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Delano Quadcoils VS Nordstrand Dual Coils

Delano vs Nordstrand

  • Delano Quadcoils (soapbar)

    Votes: 27 50.0%

  • Nordstrand Dual Coils

    Votes: 27 50.0%
  • Total voters
    54
#21
Oh man now you got me GASing for the Delanos even more! Great! hahaha

Can you tell me what are the sonic differences you perceive between those two pickups?
Are the Delanos clear? How are the mids (low mids) in the Delanos? Can they cut thru a busy mix well?

EDIT: I saw you have the dual coils and not the quad coils. They're different pickups but maybe their sound is somewhat similar so your opinion would be useful too.
 
#22
tomas_almeida said:
Oh man now you got me GASing for the Delanos even more! Great! hahaha

Can you tell me what are the sonic differences you perceive between those two pickups?
Are the Delanos clear? How are the mids (low mids) in the Delanos? Can they cut thru a busy mix well?

EDIT: I saw you have the dual coils and not the quad coils. They're different pickups but maybe their sound is somewhat similar so your opinion would be useful too.
Click to expand...

emjazz, I would REALLY like to hear your opinion on the matter. :hyper:

thefunkelastic, keep us updated.:bassist:
 
#23
tomas_almeida said:
emjazz, I would REALLY like to hear your opinion on the matter. :hyper:

thefunkelastic, keep us updated.:bassist:
Click to expand...

I've heard the Nordstrand duals work very well in other basses, but they added to the already dark quality of my bass. The Nordstrand dual coils are dark sounding pickups so take that into consideration. The Delano duals were more open sounding and, in my opinion, more true to my basses natural characteristics. Also, keep in mind you're comparing alnico magnets to ceramic. The Delanos to me sound similar to Bartolini Classic Bass pickups but even more even across the board. They don't have that low mid hump that the Barts do, which admittedly can be a really good thing. They won't get lost in a mix though, that's for sure.
 
#26
Thanks emjazz.

I didn't know the Delanos were ceramic. I'm looking for pickups with good midrange, but always thought the Barts I had tried almost had no hid mids, treble, I want low mids but I also want a broad spectrum. Aro those Classic Series different?

So are you saying the Delanos are somewhat mid scooped?

Also I have read that the quads sound a little more agressive than the duals. Like a single coil sound different from a stacked single coil (hum bucking) a quad must sound different from a dual, I think...
 
#27
tomas_almeida said:
Thanks emjazz.

I didn't know the Delanos were ceramic. I'm looking for pickups with good midrange, but always thought the Barts I had tried almost had no hid mids, treble, I want low mids but I also want a broad spectrum. Aro those Classic Series different?

So are you saying the Delanos are somewhat mid scooped?

Also I have read that the quads sound a little more agressive than the duals. Like a single coil sound different from a stacked single coil (hum bucking) a quad must sound different from a dual, I think...
Click to expand...

No, the Delanos are not mid scooped. It's just that they don't have the added lower midrange hump that the Barts do. As for the dual coils vs. the quad coils as far as a sonic difference, you should really contact Delano. They'll let you know what, if any, the difference is.

You may really like the Bartolini Classic Bass pickups. They have that lower midrange bump, although it wasn't as pronounced from what I remember, with less compression, a clearer sound and the high end isn't muted.
 
#35
emjazz said:
Nordstrand dual coils: alnico

Delano dual coils: ceramic



Also, the only difference between the dual and the quad coils is with the quad coils you get the option of hum canceling single coil mode.
Click to expand...

Hey Andy

Funny that you are saying that the Nordstrand are darker sounding...I'll take your word for that. I would have thought the Alinco would have been on the brighter side of the two.
 
#36
basswave said:
Hey Andy

Funny that you are saying that the Nordstrand are darker sounding...I'll take your word for that. I would have thought the Alinco would have been on the brighter side of the two.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that was my thinking as well until my own experience, and also after a talk with Kent Armstrong. I told him what was going on with the Nordstrand dual coils and right away he suggested some pickups with ceramic magnets.

Also, I've heard from other people that they've experienced Carey's dual coils being darker sounding than they wanted...but I've heard this to not be the case so much for his other pickups.

Also, and more importantly, each bass's natural tonal qualities work better with some pickups than others. My bass was already darker sounding a little mushy frankly. The original pickups were Bart quad coils....those didn't last a week. I hated them in this bass. Than I tried the Nordstrand dual coils. They were better but they were still too dark and were adding to the soft quality as far as the attack of the notes. Also, I like my pickups set up close to the strings and I had problems with the Nordstrands. They were so strong that they were pulling on the strings and screwing up the vibration of the strings. I was upset because I thought it was my bass having a terrible B string...I was very frustrated. As a last ditch effort I put the ceramic magnet Delanos in. The difference was staggering. My bass opened right up. It was more alive....the strings reacted more immediately to my touch and the mushiness that I had heard before was gone. I'm very happy with them indeed. It's just what this particular bass needed.
 
#37
emjazz said:
Yeah, that was my thinking as well until my own experience, and also after a talk with Kent Armstrong. I told him what was going on with the Nordstrand dual coils and right away he suggested some pickups with ceramic magnets.

Also, I've heard from other people that they've experienced Carey's dual coils being darker sounding than they wanted...but I've heard this to not be the case so much for his other pickups.

Also, and more importantly, each bass's natural tonal qualities work better with some pickups than others. My bass was already darker sounding a little mushy frankly. The original pickups were Bart quad coils....those didn't last a week. I hated them in this bass. Than I tried the Nordstrand dual coils. They were better but they were still too dark and were adding to the soft quality as far as the attack of the notes. Also, I like my pickups set up close to the strings and I had problems with the Nordstrands. They were so strong that they were pulling on the strings and screwing up the vibration of the strings. I was upset because I thought it was my bass having a terrible B string...I was very frustrated. As a last ditch effort I put the ceramic magnet Delanos in. The difference was staggering. My bass opened right up. It was more alive....the strings reacted more immediately to my touch and the mushiness that I had heard before was gone. I'm very happy with them indeed. It's just what this particular bass needed.
Click to expand...

Wow...
Interesting result.

I'm not using anything like that in any of my basses but have not ruled out doing something like that to one of my Warmoths (an experiment with dual coils if I don't end up liking it with Delano P/Js and a simple Bart pre.

Basically with a dual coil way back near the bridge ala Jonas Hellborg style.
 

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