Help me choosing pickup and preamp for my custom bass!

[Recover9720]

Hello, all bass maestros!

I am considering a maruszczyk 6 string custom bass and need your help in making it my masterpiece.

I want to make tones like Hadrien Feraud, Brendan Cygnus Brown (Ex- Ne Obliviscaris), and Anton Zhikarev(InsaneDeathMachine). I'm pursuing a warm jazzy tone and powerful metal tone which can cut through the mix with a clear presence. It may be a contradictory target but I want it to be versatile enough to cover many styles, especially jazz and extreme metal.

Until now, I have decided on a walnut body and roasted maple neck with an ebony fretboard. But when it comes to pickups and preamps... it is a really tough decision to make.

For pickup, I am considering Nordstrand Dual Coil(parallel wired) but not sure if it will be my best choice. I used Nordstrand tone finding service and they suggested me their DC pickup. Its versatility is noticeable, can be applied to many genres but there aren't many demos on Youtube. It will be my pleasure if you can share your experience of Nordy DC or suggest other better options.

The biggest problem is the preamp. I found Darkglass Tonecapsule, Michalik BP4(Spector Tonepump), Noll, and Glockenklang pre are attractive. However, I cannot decide which one to choose. It needs to carry a transparent and clear tone, not a booming bass tone. I'm not sure which one can fulfill my target tone. Because I don't know much about preamp brands, your help is most needed.

I want the bass tone itself to be alive even in the high BPM, in the low B. But its treble tone should not be too edgy.

I can give you any explanation you need if my explanation above is not enough.

Thank you for your suggestion and comments.

 

[winegamd]

The DC will be great to get that Fodera'ish tone, but I think for what you want the Zen Blade in parallel might be a better choice. They have a faster response and are more even and natural. I think I would choose the Big Rig's in parallel over the DC's, too. You may also email Nordstrand and ask them directly what they think based on your musical style and tone requirements.

Here is what the Big Rigs sound like.


Here is the Zen Blade




The Nordstrand Pre is pretty nice. You could use a passive tone and a Dark Glass tone capsule. The Audere Classic with the 3-way mid selector is fantastic. If you want all the bells and whistles, the Audere Pro-Z will do it all. The Glockenklang 3-band would also be nice. If you want a lot of adjustment, the East preamp is nice, too. Noll and of course Pope are also good options. I would say figure out what mid frequencies you like, and find the one that best works in your price range.

 

[Recover9720]

Thank you for your specific suggestions.

I got direct mail from Nordstrand audio team and DC was suggested in it. By the way, that Big Rig also sounds amazing. It is getting to be tougher to choose PU.

There are so many to choose from in the preamps. I knew it would be a hard decision to make but it is harder than I thought. I usually don't adjust too much in the onboard preamps. Also, I personally like the tones with tightness more than the fatty tone. Perhaps that might narrow the options for me.

I might have to search for more info continuously.