Hi all - this is admittedly one area where I don't have much knowledge, so I am hoping that the collective TB mind with more experience in this area can provide some suggestions. I recently acquired a Clement Slim 4 string fretless bass. It has a Nordstrand Bigman 4 pickup set up in parallel (the default configuration) in a simple passive circuit with volume, tone, and a .047 orange cap. I have a set of well-broken in LaBella Deep Talking Flats on it. The problem for me is that it is way brighter than I would like. The tone doesn't start to darken until the tone control is nearly fully off - and when it is, there is a noticeable volume drop.
I communicated with Tom Clement - he did acknowledge that the Bigman tends towards the brighter end of the spectrum (to be fair to him, I bought the bass used so I had no input to the bass's "guts"). He suggested trying a 0.1 cap, and possibly a Nordstrand Blademan. Before doing anything, I wanted to get more info about options. The sound that I am looking for from this bass is dark and smooth, playing mostly roots music and some jazz. My sense is that this bass may not be the best configuration for what I am looking for out of it, but before moving in another direction I want to see if there's anything worth trying. As far as the pickup goes, it's a MM drop-in shape so my options are somewhat limited.
One thing that I have considered is trying a Reverend Split Brick 4 Like This One - my main fretted bass is a Reverend Mercalli with that pickup in the neck position, and it sounds great. However, the pickup location on the Clement is a bit closer to the bridge - kinda like a Stingray - so I am not sure I'd get the same sound from it.
So anyway, if anyone with more knowledge of pickups and electronics than me (that's most of you
) has any thoughts, I'd really appreciate it.
I communicated with Tom Clement - he did acknowledge that the Bigman tends towards the brighter end of the spectrum (to be fair to him, I bought the bass used so I had no input to the bass's "guts"). He suggested trying a 0.1 cap, and possibly a Nordstrand Blademan. Before doing anything, I wanted to get more info about options. The sound that I am looking for from this bass is dark and smooth, playing mostly roots music and some jazz. My sense is that this bass may not be the best configuration for what I am looking for out of it, but before moving in another direction I want to see if there's anything worth trying. As far as the pickup goes, it's a MM drop-in shape so my options are somewhat limited.
One thing that I have considered is trying a Reverend Split Brick 4 Like This One - my main fretted bass is a Reverend Mercalli with that pickup in the neck position, and it sounds great. However, the pickup location on the Clement is a bit closer to the bridge - kinda like a Stingray - so I am not sure I'd get the same sound from it.
So anyway, if anyone with more knowledge of pickups and electronics than me (that's most of you
) has any thoughts, I'd really appreciate it.
