I, too, want a NYC custom 5-string with SCs'. I love my NYC satin VW PJ5 but I think the SC formulation will add that nice attack clarity my aging ears require. I have a F@ndr CS J*zz and their SCs rock.
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So, anyone have any spare single coils for a five string laying around? Asking for a friend...
I’m speaking of a stacked hum-canceling 5 string J pickup. One coil on top of the other, which allows for a full humbucker. All the other 5 string J offerings are 3+2, short coils side by side. I certainly can’t source another manufacturer building a vertically stacked 5 string J bass humbucker. Sadowsky is the only outfit offering this, as far as I can tell.
If my source linked below is wrong, I’ll defer to your intel if there are vertically stacked 5 string Jazz humbucker examples from other companies.
Club Sadowsky!!!
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Fbass has been doing it for at least 20 years with the BN series.
Good day to the beautiful people of the club Sadowsky hive mind. First hings first: I'm requesting club membership.
Unfortunately my phones camera and my photo taking skills are subpar and don't do justice to this beautiful 2021 limited MetroLine Modern 5-24. This one is #58 of 100. The workmanship on this unit is impeccable, it is positively eery. I'm pretty sure it is the first instrument I've ever owned which was without a flaw upon receiving it (even my Mayones guitar had a very minor issue).
And it is stupid light. Sadly, I don't have access to a suitable scale (laboratory micro scales aren't useable here), but it feels to be less than 4 kgs, which translates to less than 8.8 lbs for you 'mericans.
However, I'm not sold on the blue label steel rounds. I'm used to playing TI jazz flats and the roughness of the rounds is unpleasent. Furthermore, the sound of the steels lacks depth, even my female (who doesn't like the looks of the bass - heresy!) noticed it.
Hence my question: What strings are you guys putting on your Moderns instead of steels?
Unfortunately my phones camera and my photo taking skills are subpar and don't do justice to this beautiful 2021 limited MetroLine Modern 5-24. This one is #58 of 100. The workmanship on this unit is impeccable, it is positively eery. I'm pretty sure it is the first instrument I've ever owned which was without a flaw upon receiving it (even my Mayones guitar had a very minor issue).
And it is stupid light. Sadly, I don't have access to a suitable scale (laboratory micro scales aren't useable here), but it feels to be less than 4 kgs, which translates to less than 8.8 lbs for you 'mericans.
However, I'm not sold on the blue label steel rounds. I'm used to playing TI jazz flats and the roughness of the rounds is unpleasent. Furthermore, the sound of the steels lacks depth, even my female (who doesn't like the looks of the bass - heresy!) noticed it.
Hence my question: What strings are you guys putting on your Moderns instead of steels?
Why not just stick with what you love? Put some TI's on it!
Not presently owning a Modern, but one was my main player for many years, and nickel rounds were the jam - R.Cocco (still available?) and DR Sunbeams. DR Pure Blues would also rock, and also the Sadowsky nickel rounds, if you dig their degree of tension (I prefer less). But why not try the TIs, indeed!
Don't forget DR LoRider nickels (hex core, stiffer, lower action), which would be more like the stiffness of the Blues, but slickery nickel. Otherwise, if he's a fan of those slinky TI's, and for some reason doesn't want to use flats on this bass, then I think he'd like the SunBeams best for a nickel round (round core, slinkier, longer life, maybe higher action).
I do like the Sadowsky nickels, but prefer the DRs to those. Main difference is the DRs don't have the tapered B, so you'd have to also change the setup, so that'd be one benefit of staying with Sadowsky I spose.
Plenty of posts in this thread discussing pros and cons of single coil vs various humcancelling configurations.
Single coils no doubt are the most open sounding pickups. Alembic retains their character by using a dummy cancelling coil in the Series preamp configuration. I believe that Pat Wilkins has a circuit for Jazz Basses that does this as well. If you don’t have the cancellation capability, then sooner or later you end up on a stage like this:
And I can 100% guarantee that the neon sign will light up your single coils like an air raid klaxon. Although you can play the gig with both pickups balanced.
I only have SC’s in my ‘62 anymore because of this issue. My Sadowsky NYC and Sadowsky preamp /Fender mongrel both have Delano JMVC’s which are the best HC’s I’ve found for my purposes. They somewhat fail the eye candy test; but, I learned long ago to stop listening with my eyes.
Single coils no doubt are the most open sounding pickups. Alembic retains their character by using a dummy cancelling coil in the Series preamp configuration. I believe that Pat Wilkins has a circuit for Jazz Basses that does this as well. If you don’t have the cancellation capability, then sooner or later you end up on a stage like this:
And I can 100% guarantee that the neon sign will light up your single coils like an air raid klaxon. Although you can play the gig with both pickups balanced.
I only have SC’s in my ‘62 anymore because of this issue. My Sadowsky NYC and Sadowsky preamp /Fender mongrel both have Delano JMVC’s which are the best HC’s I’ve found for my purposes. They somewhat fail the eye candy test; but, I learned long ago to stop listening with my eyes.
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I love Delano pickups! (and the look doesn't bother me at all)
I suggest you try the Blue Label Steels a little longer. The steels give the VTC control a broader range of tone control and the B string is firm and defined. There is a reason why Roger ships his instruments with these strings! I was a nickel string player mostly but love the Blue Label Steels.
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How well do the 5 string versions of the Delanos hum cancel? are they a 2+3 arrangement like others. Are they dead quiet with the Sadowsky preamp?
They are dead quiet. Extremely well designed and made.
Edit: I see that Delano describes them as split coil. So, since 5 has no integer division by 2, that would suggest 3+2. But, I have never, ever noticed any suggestion of induced 60 Hz noise. So, something may be needing further explanation.
Further, although you didn’t ask about it, one other point to note about the 4’s vs 5’s is that the 5’s have just a bit less output amplitude. But, I’ve also noticed that difference with every other J format 5 string pickup. No big deal, because the amp has a volume knob. Just mentioning it.
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Thanks everyone for your suggestions, but this one actually hit home. On the second day of playing I liked the steel rounds much better. And this VTC realy is something to reckon with.
However, I did find a little something to complain about: the B-string is rattling. It is not audible when playing amplified, but it is loud enough acoustically to be distracting. It is not fret buzz, it is not the spring on the bridge, it is not the string rattling in the nut. It is audible in each and every fret of the B-string and changes pitch accordingly. However, no other string induces this rattling, thus I deduct the truss rod to not be the culprit. But the shop got me covered and told me to send it back to have a look at it.
The taper is "sprung". I've had a (very) few of these. Usually, they'll replace them for free. The other thing to be careful of with any tapered string is don't "twist" it when you string it up. That can cause the problem if the string wasn't originally defective.
I don't believe that, as the rattling sounds like it comes directly from the string or something directly underneath under the string, ranging all the way from nut to bridge. I did not include that in my post above, as I didn't think of it then. A rattling tuner would rattle at the headstock, no?
You learn something new everyday. I'm aware of twisted strings sounding funny (I believe I got one of those on my other bass once) but "sprung" tapers are new to me. Is it some kind of "unwinding" at the tapered end?
Sadly, I couldn't test another string, as the only spare strings I've got are used Ernie Balls with a 130 B-String which was too big at the ball end for the Sadowsky bridge to pass through.
