never gave it much thought, but there are so many different Tone Monster models that I shouldn't be surprised to hear it. What model are you using?
Mine is an SEB2-ABPA+ (module-style preamp, 2-band, active/passive) with the blend pot replaced with their dual-volume pot. (re: #2 of my previous post)
It's just a guess, but I doubt has changed the separation between the treble/bass EQ and the passive tone control. All things being possible, maybe the difference isn't in the model, but the specific batch I bought mine from? I know Ty has them built and shipped from South Korea, but I have no idea if there are significant differences from one batch to the next.
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I have the SEB3-BPA+, which doesn't seem to be available anymore but is the same as this one, just without the mid frequency switch: Pardon Our Interruption.... You might be right about the batches, when did you buy yours? I got mine just last summer, so it could be a recent change.I never gave it much thought, but there are so many different Tone Monster models that I shouldn't be surprised to hear it. What model are you using?
Mine is an SEB2-ABPA+ (module-style preamp, 2-band, active/passive) with the blend pot replaced with their dual-volume pot. (re: #2 of my previous post)
It's just a guess, but I doubt has changed the separation between the treble/bass EQ and the passive tone control. All things being possible, maybe the difference isn't in the model, but the specific batch I bought mine from? I know Ty has them built and shipped from South Korea, but I have no idea if there are significant differences from one batch to the next.
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I have two. One was bought back in 2021, which is the only one I've installed. The other, interestingly enough, was purchase literally one year ago tomorrow and is still in it's original box.
Now, I'm curious if the newer one will work the same way.
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Would be interesting to find out. Another thought is that the change in sound is more subtle when using the tone control with the preamp active as compared to passive mode. Have you tried playing yours through headphones to see if you notice a change then?
My wife is so sensitive to "crash-bang-boom" noises that an amplified bass would spark a massive migraine...and likely result in my untimely demise...so I only use a headphone amp. (It's a damn good one, too. 'Tis a shame Boss discontinued it years ago.
) I even put it to a specific test where I cranked the tone way down, boosted the treble considerably, then switched between passive and active. The change was beyond obvious.Very interesting. Just one more idea to test if you haven't before; I notice that the passive tone has more of an effect with the preamp on if I cut the treble a little. And that Boss headphone amp is cool, reminds me of the Korg Pandora I used to have. I've added it to my eBay saved searches and might grab one if it pops up. Thanks for sharing!My wife is so sensitive to "crash-bang-boom" noises that an amplified bass would spark a massive migraine...and likely result in my untimely demise...so I only use a headphone amp. (It's a damn good one, too. 'Tis a shame Boss discontinued it years ago.
I use custom neo pickups and the clarity and punch you get is superior to any type i tried before. I think Dingwall and another brands make it that way, but they work well with classic basses too. Some pups for semi-acoustic basses are neos too, i remember the Zenith bass that had a piezo and a neo as magnetic pup and it was great. The thing is in general they are not hot wounded but magnets have more power even with neo placed at the bottom so you dont get any boomy sounds, just open, clear, balanced. Very good for recording.
