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Best pickup(soapbar) + preamp combination?

valencia0919

valencia0919

Dec 3, 2010
102
1
Brookline, MA
#1
Hi,

I have a Yamaha trbx504. I love the playability (thin neck, light body), but the stock pickups and pre kinda sounds dry/hollow through Tone Hammer 500 + Baer ML112. I get a really good sound from my modded CV(Dimarzio Area J and Audere preamp) through this setup. But I just can't get a "great" tone from my Yamaha. The finger picking tone is good, but the slap tone is just not there. So I decided to try some different pickups and preamp combinations on this bass.

Pickups considered:

Nordstrand Dual Coils: These seem very versatile. However, I haven't seen any reviews or videos that "defined" the tone of these.
Fat Stacks, Big Split: I am trying not to go towards the "J" sound... but these are just so tempting, based on the reviews and videos. Also, who doesn't like a super J sound? :)
Bartolini Classic Bass: Heard these are quite "modern" sounding.

Preamps considered:

Audere: I had a good experience with their preamps. I like the transparency.
Aguilar: Aggressive? Kinda worried that it would be too much going through Tone Hammer and Baer cab.
Nordstrand: Not as aggressive as Aggies, and transparent.
Glockenklang: Just heard good things, but don't really know too much about them.
Mike Pope: Very much would like to try, but kinda expensive. I would need to be REALLY sold to buy these.

If you have experience with any combinations of these, I would love to hear about it. What would be your choice?
 
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#3
Well, there are a few reasons why I don't want to do that: 1. I like my Squier CV Jazz and I regularly use it. 2. I'm trying to explore more tones. 3. The Yamaha has soapbar pickups and it looks bad if I just shove Jazz pickups in there.

sissykathy, do you have any recommendations/suggestions?
 
#4
valencia0919 said:
Well, there are a few reasons why I don't want to do that: 1. I like my Squier CV Jazz and I regularly use it. 2. I'm trying to explore more tones. 3. The Yamaha has soapbar pickups and it looks bad if I just shove Jazz pickups in there.

sissykathy, do you have any recommendations/suggestions?
Click to expand...
Not other than what I have already suggested. I'm not into mods as a rule. If I can't get the sound I want from a bass, I jettison the bass.
 
#8
Have you tried diff types of strings- s/s, bright nickel, alloy 52, or more than one type of string known for getting the sound you prefer? Strings can make all the diff and are lots less expensive than electronics change-outs. Also, just 'cause a particular string set sounds good on one bass doesn't mean it will on another.
 
#10
Not sure what size your soapbars are, but Delano SBC are really nice. Thick and meaty, with an ever-so-slightly "fuzzy" (in a good way) top end. NOT Jazz-like.

If you want aggressive, you might look at either the Nordstrand Neo soapbars or the Aguilar DCBs. I've not owned either, but they are intriguing to me.

The Audere is a really nice preamp that lets the character of the pickups shine through. The Aguilar will lend a beefy, muscular low end, which is awesome too. No experience with the other preamps on your list, though I hope to use a Pope in my next build. John East is also high on my list.
 
#11
If you're already considering the Bartolini Classic pickups, I would suggest you at least entertain the idea of matching them with a Bartolini NTMB preamp.

I just installed an NTMB in a bass equipped with a Bart MV52CBJD quad-coil MusicMan-style soapbar, and the combination is astonishing. There's definitely something symbiotic going on there, I don't think I've ever encountered another pickup/preamp combination that was so effective at eeking every last nuance of sound out of the bass. That instrument used to be consigned to my "eh, I haven't played that bass in a while, I guess I oughtta pull it out of the closet tonight..." pile; after installing the NTMB I'm seriously considering upgrading it to My Main Bass status. Seriously, it's that good. Thick, fat, chewy, punchy, and aggressive, without losing its hi-fi detail. Clean and quiet, no hiss or buzz even with the EQs dimed, but capable of getting really in-your-face. Also, a truckload more gain than any other active system I've ever tried.
 
#13
Hard to beat the Bart/Bart combo, which is why so many high end builders use them. The Bart Classics can be split to single coil if you want, but if you DO want to sound like a bigger, brighter Jazz then the Big Splits would be a fine choice. They don't have that thick punchiness like Barts, but Barts don't have that bright sheen like Big Splits either so it just depends on what you want.
 
#14
I you like modern, aggressive, hi-fi try the Aggie DCB5's with either a 3 band Bart or Aggie OBP3 pre. Slap tone is killer. ice cold with growl.
 
#15
valencia0919 said:
Hi,

I have a Yamaha trbx504. I love the playability (thin neck, light body), but the stock pickups and pre kinda sounds dry/hollow through Tone Hammer 500 + Baer ML112. I get a really good sound from my modded CV(Dimarzio Area J and Audere preamp) through this setup. But I just can't get a "great" tone from my Yamaha. The finger picking tone is good, but the slap tone is just not there. So I decided to try some different pickups and preamp combinations on this bass.

Pickups considered:

Nordstrand Dual Coils: These seem very versatile. However, I haven't seen any reviews or videos that "defined" the tone of these.
Fat Stacks, Big Split: I am trying not to go towards the "J" sound... but these are just so tempting, based on the reviews and videos. Also, who doesn't like a super J sound? :)
Bartolini Classic Bass: Heard these are quite "modern" sounding.

Preamps considered:

Audere: I had a good experience with their preamps. I like the transparency.
Aguilar: Aggressive? Kinda worried that it would be too much going through Tone Hammer and Baer cab.
Nordstrand: Not as aggressive as Aggies, and transparent.
Glockenklang: Just heard good things, but don't really know too much about them.
Mike Pope: Very much would like to try, but kinda expensive. I would need to be REALLY sold to buy these.

If you have experience with any combinations of these, I would love to hear about it. What would be your choice?
Click to expand...

I just put a set of Delano SBC soapbars into a Nathan East BBNE2 with a custom 4-band Glockenklang. I'm in heaven. Very sophisticated, tight, "warm and crispy", with notes that are very "bouncy" and just ring off the fretboard. The Delanos are very similar tonally to the Bartolini Classics, which I have installed in a Pedulla Thunderbass with a Mike Pope Flexcore, but if I were ranking, I'd say the Delanos would edge the Barts in terms of having a more even tone while maintaining that crispy low mid that so many love about the Barts.

I do believe the Barts are a better value since they are noticeably less expensive and sound fantastic, and are on the same tonal playing field as the Delanos. They are close first cousins, perhaps siblings. In terms of preamps, I have the Mike Pope Flexcore in a couple of basses I own. After installing the Glockenklang in my Yamaha BBNE2, I much prefer the Glock over the Mike Pope. It took me a while to reach this conclusion, but I've grown a little fussy about the 4-band Mike Pope in terms of always having to cut the high-mid control to get the tone I prefer. The "flat" or boost setting of the Pope sounded a little harsh to me before I got the Glock, and sounds even more so after the Glock, and I've just grown to not really care for the impact of the hi-mid control on the Pope at the flat or boost position versus the Glock where I can boost or cut low and hi mid controls and still get a sound I like. The way I look at it, what good is it to have a 4-band pre when you're always having to cut one of the mid control bands? In short, the Glock just sounds more refined to me and more usable with the knobs at any position, so I will eventually be putting custom 4-band Glocks in all of my basses. I now understand why Dingwall chose this preamp as the foundation for their basses.

I will summarize my preferences as follows: (1) Glock Pre + Delano SBC (2) Glock Pre + Bart Classics (3) EMG BQC/S Control pre + EMG TWX pickups (you'll be surprised how great these sound). I have on my list to try the EMG TWXs with the Glock pre. It wouldn't surpirse my if that combination became my #1 favorite combination ( I have EMG TWXs in a Spector bass I own, and they are killer). Thanks
 

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