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EMG 40TW or DC?

M

MTXMUGEN

Nov 28, 2010
11
0
Akron, Ohio
#1
Hey

So,I recently decided to upgrade from a spector performer 4

I ended up finding an older Spector legend with twin active EMG 40CS pickups.

Ivebeen playing the crap out of it for about a month now and so far I have found very few things I dont like about it.

it has a very thick and fat tone that I would expect from a ceramic and steel loaded pickup and between the tonepump and the EQ on my amp I have gotten some pretty good tones from it but I cant seem to clean it up to get a good crystal clear slap tone

I did some reading and formulated that a pick up swap may be in order but I cant decide between swapping one of the CS's for a DC or for a TW

I love the fatness of the CS's but i would love to get some more clairty when I want it, which is why I'm thinking TW since it can act as a single coil, but on the other hand I heard the DC has a great tone overall.

so what would you guys do in my situation?

I play everything from mudvayne to RHCP to sublime. I know I wont be able todialin the right tone past certain points as it is just a basswood legend 5.

bass: Spector legend 5
Amp: GK MB115
strings: DR high beams

any opinions would be greatly appreciated! thanks
 
#2
My Ibanez SR505 had two DC40s that I liked but I found that there was not a deal of difference between the bridge and neck pickups. I also could not get any top end, it sounded 'hi fi' all the time. I swapped out the bridge pickup for a four wire dual coil humbucker with the coils wired in series and all is well.
 
#3
In my experience, you won't get much more clarity moving from the 40CS to the 40DC. It will sound more brittle and edgy, but the same basic fatness will persist. Both of these pickups are configured and wound nearly identically, so you'll still get the same characteristic humbucking tone.

On the other hand, I've got a bass wired up with the 40P5 in the neck position, and the 40CS in the bridge position, and it's a definite improvement, both when solo'd and mixed with the bridge pickup.

The 40TW actually switches between a dual-coil configuration (like a 40CS) and a stacked-coil configuration (like a 40J). If you like the clarity of the EMG "J" pickups then this will probably work very well for you. I know a lot of bassists use the P+J EMG setups with good effect (e.g. Victor Wooten) so that might be an option.
 
#4
DCs are very nice - they're far from being "universal" - probably that's why not everybody likes them, but they have a very particular tone that some like and some don't. I happen to like it. If I only had to choose one bass for everything - would it be a bass with DCs? Not sure. I currently dig the freshly installed Barts MK4CBC on my fretless and they are probably more universal, but not as thick and fundamental sounding as DCs.
 
#8
The TW pups have a darker, thicker sound IMO and IME - I like them a bit more than the DCs, which I found to be a brighter and top-heavy. Be aware, however, that unless EMG has made design changes to the TW the single-coil mode will result in a significant loss in volume as compared to dual coil; this will make it tough to switch back and forth on the fly.
 
#9
KsPiNeSh said:
The TW pups have a darker, thicker sound IMO and IME - I like them a bit more than the DCs, which I found to be a brighter and top-heavy. Be aware, however, that unless EMG has made design changes to the TW the single-coil mode will result in a significant loss in volume as compared to dual coil; this will make it tough to switch back and forth on the fly.
Click to expand...

The TWX no longer have the issue with the drop in volume between single and dual coil modes.
 
#11
I have a set of DCs in Rebop 5 and it's fantastic. The low B is very clear and nowhere near as muddy as it was with the HZs. I also swapped the non-trim TonePump for the BQC. I run the p'ups and pre at 18V and it's a monster. Tone and balls for day.
 
#13
levis76 said:
I have a set of DCs in Rebop 5 and it's fantastic. The low B is very clear and nowhere near as muddy as it was with the HZs. I also swapped the non-trim TonePump for the BQC. I run the p'ups and pre at 18V and it's a monster. Tone and balls for day.
Click to expand...


soooo what is the overall biggest tonal difference between the two preamps? i have the same set up right now (DC's with tonepump) and i am considering the BQC to gain some flexibility. Can the EMG preamp be "warm"?
i've got a Spector NS-JH6, and the tonepump seems to suit the bass well, but seems like the EMG pre would be quite handy.
 

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