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Finally Getting Nordstrands For Lakie 55-94

tallboybass

tallboybass

Supporting Member
Feb 25, 2003
4,573
1,163
69
Tulsa, Oklahoma
#1
Hi, I finally sucked it up and ordered some Nordie PUs for my Lakland 55-94. Just couldn't take those Barts ANY MORE!!! Brian from bestbassgear.com is THE MAN! I'll report back if anyone wants to know about the Nordies as replacements for the weak, anemic.......er, I mean...Bartolinis.:D
 
#8
WOW! I ordered on Thursday, got them on Saturday! Free shipping via USPS Priority Mail from NH to OK. Yay:hyper:

Has anyone done this pickup swap in a Lakland? It looks pretty intimidating! Would I be better-off cutting the wires and splicing on, rather than desoldering at the source? I MIGHT have to wait 'til my guitar tech gets back from jury duty....:crying:
 
#9
Well, I finally got them installed.:hyper: The whole thing seems to be a major upgrade....with lots more output in general (I used to run the pre on my amp all the way up). Just using the neck PU (NJ5S) sounds pretty much like a Jazz Bass with front PU soloed....sits nicely in a mix with grind and big definition...and NO noise! The back PU (MM 5.4) sounds MUCH more like a MusicMan than the Bart did when soloed. My fave combo is the back coil of the MM blended 50/50 with the front PU....very similar to a Jazz. Also, for some reason, the blend knob works more gradually....there is a lot more variation vs. the Barts where an 1/8" movement of the blend knob took it from full front to full back!:confused: Let me know if you have any specific questions on tone and I'll try to describe it as best as I can.:)

Alan
 
#13
You know, I was also thinking on the way home from work, is there any way you could record some clips? I don't care how quick or rough they are, but I would love to hear how these pickups sound!

Edit: I also have a tone question. When some people upgraded from the Barts to the Lakland LH3 pickups, they said that it sounded like a variation of the same bass (i.e. similar in tone, but with differences in the low mids, etc.). In your opinion, do the Nordstrand pickups still make it sound fundamentally like a 55-94 (but better), or has it become a totally new sound?
 
#14
bigsnack said:
Edit: I also have a tone question. When some people upgraded from the Barts to the Lakland LH3 pickups, they said that it sounded like a variation of the same bass (i.e. similar in tone, but with differences in the low mids, etc.). In your opinion, do the Nordstrand pickups still make it sound fundamentally like a 55-94 (but better), or has it become a totally new sound?
Click to expand...

+1

Also, to the OP, I'm interested in whether or not you've played a bass with the LH3 and how those would compare to the Nordies...
 
#17
bigsnack said:
You know, I was also thinking on the way home from work, is there any way you could record some clips? I don't care how quick or rough they are, but I would love to hear how these pickups sound!

Edit: I also have a tone question. When some people upgraded from the Barts to the Lakland LH3 pickups, they said that it sounded like a variation of the same bass (i.e. similar in tone, but with differences in the low mids, etc.). In your opinion, do the Nordstrand pickups still make it sound fundamentally like a 55-94 (but better), or has it become a totally new sound?
Click to expand...
Hi, I can't record any clips, sorry.

I thought it was going to sound like a completely different bass, but it doesn't....it's like what you said, sounds like a 55-94 only with a lot more "substance". The Barts never sounded like they had much weight to each note...wow, it's hard putting sound into words. The Nords sound much more like standard passive PUs (but really GOOD ones) that have been used in basses since Leo started. I don't know how Bartolini makes theirs, but they sound kind of "artificial" to me. The biggest problem I had with the Barts was the lack of upper mids, which are crucial (to me) for defining the note in a band context. The Nords seem to have everything - lows, low mids, high mids, highs....but they're quite smooth. There isn't a big peak anywhere that I can hear.

Hope this rambling helps,
Alan
 
#19
Valerus said:
I'm still torn between the NPJ4, NPJ4SE and the NPJSV sets. :crying:
Click to expand...
I'd definitely recommend a set with the humcancelling bridge PU.....the NPJ4SE or NPJ4SV.

They say this about the SE: "The natural character of this design is to have a more pronounced lower midrange, and a slightly muted high end. This makes them exceptionally suite to fingerstyle players that are going for a solo bridge pickup sound with good 'bark' and 'heft'."
 
#20
Thanks so much for the impressions. I may take the plunge and try them out later this year. I originally had the LH3 pickups installed in my 55-94, and overall I liked their tone. However, my A string sounded weak with to me with those pickups, so I had the bartolini's installed instead. It's still a great sounding bass with the barts, but I feel like they are a little cloudy in the low end. It's good to hear I may have another great sounding option!

Also, I don't see either of those model numbers on the Nordstrand website. Am I just not looking hard enough, or are the model numbers you referenced (NJ5S and MM 5.4) new?
 

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