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Finally Getting Nordstrands For Lakie 55-94
- Thread starter tallboybass
- Start date
Awesome! That is exactly what mine looks like (except righty), so this is what I can expect. I'm drooling.
Thanks bigsnack, I do like the look with all those polepieces. I think you'll enjoy your bass a lot more if you're coming from the Bart set-up to this. You'll be amazed at how the bass keeps its basic vibe, but everything about the sound is just "better".
Here's a thread over in 'Basses For Sale' with some hot pics of a 55-94 with Nords:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=398806&highlight=lakland
Alan
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=398806&highlight=lakland
Alan
I've been contemplating a similar switch for my 55-02. The electronics are the same, I believe, so it should work. I wish I could afford a 55-94...maybe when my ship comes in, right?
I would totally have a 55-02 if I wasn't left-handed. The differences seem to be pretty minimal. Lakland doesn't do any Skyline lefties. If you have the Barts, I can highly recommend the switch to Nordstrands.
More fave settings....oh, and I've moved the mids back to 500hz instead of 850hz....
Neck PU with just a little front coil of back PU blended in with slight mid boost, for old-school with definition.
Neck PU with just a little back coil of back PU blended in with slight mid boost, for old-school with definition.
Even blend of neck and front coil of back PU, for slap.
Neck and 'back PU in parallel' panned slightly to back PU, with boost of lows, mids AND highs, for 'modern'.
Neck PU with just a little front coil of back PU blended in with slight mid boost, for old-school with definition.
Neck PU with just a little back coil of back PU blended in with slight mid boost, for old-school with definition.
Even blend of neck and front coil of back PU, for slap.
Neck and 'back PU in parallel' panned slightly to back PU, with boost of lows, mids AND highs, for 'modern'.
Yeah that;'s one hot 55-94... AND IT'S MINE NOW! Haha!
Been tinkering with the electronics since I got it. Messing with the mid switches, preamp gain, and PU height. Not sure what I am going to go with yet. one day I have the mids at 500, then 250, now 850. ARGHHH!
I do think the Bart pre sounds best turned all the way down though. ( Is that what someone was refering to as "Unity Gain"? )
I will say this is one awesome playing and sounding bass. Notes in different positions are so even it's scary. Could this have something to do with the Nordys?
I'm sure it does. I just dropped some Big Singles and an Audere Pre in my 44-01 last night and the difference is night and day. But every bass that I've played with any signature Nordys in it sounds phenomenal.
Sorry I haven't replied yet with my results yet everyone. I get back from a business trip tomorrow, and should be getting the bass back next week. I can't wait to hear the results!
I have two 55-94s, a standard with a Swamp Ash body and a classic with an Alder body. They sound quite a bit different, all other things being equal. The Swamp Ash tends to sound brighter and the Alder tends to sound a bit darker and fuller in the midrange.
Partly just to make these two basses sound even more different, I had some Nordstrands put into the classic Alder 55-94 and I have had a chance to compare and contrast the sound of Nordstrand pickups to the standard Bartolinis. The Nordstrands I had installed are the NJ5S and the MM5.4, purchased from Best Bass Gear. No change made in the preamp. Still the stock Lakland/Bartolini preamp.
For the sake of objectivity, I have done most of my comparisons with the preamps in passive mode, bybassing the preamps and listening to only the pickups in passive mode.
The Nordstrands have more output than the Bartolinis and are quite a bit brighter, which suits me fine for the Alder 55-94, which was a bit darker with the Bartolinis in it. The Bartolinis have a much richer lower midrange, however. The Nordstrands actually sound just a bit harsh by comparison, to my ear. Naturally, I'll need to use them more and get accustomed to eq-ing things in a manner that is appropriate for the Nordstrands. It seems that the Nordstrands, by virtue of their brighter sound, might be well suited for slapping techniques, but by adjusting eq, you should be able to get a decent slap sound from most any pickup.
I accomplished my objective of differentiating these two basses a bit more, however it is no mystery to me why most of the best bass builders in the world still use Bartolinis. If I am not mistaken, I think Bill Bartolini has been making pickups longer than Carey Nordstrand has been alive. Nordstrands are good pickups but not exactly God's gift to the world of electromagnetic pickups. The very first Lakland I ever owned, and the bass that converted me to a Lakland player was a 55-01 with the Bartolini MK-1 pickups and the USA Bartolini preamp. I agree with Ed Friedland and, contrary to most on TB, Ed and I think those MK-1 pickups sound great. They're a bit different, but I had the same pickups in a Cort/Elrick 5 string and they sounded just as good in that bass as well. So, even the Korean made Bartolinis sound tremendous in my opinion.
Also, understand that Lakland did not start making their own pickups because they thought they could do it better. What motivated them to start making their own pickups is inconsistent supply from all of the pickup manufacturers they had been buying from, including, but not limited to Bartolini, Aero, Fralin, Darkstar, etc. and their production flow was being interrupted. Basses would sit, awaiting pickups from the manufacturers, and couldn't be shipped and billed, etc. In fact, some of the Lakland staffers still prefer Bartolinis.
Most pickups all work the same way; a magnet and some wire coiled around a bobbin, etc. and every manufacturer's products are just variations on that theme. Are Nordstrand pickups worth 40% more than Bartolinis? Probably not, but as the saying goes "Your Mileage May Vary!"
Partly just to make these two basses sound even more different, I had some Nordstrands put into the classic Alder 55-94 and I have had a chance to compare and contrast the sound of Nordstrand pickups to the standard Bartolinis. The Nordstrands I had installed are the NJ5S and the MM5.4, purchased from Best Bass Gear. No change made in the preamp. Still the stock Lakland/Bartolini preamp.
For the sake of objectivity, I have done most of my comparisons with the preamps in passive mode, bybassing the preamps and listening to only the pickups in passive mode.
The Nordstrands have more output than the Bartolinis and are quite a bit brighter, which suits me fine for the Alder 55-94, which was a bit darker with the Bartolinis in it. The Bartolinis have a much richer lower midrange, however. The Nordstrands actually sound just a bit harsh by comparison, to my ear. Naturally, I'll need to use them more and get accustomed to eq-ing things in a manner that is appropriate for the Nordstrands. It seems that the Nordstrands, by virtue of their brighter sound, might be well suited for slapping techniques, but by adjusting eq, you should be able to get a decent slap sound from most any pickup.
I accomplished my objective of differentiating these two basses a bit more, however it is no mystery to me why most of the best bass builders in the world still use Bartolinis. If I am not mistaken, I think Bill Bartolini has been making pickups longer than Carey Nordstrand has been alive. Nordstrands are good pickups but not exactly God's gift to the world of electromagnetic pickups. The very first Lakland I ever owned, and the bass that converted me to a Lakland player was a 55-01 with the Bartolini MK-1 pickups and the USA Bartolini preamp. I agree with Ed Friedland and, contrary to most on TB, Ed and I think those MK-1 pickups sound great. They're a bit different, but I had the same pickups in a Cort/Elrick 5 string and they sounded just as good in that bass as well. So, even the Korean made Bartolinis sound tremendous in my opinion.
Also, understand that Lakland did not start making their own pickups because they thought they could do it better. What motivated them to start making their own pickups is inconsistent supply from all of the pickup manufacturers they had been buying from, including, but not limited to Bartolini, Aero, Fralin, Darkstar, etc. and their production flow was being interrupted. Basses would sit, awaiting pickups from the manufacturers, and couldn't be shipped and billed, etc. In fact, some of the Lakland staffers still prefer Bartolinis.
Most pickups all work the same way; a magnet and some wire coiled around a bobbin, etc. and every manufacturer's products are just variations on that theme. Are Nordstrand pickups worth 40% more than Bartolinis? Probably not, but as the saying goes "Your Mileage May Vary!"
Great post IMO. I hear the same low-mids emphasis from the Bartolini's that I recently had put into my ash-bodied Lull 5-string, with an Aguilar OBP-3 preamp. The Barts have definitely warmed up it's sound, and it has a lot more punch than it did with the Duncan single coils that were in it originally. I have another Lull in mind; this time I'm going with an alder body, passive only, and have my Duncan single coils installed in it
Congrats to the OP on the new Nordstrands. I love the Nordstrand NP4 pickup that's in my MIA P-Bass. I'm also a big fan of Bartolini and Duncan pickups. For me, it's about figuring out what type of sound that I'm wanting, and then finding the right pickup that will help me to get that sound.
Definitely a great post. It's good to hear another side of the coin! I definitely love the low-mid bump that the Barts tend to have when playing solo. The only issue for me is that in a band situation, that bump tends to take away some of the bass's clarity. At least in the rock band that I am playing with at the moment. I am still eager to give it a shot!
+1....great post 'Fezzey'! I truly wanted to be another Bart lover, but I have to agree with 'bigsnack', my bass got lost in the mix 'til I got the Nordies. I still boost mids and highs, but moved the mids back to 500hz from 850hz because the upper mid definition is so much better (for me) with the Nords. Anyone who loves the Barts would be crazy to switch, I just couldn't live with the bass as it was. I was getting ready to sell it but thought I'd try something different before doing that. Being a lefty, it's hard to find decent instruments, otherwise I'd most likely have a Joe Osborn 5 with passive Fralins. I still think I'd be happier with passive Jazz PUs (with 'series' option). It's all about getting something that sounds and feels right TO YOU. Thanks to everyone who has posted so far, keep it coming!
Alan
I have yet to play a gig with the Nordstrand pickups. However, I have noticed that part of the key to sitting in the mix is to do just the opposite of what sounds good when you are at home practicing alone, and that is to boost the lower mids. The smiley eq that's so popular with slappers and generally sounds good when you're at home practicing alone is a good way to get lost in a band mix.
Perhaps the Nordstrands inherent eq will do a better job of sitting in the mix than the Bartolinis, but in either case, I'm sure some eq will need to be adjusted.
One other thing I have noticed as I play with the Nordstrands more is that the output of the MM5.4 pickup is a bit stronger than the NJ5S. I have the MM5.4 wired just like the Bartolini straight from Lakland, so that when in dual coil mode, the coils are in parallel. If I want both pickups to be balanced, I have to turn the balance control a bit toward the neck pickup. Otherwise the bridge pickup tends to dominate the tone a bit. No big deal, just one more thing to differentiate the sound of my two 55-94s. I love both of them and I have yet to find a bass that I like as much. I'm really tempted to pick up a 55-02 and perhaps try Duncan Basslines in that! I had a 55-02 and I had Lakland install the new LH-3 pickups and preamp and I sold it, bought it back and then sold it again! Loved the instrument but didn't care for the pickups and preamp. It was one of those rare 55-02s that weighed only 8 pounds!
I'm planning to attend the first Lakland Owner's Group get together in Brookfield, Wisconsin, May 10th.
Perhaps the Nordstrands inherent eq will do a better job of sitting in the mix than the Bartolinis, but in either case, I'm sure some eq will need to be adjusted.
One other thing I have noticed as I play with the Nordstrands more is that the output of the MM5.4 pickup is a bit stronger than the NJ5S. I have the MM5.4 wired just like the Bartolini straight from Lakland, so that when in dual coil mode, the coils are in parallel. If I want both pickups to be balanced, I have to turn the balance control a bit toward the neck pickup. Otherwise the bridge pickup tends to dominate the tone a bit. No big deal, just one more thing to differentiate the sound of my two 55-94s. I love both of them and I have yet to find a bass that I like as much. I'm really tempted to pick up a 55-02 and perhaps try Duncan Basslines in that! I had a 55-02 and I had Lakland install the new LH-3 pickups and preamp and I sold it, bought it back and then sold it again! Loved the instrument but didn't care for the pickups and preamp. It was one of those rare 55-02s that weighed only 8 pounds!
I'm planning to attend the first Lakland Owner's Group get together in Brookfield, Wisconsin, May 10th.
Fezzy -- can you get the volumes to balance out by dropping the bridge pickup height a bit? That imbalance would make the project a non-starter for me.
Wow, I don't have that problem at all. I'm going to get the MM wired for a series option.
