Conflicted with the Nordstrand Big Singles

[MoStyles]

Currently I'm in a state of conflict over whether or not I want to keep the Nordstrand Big Singles in my Ibanez SR1200e. The main reason for this has to be the noise - I'm really sensitive to it to the extent that I never ever buy aftermarket pickups without some sort of noise cancelling aspect. The Big Singles have really bad noise when I move the blend pot on the bass to either end of the spectrum. This really limits the usable tones I can get, however the middle position does sound excellent. I'm primarily a guitar player and this is the only electric bass I have access to, so I really want to get it working right for me.

Also I don't think I'm taking advantage of what these pickups really offer tone wise. I'm a rather boring bass tone person in the sense that I really go for a heavily compressed synth-ish sort of tone with all the high end rolled off on the 3 band pre, the mids around 4-5, and the lows near max. On any sort of outboard gear I'll emphasize the low end even more. I'll sometimes turn off the active EQ and get a mid focused punch tone, but this is not what I typically go for with the EDM, Disco, Indie-tronic sort of stuff I mainly play bass on. With guitars I'm definitely more of the tone chaser but with bass I just want to hold that low end down like a total boss and the amp I use (Jeff Berlin signature) doesn't even have a tweeter/horn.

So I've had them for 6 months now and I can get a satisfying sound with them with the EQ set as I like and the pickups blended down the middle for max noise cancelling. However I'm wondering if there's something better out there for me. Before I abandon some totally awesome pickups, do you think I could benefit from some shielding? Just bought a square foot for copper shielding for a telecaster project but I definitely won't be using it all. If I can seriously tone down the noise, I will be happy.

If shielding won't be able to tone down the noise on these hot single coils, I'm aiming for a hum cancelling replacement - either a stack or a humbucker. I'm not knowledgeable regarding bass pickup sizes and what fits what, but I think its safe to assume that the Nordstrand Dual Coils would fit and perhaps give me more of the sound I prefer plus the noise cancelling. It would be a lot to spend but perhaps I'll offset the cost by selling my big singles to whomever offers me some good advice here. If anyone can recommend anything else that would be great, feel free to let me know. Open to any brand and just about any price.

Thanks to any and all in advance that choose to help me out. I'm not that knowledgeable regarding bass pickups. I'm also suspecting there is something wrong in my case, there could be a grounding issue or some other manner of defect going on and causing an extreme amount of noise. Anyone else find the noise on a solo'd big single just intolerable? At least in a studio recording context?

I'm so glad I found this post. I just bought a SR655 that has, I believe, the same single coil in the back, but a split P on the neck. Faded all the the Split P is almost completely quite of Hum and sounds increadible. The Big Single in the back is driving me crazy with the hum. Tried all types of different power outlets and gear. It's definitely the Big Single that just picks up noise, but still sounds good if you can live with it. I guess I have been used to humbuckes for a long time. Did anyone swap out the single to the Big split single coil. I'm trying to get a hold of Nordy today to get a recommendation?
Thanks for all the info guys!

 

[Carey]

We can and have sold many Big Split pickups for these Ibanez basses. You can contact the shop and we will take care you as quickly as we can. Still working on a little bit of catch up from being at NAMM though.

 

[Roche814]

We can and have sold many Big Split pickups for these Ibanez basses. You can contact the shop and we will take care you as quickly as we can. Still working on a little bit of catch up from being at NAMM though.

Hi, reviving this thread again... I pre-ordered an SR1605B (Caribbean flat) earlier this month through Sweetwater. As excitement grows, I am left wondering why they don't offer the ability to choose your pickup config at the time of ordering, esp for pre-order that was 3 months out. I'm no stranger to single coils on guitar, but I've always had humbucking soapbars on my basses and I'm a bit nervous thinking about that noise on a clean bass tone, esp. for recording. I'm kind of thinking it will not be a deal breaker the way many are stating but just in case, what options do I have through Sweetwater or Nordstrand if the single coil hum is found to be too much of a problem for me? What are the thoughts behind not making this an option in the first place if they fit into the same cavity? I notice that the only dual coil optiosn are Aguilar? Why is that? Can you coil tap the Nordstrand duals? That would be the ultimate in flexibility and warrant dual coils as a standard option on these Ibby Premiums vs big singles... Of course that requires a separate preamp too though, right? Just wondering the though process behind only offering big singles on almost every premium model, I'm sure there has been extensive research and executive decisions favoring the big singles but I like to learn

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

Hi, reviving this thread again... I pre-ordered an SR1605B (Caribbean flat) earlier this month through Sweetwater. As excitement grows, I am left wondering why they don't offer the ability to choose your pickup config at the time of ordering, esp for pre-order that was 3 months out. I'm no stranger to single coils on guitar, but I've always had humbucking soapbars on my basses and I'm a bit nervous thinking about that noise on a clean bass tone, esp. for recording. I'm kind of thinking it will not be a deal breaker the way many are stating but just in case, what options do I have through Sweetwater or Nordstrand if the single coil hum is found to be too much of a problem for me? What are the thoughts behind not making this an option in the first place if they fit into the same cavity? I notice that the only dual coil optiosn are Aguilar? Why is that? Can you coil tap the Nordstrand duals? That would be the ultimate in flexibility and warrant dual coils as a standard option on these Ibby Premiums vs big singles... Of course that requires a separate preamp too though, right? Just wondering the though process behind only offering big singles on almost every premium model, I'm sure there has been extensive research and executive decisions favoring the big singles but I like to learn

It's a cost thing...profit margin...curb appeal.

Nordstrand popularity, a look and SC sound!

The piggy bank @ "Ibby" has considerations.

Works good for Nordstrand to up sell...you can park any number of options in those soap bar cavities and get what you really want at an additional custom aftermarket price that sells Basses and pickups...

Go shopping...!