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Fixing an old EB-0. need pickup suggestion.

Nev375

Nev375

Nov 2, 2010
10,569
18,045
Missouri
#1
OK, I have in my posession a slightly butchered early 70's EB-0 with the original mudbucker and someone added a Dimarzio model 1 right next to the bridge. (much lower output, sounds like poo.)

The output jack has been moved to the side leaving room for another pot/knob (though wherever will i find a vintage one?) or big switch and 2 little dp/dt switches have been installed.

Design goals:

1st priority: tonal usefulness. Ok, so we need a PASSIVE replacement bridge pickup that will work WITH the monstrous output of the humbucker and provide some highs and harmonics into the signal. (either as an option to the mudbucker, or if it can stand alone so be it.

2nd priority: useful aesthetics. All switches and holes already present must form some function. No dummy knobs or plugged holes.


Due to the size of the bridge pickup cavity I'm thinking either 2 jazz coils like berry oakley's tractor with a ramp in between

Or maybe shave the ears off some jazz covers and glue a triple-coil together with maybe a dummy coil in there for electronic possibilities.

Thing is, I know Jazz pickups can be wired in series, but even 2 pups in series is still half the output of the mudbucker, and I don'teven know if that sounds good.

Would a dummy coil paralell to the mudbucker tame its output down to jazz bass proportions without sacrificing tone?

I need some advice from some pros on what happens to tone if i wire various coils together when I have 2 or 3 slots close to the bridge.
 
#2
I would get another Model 1, and wire both for series/parallel for the coils. This means you can drop the output of each pickup but still retain the hum-cancelling capabilities. I imagine you will get a lot more treble. Alternately hard-wire each pickup so that the coils are in parallel. They will look like conventional Model 1/mudbuckers but be a lot 'cooler' and sound more Fender-like.
 
#3
Get 2 Darkstars/BiSonics and destroy the venue!

9479_gibson2_1.jpg
 
#5
iiipopes said:
+1. There's no "restoring" at this point unless you want to match grain and inset wood and refinish and search for original pickups and hardware and....
Click to expand...

I'm just trying to turn it into a useful bass and put something good in the hole by the bridge. I can only make the hole bigger. So whatever goes there will have to be mudbucker sized or larger.

Is there nothing out there that works with a mudbucker without having to go stereo amplification? Is that what you all are trying to tell me?
 
#6
What sound do you want that the Model 1 isn't giving you? The original pickup is still in the neck position, no? Maybe that's the one to replace.

There definitely are lots of pickups to stick in there. You've been given a couple suggestions already. They both incorporate humbuckers and neither is a stereo setup.
 
#7
I don't think the model 1 was ever designed to work in the bridge position. The sound is thin, weak not enough treble to cut through, not enough lows to push anything.

The original mudbucker works fine, all lows, no treble, loud as God... it's a mudbucker. You know, one of those ones that measure well over 30K on an ohmmeter.

What I would like is a good bridge pickup or (set of pickups) to blend in some treble. But a typical jazz pickup measures around 6K ohms. But then there double-coil jazzes, stacked coil jazzes... all sorts of options there, plus routing out for a triple-wide jazz would cover the hole.

Problem is, I don't know what the end tonal result of these potential wiring configurations will do.

So far, one suggestion was to replace the working pickup and match the bad one. Another was to replace it with darkstars.... That's a great idea... I'd love to do that, but I need further advice on how to find not just one, but two holy grails and also how to finance two pickups that are worth more than the bass.

Sorry if I'm getting too snarky, but I need some ideas and info that are more real-world and practical. I don't believe I need name brand pickups to get quality tone. I've heard plenty of MIM Fenders and epiphones that sounded great.
 
#13
Edit. Thanks Jimmy. Thats actually a more reasonable suggestion.
I forgot this was talkbass. The answer when it comes to pickups is always darkstar. ..Or else trade for a P-bass with flats and a tort guard and then put the darkstar in that.

...sigh.
 
#14
You can always get an Artec Mudbucker for 20-odd bucks.

They have four conductors that are by default soldered so the coils are in series, but can be easily rewired to parallel. The DC resistance then becomes close to 8 kΩ which can be easily blended with almost any pickup. And it'll cost you very little, is easy to mod and doesn't take a lot of time.
Plus, you will still keep a lot of the muddy tone because we are talking about two coils wound with a metric ton of wire and parallel wiring shouldn't detract from that.

The only downside is - sometimes they come wired out of phase or the magnets aren't facing the right direction. But all of those are easy to fix in ten minutes tops.
 
#15
Nev375 said:
I forgot this was talkbass. The answer when it comes to pickups is always darkstar.
Click to expand...

You could watch ebay for the 70s Guild HB's. You can get them for less than $50. 36k, and they'll work with the Gibson string spacing.

If they're advertised as "dead," they might be alive and the guy was reading on the 20k scale.
 
#16
I used a Dimarzio on my previously owned EB0.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/dimarzio-dp120-model-one-bass-humbucker-pickup?src=3WWRWXGP&gclid=CJHF8sT59bcCFWYV7Aodfj4AOg&kwid=productads-plaid^34106004482-sku^302261@ADL4mf-adType^PLA-device^c-adid^14207111402
Great sound I thought.
 
#18
Stealth said:
You can always get an Artec Mudbucker for 20-odd bucks.

They have four conductors that are by default soldered so the coils are in series, but can be easily rewired to parallel. The DC resistance then becomes close to 8 kΩ which can be easily blended with almost any pickup.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good suggestion if all else fails, then I'll swap the mudbucker.
 
#19
Nev375,

You make some good points. You may be right about the Model 1 not "belonging" in the bridge position.

You have lots of options, but I don't have much personal experience in that specific area.

Years ago, I replaced the butted-against-the-fingerboard mudbucker in my EB-0L with a Jazz pickup. Later, that was replaced with a Model 1. Both "worked", but weren't the solution to your sound problem (or mine).

The EB3 had a smaller pickup in the bridge position. I think it was a humbucker, right? That bass also had the neck pickup an inch or two from the fingerboard.

So ... How much routing or covering up do you want to do? Keep googling!
 

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