Ibanez sounds way better with Bartolini than Norstrand. Yay or nay?

[crazycloud]

Or some people just like dull and thick.

 

[smeet]

I haven't played any Ibanez basses. But I used to love Bartolini back when all the high-end basses used them. Then I realized they were giving me a "bedroom tone" where they sounded warm and pretty isolated but got lost in the mix. They sounded great for smooth jazz type stuff, not so much in rock and aggressive funk styles.

Overall, Nordstrand is my favorite pickup brand, but they don't all sound the same. I love the NP5 and Big Splits. The Polyvox is great, as are Big Rigs and Zen Blades. Big Singles are a bit too harsh (maybe these are what many Ibanez basses use?), and the Nordstrand Dual Coils are lackluster.

 

[retslock]

I have basses with Big Splits, the Ibanez Precision style CNDs and the MM5.2 and I like them all.

 

[mjmeche]

I think Big Splits are already quite warm compared to regular Jazz Bass, let's say.

USA Barts are much better than Asia ones

 

[mjmeche]

I swapped out Barts Mk1's for Nordstrand Fat Stacks. Mike Pope 4 band eq with pull pots for single coil and passive. LOVE . But on my shorty P Bass USA Barts big difference