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How good are your ears? Soundclips inside...

Which tone do you prefer

  • 1

    Votes: 11 16.7%

  • 2

    Votes: 6 9.1%

  • 3

    Votes: 31 47.0%

  • 4

    Votes: 9 13.6%

  • 5

    Votes: 9 13.6%
  • Total voters
    66
#61
Ryan Mohr said:
KILLER playing! That jazz sounds great too, more or less my ideal tone. What strings were on the bass? Were the Lollars a better sonic match for the '62 than the Antiquity IIs? I know you have a very specific idea of the sound you want, and haven't found any production pickups that sonically replicate the tone of the vintage fender pickups. I have the CS '60s pickups in the Fender, and so far I like the tone more than the Antiquity IIs.
Click to expand...

some pretty old steel lowriders. the duncan mixed really well with the original bridge pickup too. it had a bit of a ballsier/hairier sound than the lollar which was pretty sick. it reminded my of my old 66. but, i opted to get that bass sounding a bit more period correct by going with the lollar. the differences in construction between the two pickups was only a bit different as well. the lollar reads 7.55 on my multimeter and the duncan i had in there was 8.11 but also had longer pole pieces. both wound with plain enamel like the stock pickups.

also, unless the the poly insulated wire Lollar uses on his stock jazz set sounds dramatically different than the plain enamel he used on my neck pickup, i think the voice of those pickups might lean a little closer to the duncan than the custom shop 60.
 
#62
narud said:
some pretty old steel lowriders. the duncan mixed really well with the original bridge pickup too. it had a bit of a ballsier/hairier sound than the lollar which was pretty sick. it reminded my of my old 66. but, i opted to get that bass sounding a bit more period correct by going with the lollar. the differences in construction between the two pickups was only a bit different as well. the lollar reads 7.55 on my multimeter and the duncan i had in there was 8.11 but also had longer pole pieces. both wound with plain enamel like the stock pickups.

also, unless the the poly insulated wire Lollar uses on his stock jazz set sounds dramatically different than the plain enamel he used on my neck pickup, i think the voice of those pickups might lean a little closer to the duncan than the custom shop 60.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the opinion, I'm probably not changing the CS '60s out anytime soon. I took the covers off yesterday and noticed that the poles on the D were actually a hair lower than the rest, and that the poles on the bridge pickup were quite a bit longer than the poles on the neck pickup. But these are just minor annoyances, I still think the pickups sound great.

The Antiquity IIs did sound bigger and looser in the lows, mellower in the high mids, and were a bit more aggressive in the highs than the Fenders, which have more mid emphasis. But I think that was the design goal of the IIs, the mid '60s spec.

If I do change the pickups, I will most likely get the Lollars or NJ4s. I talked to Carey and he said he could make a set for a 7.25" radius. I think the Lollars come with staggered poles.
 
#63
narud said:
some pretty old steel lowriders. the duncan mixed really well with the original bridge pickup too. it had a bit of a ballsier/hairier sound than the lollar which was pretty sick. it reminded my of my old 66. but, i opted to get that bass sounding a bit more period correct by going with the lollar. the differences in construction between the two pickups was only a bit different as well. the lollar reads 7.55 on my multimeter and the duncan i had in there was 8.11 but also had longer pole pieces. both wound with plain enamel like the stock pickups.

also, unless the the poly insulated wire Lollar uses on his stock jazz set sounds dramatically different than the plain enamel he used on my neck pickup, i think the voice of those pickups might lean a little closer to the duncan than the custom shop 60.
Click to expand...

Nice J tone on that clip! While not totally my thing, I'm digging these 'broken in roundwound' J tones on this thread.. nice and warm and full! I'm enjoying some nickels (first time ever!) on my mid/late 60's inspired J, and it sounds nice... warm and growly and a bit similar to older steels to my ear.

All these J clips remind me how good that general tone sounds!!!
 
#64
KJung said:
Nice J tone on that clip! While not totally my thing, I'm digging these 'broken in roundwound' J tones on this thread.. nice and warm and full! I'm enjoying some nickels (first time ever!) on my mid/late 60's inspired J, and it sounds nice... warm and growly and a bit similar to older steels to my ear.

All these J clips remind me how good that general tone sounds!!!
Click to expand...

Yeah that clip sounded fantastic! I thought my Fender sounded decent, but you can't beat the real thing.

I like the low-mid emphasis that a lot of nickel rounds offer. I have heard great things from jokerjkny and tommixx about the Sadowsky blue nickels, so those will be the next set I buy. Have you tried them?

Next time I make soundclips I will record something a little less boring and more representative of all the strings.
 
#65
Ryan Mohr said:
Yeah that clip sounded fantastic! I thought my Fender sounded decent, but you can't beat the real thing.

I like the low-mid emphasis that a lot of nickel rounds offer. I have heard great things from jokerjkny and tommixx about the Sadowsky blue nickels, so those will be the next set I buy. Have you tried them?

Next time I make soundclips I will record something a little less boring and more representative of all the strings.
Click to expand...

I've tried I think every type of Sadowsky string outside of the flats. I've never had a negative thought about them. I liked the blue label SS strings myself. They're worth the extra $5 more than the DR High Beams IMO. If you like DR High Beams then you'll probably love Sadowsky SS since that's why I switched. Sadowsky had a better B string.
 
#66
capnsandwich said:
I've tried I think every type of Sadowsky string outside of the flats. I've never had a negative thought about them. I liked the blue label SS strings myself. They're worth the extra $5 more than the DR High Beams IMO. If you like DR High Beams then you'll probably love Sadowsky SS since that's why I switched. Sadowsky had a better B string.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the opinion. My two favorite kinds of strings are DR nickel lo-riders and Fender 7150s. I intend on trying hi-beams soon.

However, I have heard that the hi-beams and blue labels are quite different. Since I'm not a five string player, a good b string won't matter.
 
#67
Ryan Mohr said:
Thanks for the opinion. My two favorite kinds of strings are DR nickel lo-riders and Fender 7150s. I intend on trying hi-beams soon.

However, I have heard that the hi-beams and blue labels are quite different. Since I'm not a five string player, a good b string won't matter.
Click to expand...

I have the 7150M's on my '57 AV and I am really liking them a ton. I am torn between the 7150 and the 7350M's (stainless) that I have on my other bass. Both sound great. The 7350's really fit into the Praise & Worship Team where I do most of my playing (they cut through at low volume) but the 7150's sound great at my house. I am hoping to try a little more volume and a little more tone and work these 7150's into the group as well. They are "quieter". I don't know how else to describe the difference.
I have a concert/recital thing coming up (my bass-instructor is a drums/guitar/bass teacher) and I am leaning towards the 7150-equipped bass for the Bowie/Led Zep/Satriani/Santana stuff that I will be playing for that.
 
#68
9mmMike said:
I have the 7150M's on my '57 AV and I am really liking them a ton. I am torn between the 7150 and the 7350M's (stainless) that I have on my other bass. Both sound great. The 7350's really fit into the Praise & Worship Team where I do most of my playing (they cut through at low volume) but the 7150's sound great at my house. I am hoping to try a little more volume and a little more tone and work these 7150's into the group as well. They are "quieter". I don't know how else to describe the difference.
I have a concert/recital thing coming up (my bass-instructor is a drums/guitar/bass teacher) and I am leaning towards the 7150-equipped bass for the Bowie/Led Zep/Satriani/Santana stuff that I will be playing for that.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean, the 7150s are the quietest strings I have ever used. I like them on the SX to compensate for the hot cermamic pickups.

To my ears, the 7150s have a fat low end, a thick low-mid emphasis, a bit of a scoop in the high mids, and a very mellow high end after broken in. They are the least "clacky" rounds I have ever used.
 
#69
Ryan Mohr said:
Yeah that clip sounded fantastic! I thought my Fender sounded decent, but you can't beat the real thing.

I like the low-mid emphasis that a lot of nickel rounds offer. I have heard great things from jokerjkny and tommixx about the Sadowsky blue nickels, so those will be the next set I buy. Have you tried them?

Next time I make soundclips I will record something a little less boring and more representative of all the strings.
Click to expand...

As you heard from my clips, I'm a stainless steel guy all the way. I do use the Sadowsky Blue steels on my Sadowsky, and it really 'grinds up' that bass (especially with the Sadowsky singles, that I believe are based on the Antiquity II pickups you mention above. That is an aggressive beast with those strings, the Sadowksy pre and those singles.

I have Lo Rider Nickels on my Alleva LG, and am liking them so far, although they remind me a lot of my Hi Beams when I'm really to throw them away:D Different strokes for different folks, and 'vive le difference':bassist:
 
#71
Enough delaying on my part, I will reveal the results.

Clip 1: SX J w/ flats
Clip 2: Squier P w/ rounds
Clip 3: Fender J w/ rounds
Clip 4: SX J w/ rounds
Clip 5: Squier P w/ flats

So according to the order in the OP:

3
2
5
4
1

The two tones you guys like the most were the Fender J w/ rounds at 46%, and the Squier P w/ flats at 17%. Not surprising because the are two of the "classic" bass tones. Thanks!
 

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