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EMG Pickups with a Bartolini preamp??

firefirehead

firefirehead

Nov 12, 2018
4
0
#1
Hello all,

I'm new to the forum and apologize if this has been discussed before.

I have a Tobias Toby Pro 5 I bought years ago. At some point the pre amp went out and I replaced it with a Bartolini NTMB or similar. I'm to where I want to replace the pickups and I'm looking into buying an EMG 40dc for the bridge and possibly an EMG 40cs for the neck. Would it be safe to use the Bart pre or would I be better off just replacing all of it? Or... should I be looking at other pickup choices for the preamp?
 
#3
What's up everyone ! I literally just bought this for $180 dollars at a yard sale I know it's a pre-Gib but the axe itself don't feel heavy at all and the neck feels really smooth.... anyways I want to upgrade the pickups and preamp and I would like to get advice from anyone who has done something similar to what I want to do. I want Bartolini Soapbars and preamp installed in it but I dont know what model to get... any ideas/suggestions ??
Screenshot_20181119-104931_OfferUp.jpg
Screenshot_20181119-104931_OfferUp.jpg
 
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#4
Jose Bustos Jr said:
What's up everyone ! I literally just bought this for $180 dollars at a yard sale I know it's a pre-Gib but the axe itself don't feel heavy at all and the neck feels really smooth.... anyways I want to upgrade the pickups and preamp and I would like to get advice from anyone who has done something similar to what I want to do. I want Bartolini Soapbars and preamp installed in it but I dont know what model to get... any ideas/suggestions ?? View attachment 3220173 View attachment 3220173
Click to expand...

Nice Tobias! Pretty sure that is a Gibson-era overseas model though. The dot inlays and logo'd pickups are a dead giveaway.

You can measure the pickup dimensions and see what www.bestbassgear.com has to offer.

You should probably also make a new thread, as you posted this under a different thread :)
 
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#9
I have an EMG 40CS and a 40JX in my gig bass. Great pickups. Quiet, wide spectrum; they perform essentially as described on the EMG web site for each pickup. If you are going EMG pickups and need on-board tone shaping, you are better off going with one of the EMG preamps, especially since some models have DIP switches to further tailor your tone. They are clean, accurate, easy to install with the plug-and-play, and just as quiet as the pickups.

On another bass I did the opposite: Bart MK's with an EMG preamp. The Bart pickups are clean, punchy, and also as described on the web site. the CBC models have a tad more presence than the "Original" series. My sound man liked them for the ease of slotting them into a mix. When I sold the Ibby bass they were in, I should have kept the pickups, but I had no other application for them at the time.

Measure your pickups and then check the Bart website. They make dozens of pickup shapes.
 

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