Delano SBC-HE/S-4

[ctmullins]

Hi, thanks for the inspiration!

I have a bass with dual Delano's SBC HE/S-4, each pickup initial with standard parallel / series coil switching. I tested the connections of the pickup and modified the neck pickup by replacing the jumpers with a 4 wire pickup cable and a 3 way mini toggle switch. This now gives me switching possibilities of parallel, single coil and p-bass split coil. This configuration works fine for me.

That’s a really nice diagram! I’m curious how much difference you hear between your “Series J position” and your “Split coil P bass”?

 

[Bassjames]

Thxs!

I was surprised to hear quite a difference in a relative small pole distance between the two: the "P bass spilt coil" has more highs.

 

[ctmullins]

More highs; that's interesting. Does it sound any more like a P pickup than the "Series J" position?

 

[JZQuantum]

Thread revival bump again! I am thinking about using the Delano SBC 4 HE/S dual coil hum bucker in my take on a Stanley Clarke tenor brown bass in ADGC. I am struggling to understand anything Delano is saying about the wiring of their pickups and the switching. I was planning to pair them with an onboard Sadowsky preamp (boost only). Do I need to fuss with the parallel/series wiring mumbo-jumbo they speak of for these pups since I just want a lead bass kind of tone with strong mids and clear top end?

 

[ctmullins]

Thread revival bump again! I am thinking about using the Delano SBC 4 HE/S dual coil hum bucker in my take on a Stanley Clarke tenor brown bass in ADGC. I am struggling to understand anything Delano is saying about the wiring of their pickups and the switching. I was planning to pair them with an onboard Sadowsky preamp (boost only). Do I need to fuss with the parallel/series wiring mumbo-jumbo they speak of for these pups since I just want a lead bass kind of tone with strong mids and clear top end?

No.

If you want "strong mids", wire them permanently in series. But also understand that the Sadowsky is all lows and highs, so you'll need all of the mids you can get from the pickups directly.

 

[JZQuantum]

No.

If you want "strong mids", wire them permanently in series. But also understand that the Sadowsky is all lows and highs, so you'll need all of the mids you can get from the pickups directly.

Ok thanks. Other than Delano’s own, is there an active preamp that would work well with these pups? I am usually the type where once I find a good tone, I don’t fiddle with the controls on the bass too much.

 

[ctmullins]

Ok thanks. Other than Delano’s own, is there an active preamp that would work well with these pups? I am usually the type where once I find a good tone, I don’t fiddle with the controls on the bass too much.

Lots/any of them. Just don't go cheap - stick with a reputable brand. I love John East's stuff, but there's Audere, Bartolini, Aguilar, Nordstrand, EMG, Noll, Glockenklang, basically everything that you see at bestbassgear.com. Then there's a whole slew of filter-based preamps, which operate like the old Alembic electronics - low-pass filters, sometimes with additional controls for fine-tuning resonance or high-frequency response. JTEX, Underhill, Lusithand. There's a thread around here somewhere.

Main thing is to match the pickup(s)' basic tone with a preamp that will let you enhance that. The Sadowsky two-band boost-only (which I have never used) is quite similar to the Aguilar OBP-1 two-band boost-only (which I have lots of experience with). I find this setup helpful for instruments that have just a single pickup, mounted near the Stingray "sweet spot", which tends to emphasize mid-range frequencies. If you're planning on using a pair of pickups, then having boost and cut is advantageous instead.

Also, use a buffered blend if possible. Passive blending of the pickups before the signal reaches the preamp is common, but not nearly as smooth and intuitive as a true active blend.

 

[JZQuantum]

Lots/any of them. Just don't go cheap - stick with a reputable brand.

Sounds good, thanks. I have been thinking about having just one pickup in the MM sweet spot.