Fender SCN - Nordstrand NJ5FS comparison

I have the NJ5FS in my Marcus Miller 5, no punch lost at all from the addition of the NJ5SF. Sorry I cant speak to the scn issue though.

 

i think you're comparing hot dogs with filet mignon here.

 

have you tried both sets of pickups in the same bass?

 

I had Nordstrands in my J Deluxe V for awhile. IME, the Nordstrands were actually noiser, but I think that's because they add more highs. I found myself rolling back the treble more than with the SCN's. Even thought the Nords are more even-sounding, I ended up re-installing the SCN's because I preferred the tone.

 

have you thought about a preamp change? a more neutral sounding pre than whats in there might work better with the naturally extended highs of that type of humcancelling jazz pickup.

 

well, almost all pres ive used to me sound like the highs open up to some extent compared to the bass wired up passive due to whatever the science is with the loading of passive pickups. i had a set of dimarzio ultrajazzes and samarium cobalt noiseless with a jretro and a bart and didnt really care for how they reacted. passive though was fine.

ive stopped using humcancelling pickups, but the singles i prefer (pickups in my 62 and 78 jazz and custom antquity 2's) are not as hot as most aftermarket sets and have a similar extended/airy top end that a humcancelling set has. those pickups matched with jimmy coppolos pre is fantastic. the pre set flat doesnt sound too hyped and i really like where the frequencies are set. the bass is a little higher than a typical pre and fattens thing up nicely without boom and the highs are voiced a little lower. this sounds really good with airier pickups and sounds terrible with really grindy/hotter single coils imo. i would imagine it would work very nicely with a humcancelling pickup as it would provide some balance to an already modern sounding pickup.

 

dont have a coppolo bass but i use his outboard pre. i cant recommend it enough. depending on where you are in la, hes a not that far of a drive away in upland. it might be worth a drive to go check out.

 

You might try Seymour Duncan 1/4lb'ers (keep in mind that I'm endorser, so take my advice for what it's worth). I have a Lakland JO5. I didn't care for the stock pickups that much and put Barts in there. I liked them OK for slap, but fingerstyle didn't have the punch I wanted or the dynamics, all the notes kind of came out the same. A month ago I put in the 1/4 lb 5 string pickups and it took some of the edge off the highs and beefed up the low mids nicely. I can also get a better range of tones from adjusting my touch.

HTH
Edwin

 

I have the SCNs in in my ADJV too--I found raising them added significant fullness. I suggest playing with the pickup height before changin them-- I read somewhere that they have weaker magnets than most pups.

 

Ahh, while I like the maple board sound, one trick I tried was lowering the treble side on both pickups a bit. That took some of the edge off; here are my current measurements, if it helps:


bass treb
neck 4/64 5/64
bridge 5/64 5/64

 

One more thing--IMHO, try nickel or nickel plated strings on maple and steel on rosewood. I find that the differences in tone are negligable after that

I tried DR Lo-Riders on my ADJV (maple board), and couldn't stand them, but then I tried DR Nickel Lo-Riders and I love them. YMMV

 

Interesting. I have an ADJV w/rosewood board. I really don't have any complaints about the preamp, but have considered a change. Well, for no other reason than I can't leave well enough alone. The Nordstrand pre looks interesting to me.

Check it out http://www.bestbassgear.com/nordstrand-bass-preamps.htm#nordstrandpreampspecs


I like the frequencies espeically the bass:
- Treble: +/- 12 [email protected]
- Mid: +/-12 [email protected] (mid freq selector toggles between 1kHz and 400Hz)
- Bass: +/- 12 [email protected]

I also like the the mid selector and the passive tone control.

Hmmm....