How Can I Upgrade My Ibanez?

[MycooLeeyun]

Your video sounds pretty good. Do the tone controls not respond at all? If they do, try lowering the bass a tad. I think lowering the P pickup will be beneficial. EMG will be a good upgrade. Try to get the Alnico plus X pre-amp

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Thank you! And obviously the video is mixed so it's not an accurate representation of the tone. The bass doesn't sound bad! But it's my main axe and I want to upgrade

 

[MycooLeeyun]

roll the treble control all the way off. turn up your volume. trust me.

I'll try that

 

[MycooLeeyun]

Cool song! It doesn’t sound bad at all but reminds me of other 2 pickup basses with both pickups balanced/wide open, like a jazz. Before doing surgery have you tried favoring one pickup or the other in terms of volume? Balancing them sounds pretty but often costs you some mids.

I'm usually slightly favoring the P pickup, but either pickup on their own doesn't sound good to me on this bass.

 

[MycooLeeyun]

Well, I’ll say this- I constantly advocate for Ibanez when people are asking about a great cheap bass, specifically because I think their PJ pickup position and the pickups themselves on the cheap GSR line are absolutely fantastic and sound as good as any other bass I have.

looking into it, it seems these AFR are ceramic magnets.. now a lot of types of pick ups can sound a lot of different ways, but I haven’t run into too many ceramic pickups I liked the sound of.

so long story short I think you could easily get a fantastic sounding bass with even a modest pickup upgrade. As much as people love SD stuff, that’s a good start, or if you’re trying to blow a little more cash you could throw some nordstrands in it, which to me are about the best sounding PJ you were going to get without stepping into that super expensive tier above that.

edit- I will add a couple things …. First off, it is great advice to slap on some new strings, and adjust your set up if you haven’t… I find that my action is a huge influence on my tone, and a little less so is the pickup height itself..

play with those things and see the kind of range of tones you can get out of your electronics.

I will also add that Nordstrand is great for a modern vintage kinda sound.. which essentially means fat old school tone but with a little aggression and better clarity up top.

if you want more of that muted rounded dark chewy tone, Bartolini is the ticket, but I DO find they are best implemented with a Bart preamp as well. Not that the pickups sound bad by themselves or anything, it’s just sort of a well developed tonal ecosystem with them paired together.

as others said, there are a huge swath of options at various price points that will all sound great if you find that your current electronics are indeed not doing it for you.. it may simply be that you don’t care for the way the upper end sounds with ceramics

extra edit: I think most, if not all Bartolini’s are ceramic, but his engineering and taste are such that the high-end has this nice rounded dark-but-not-muddy sound, which is pretty starkly different from the Generalized “harsh“ top end, you will often see attributed to ceramic pickups.

Super helpful! Thank you so much.

I will look into Nordstrand pickups. Any preamp in particular that would pair well with them?

I do like the sound of modern vintage, but I'm wondering if this band/bass is better suited for "Dark Chewy" as you mentioned. I want to cut through the mix while still being felt down low. I'm a pretty mid heavy player.

 

[MycooLeeyun]

Since the Ibanez has reverse P pickup, do I need to order a special set of pickups for that?

 

[DonaldR]

I was using DR High Beams for a long time. I tried a set of Ken Smith Rock Master on my Yamaha TRBX-505 but didn't like them, too woody. Installed them on my LTD Surveyor 5, with EMG pickups, and they are perfect for that bass. I then tried a set of Low Riders on the Yamaha and I like them better than High Beams.

I would start with a different set of strings than what you currently use before swapping electronics. And also play with pickup height. Setting the E-A side lower will make your D-G side less thin. Compensate with eq on your amp.

 

[ctmullins]

extra edit: I think most, if not all Bartolini’s are ceramic, but his engineering and taste are such that the high-end has this nice rounded dark-but-not-muddy sound, which is pretty starkly different from the Generalized “harsh“ top end, you will often see attributed to ceramic pickups.

A fantastic example of why generalizing based on magnet type is completely fallacious.

 

[MrGreen666]

Amazing bass!

Add Darkglass ToneCapsule and set of EMG-X and You will have as much high sparkle, meds and lows as You want.

It would literally make a modern monster from that bass. As wood is really great and it is is med-Premium series.

 

[wysiwyg248]

Sell it and buy a Sadowsky (JK)

 

[Killing Floor]

I’m all for buying “stuff”. You know it’s true.

But what strings do you use? That might get you there.

 

[MycooLeeyun]

I’m all for buying “stuff”. You know it’s true.

But what strings do you use? That might get you there.

I really don't think it's strings. Right now I have a set of Fodera Nickels and have used DR Hi Beams as well. what strings would you recommend?

 

[MycooLeeyun]

Amazing bass!

Add Darkglass ToneCapsule and set of EMG-X and You will have as much high sparkle, meds and lows as You want.

It would literally make a modern monster from that bass. As wood is really great and it is is med-Premium series.

Isn't DarkGlass pretty heavy or something?

 

[MycooLeeyun]

Your video sounds pretty good. Do the tone controls not respond at all? If they do, try lowering the bass a tad. I think lowering the P pickup will be beneficial. EMG will be a good upgrade. Try to get the Alnico plus X pre-amp

Invalid Link Removed and possibly this EQ Invalid Link Removed - That will drop right in to what you have.

Since my bass is routed for reverse P pickup, will this still drop right in to my bass?

 

[Killing Floor]

I really don't think it's strings. Right now I have a set of Fodera Nickels and have used DR Hi Beams as well. what strings would you recommend?

There is no best set. If you’re happy with everything else about the bass a pickup upgrade might help but that’s a rabbit hole.
I’m a huge fan of John East preamps and Fralin pickups but this is all subjective.

 

[kleinenenten]

Bartolini pickups and pre are always a safe bet.

My first thought as well. Never tried the pickups, but for my own Ibanez, (a lowly SR505), swapping the stock preamp to a NTMB was a complete game changer. No more muddy lows, crisp highs, great control of the treble, and a 3 band EQ. All excellent improvements over the original. I'll likely be doing the same to another bass of mine soon, and then I'll really see how the preamp can improve the basses, because this Ibanez has different pickups. Regardless, Bartolini is solid and musical for pretty much any application.

 

[MycooLeeyun]

I've been watching EMG preamp/pickup videos and those tones seem to be really nice! How would you guys describe EMG vs something like Nordstrand pickups?

 

[tb-player]

For a bass where we are solving for missing mids? I think this is a step backwards given the goal.

I have 3 basses with Bartolini pickups/pre. The mids adjustment is very responsive. It's one of the most versatile preamps out there.

 

[TK4261]

I think a new set of EMG's with Alnico magnets and a BTC Bass/Treble module would be a great sounding fit with that SR1200 Ibby you have and that is a very, very nice SR1200. Older Ibby Soundgears and EMG pickups just go together IMO.
I have a EMG Alnico P with the Bass/Treble seperate module in my Warwick AC Rockbass and I am very happy with the sound. I get the full spectrum of lows, mids & highs.

This set:
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[ctmullins]

Pickups make such a huge contribution to the tone of an instrument! For solid-body guitars & basses, many of us believe that pickups are the single most influential element.

And there has never been such a vast array of options available. It’s overwhelming how many different choices there are. Some really good suggestions above. I love EMG, and Nordstrand, and Wilde, and Delano, and DiMarzio, and …..

Generally speaking, the pickups provide the basic “voice”, and the preamp lets you adjust that voice, but a preamp doesn’t change the basic voice (but note the exception below). It can be prohibitively expensive, in both time and money, to try all of the options for yourself. On the other hand, you never know what a certain set of pickups will sound like in your bass without actually installing them and auditioning them with your own rig and your own ears. So the most pragmatic approach is to watch as many demo videos as you can, try and understand the basic essence of a given pickup’s core tone, then obtain and install the ones you like. It’s an iterative process. I myself have gone through four or five different pickups before finding the right ones for a particular instrument.

For the ultimate in tonal flexibility, there are some excellent filter preamps available. Instead of boost/cut in a given frequency band, these employ high-pass filters with adjustable resonance (boost at the cutoff frequency), usually one for each pickup. This lets you completely change the character of tone, but is a bit counterintuitive at first. In recent years there have been some new entrants in this market segment, like JTEX, Lusithand, and Underhill. There’s a big thread around here somewhere….

 

[doran.dragic]

Does your bass have a passive mode? If so, are you satisfied with its sound when it's in passive mode? If not I'd start considering replacing the pickups.

If you're contemplating a preamp change, conducting thorough research is essential. Attempt to identify the specific frequencies various EQs allow you to boost or cut. You might have an EQ pedal, a multi-effects pedal featuring an EQ, or access to a DAW equipped with an EQ. Experiment by adjusting different frequencies to discern their impact on your sound. Here are the frequency ranges for some of the preamps I've been considering:

Bartolini NTMB+F
+/- 15db@30 Hz
+/- 13db@250 Hz
+/- 18db@10 kHz

Delano Sonar 3
+/-16dB@45Hz
+/-14dB@500Hz or +/-14dB@300Hz/500Hz/800Hz (Mid selection)
+/-18dB@5KHz

Glockenklang:
+/- 14db@40 Hz
+/- 9db@550 Hz
+/- 18db@18 kHz

MAMA AP-3
+/- 14db@100 Hz
+/- 14db@400-770 Hz
+/- 14db@5,5 kHz

MAMA AP-2
+/- 14db@100 Hz
+/- 14db@5,5 kHz

Some individuals in this discussion recommended Bartolini, known for their excellent products, although it's worth noting that some of their pickups are recognised for producing a darker tone. This darker quality is part of their distinct sound that many people appreciate, particularly in their "Original" pickups. Conversely, Bartolini also offers a line named "Classic," aiming for a more neutral tone. I'm sharing this because you mentioned dissatisfaction with the mid and high frequencies on your bass.

Regarding precise adjustments like pickup height, nearly all settings can be reverted to their original state. I maintain a log for each instrument, meticulously noting every modification made. This meticulous record-keeping allows me to revert the setup to its previous state if I'm dissatisfied with any changes. For instance:

03.12.2023:

Decreased pickup height and increased the distance between the pickup and the bass on the bass side: 1 complete turn (360 degrees) of both screws under the E string (the pickup has 4 screws).
Raised the G string: 1 half turn (180 degrees) of both screws.

You have the option to record your bass sound before and after adjustments or simply listen and evaluate as you play. If the alterations aren't to your liking, you can easily revert them.

Additionally, I noticed some comments about Fodera: Fodera, along with other boutique builders, crafts basses with distinct tonal characteristics. For instance, the Fodera Tom Kennedy model differs significantly from the Fodera Anthony Jackson due to their entirely different pickup configurations. What I'm trying to say is: buying an expensive bass is not a solution. Knowing what you want your bass to sound like is. Post some clips of the bass tone that you're trying to achieve and maybe people are going to be able to help you even more.