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Music Man sound and pickups

#382
Down_Low said:
Can you explain this a bit more? I'd be quite curious to hear the bridge pickup (both coils, i.e. position 1), with one of the neck coils.
Click to expand...

dkelley said:
Omg 1960 all over again... people discovering how the 3 way switches on strats had in between settings that sounded cool. So they invented the 5 way switch to make it official.

Now it's happening with sterlings and sr5s? LoL

How does it sound?
Click to expand...

They sound pretty good. Just slightly different than the standard pickup settings. The only problem I found was that they made a loud buzz/hum sound through a tube head. Through a DI box and the computer, they were fine.
I'll just stick with the standard 5 way switch the way it was meant to be used.
 
#384
I have a 30th anniversary Stingray with which I have a love/hate relationship. 90% of the time the treble is rolled back a bit, the bass is boosted about the same bit and the mids are flat. So, hear are the questions:

1. Has anyone tries an ACG Filter preamp in their 'Ray?
I have one in my fretless jazz that I absoultely love.

2. Would a Nordy 4.2 tame the highs without loosing the lows?

Thanks
 
#385
Rev. Cornelius said:
I have a 30th anniversary Stingray with which I have a love/hate relationship. 90% of the time the treble is rolled back a bit, the bass is boosted about the same bit and the mids are flat. So, hear are the questions:

1. Has anyone tries an ACG Filter preamp in their 'Ray?
I have one in my fretless jazz that I absoultely love.

2. Would a Nordy 4.2 tame the highs without loosing the lows?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Just sayin... your eq settings, or similar, are used by most stingray players. Dont need a new preamp if stock gets you there 90% of the time at those settings.... or did i misread that lol
 
#386
Hey guys, newbie here, I picked up a sb-14, my second one because I love the necks, and thought I'd experiment with this one. I want a bit beefier tone and was wondering if anyone has moved their pickup towards the neck to where a "p" p/up would be located. If so could you describe the change in sound and what you like/dislike about it. Other than a new p/guard and some routing is there anything else to be concerned about? Also, it should be easy to return to stock, no? Any thoughts or experiences appreciated. Thanks
 
#387
Moving the pickup will make a pretty big difference to the sound, although obviously to the P position isn't that far so may not be all that great. If it were me and I was willing to mod and route it, I'd look at just adding a second pickup closer to the neck and a 3 or 5 way selector switch, similar to a HH Stingray.

If you go to youtube and search for Stingray HH you'll see a bunch of different videos that show the sound differences between the different pickup settings.
 
#391
ex-tension said:
The problem is there is no one output from the pickup switch.
Follow this: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f38/just-idear-sterling-sub-5-a-955714/#post13837048
Click to expand...

I'm not familiar with the actual switch, but it's not doing anything extraordinary... The switch will combine the various coils available and the output will be fed to the preamp...
Isn't that the case?
I thought that since there is no blend on the preamp, it would have the usual two wires... Hmmm.

Is the preamp any different to a single pickup instrument?
 
#392
Actually it does something extraordinary. On the case of dual pickup MusicMan basses it is different. Not just a switch that combines various coils to one output. The switch is integrated to the preamp. Together with coil switching, it changes the preamp gain (in order to put out equal output level). There is no blend but the pickups are still buffered on the preamp.

Check out this diagram (of humbucker+single Sterling):
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=309332&d=1357435775
The yellow+white wires from switch to the preamp board are the two outputs of the switch (one output per pickup). The ground from the pickups are connected on the treble pot body.
Gray+orange+blue+brown wires are for preamp gain switching.
 
#393
ex-tension said:
Actually it does something extraordinary. On the case of dual pickup MusicMan basses it is different. Not just a switch that combines various coils to one output. The switch is integrated to the preamp. Together with coil switching, it changes the preamp gain (in order to put out equal output level). There is no blend but the pickups are still buffered on the preamp.

Check out this diagram (of humbucker+single Sterling):
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=309332&d=1357435775
The yellow+white wires from switch to the preamp board are the two outputs of the switch (one output per pickup). The ground from the pickups are connected on the treble pot body.
Gray+orange+blue+brown wires are for preamp gain switching.
Click to expand...

Aha! Thanks for that.
:)
 
#394
I decided to email John to see what he thinks, he replied super quick saying it shouldn't be too hard to install his preamp but he's asked me to send him a few pics of my current one so he can tell me what goes where. Great service!
 
#395
Jepus said:
I decided to email John to see what he thinks, he replied super quick saying it shouldn't be too hard to install his preamp but he's asked me to send him a few pics of my current one so he can tell me what goes where. Great service!
Click to expand...

John is great. His level of attention to his customers is truly outstanding!
My very first preamp from him was a 3 band MMSR. I enquired about installing a bypass switch... And he did it with just a nominal surcharge, that of the cost of getting in a new pull/push pot that he did not normally use. From enquiry to having the preamp in my hands it only took a few days.
 
#396
ex-tension said:
Actually it does something extraordinary. On the case of dual pickup MusicMan basses it is different. Not just a switch that combines various coils to one output. The switch is integrated to the preamp. Together with coil switching, it changes the preamp gain (in order to put out equal output level). There is no blend but the pickups are still buffered on the preamp.

Check out this diagram (of humbucker+single Sterling):
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=309332&d=1357435775
The yellow+white wires from switch to the preamp board are the two outputs of the switch (one output per pickup). The ground from the pickups are connected on the treble pot body.
Gray+orange+blue+brown wires are for preamp gain switching.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I just looked at that on something better than my old phone... And it does not look extraordinary at all! :what:

The pickup switch is placed before the preamp, as I expected, and the switch feeds the preamp (2 wires)

So it should be straight forward to connect the John East preamp. Just leave the switch in place.

Edit: whops, I'm blind. I missed the cluster on the right.
 
#397
ex-tension said:
Actually it does something extraordinary. On the case of dual pickup MusicMan basses it is different. Not just a switch that combines various coils to one output. The switch is integrated to the preamp. Together with coil switching, it changes the preamp gain (in order to put out equal output level). There is no blend but the pickups are still buffered on the preamp.
Click to expand...

It doesn't do a great job then, the standard rear H position on my HH is definitely louder than the other positions. On top of that its also naturally got more mids so cuts through a mix more too. So switching often also meant a volume change.
 
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#398
Im looking to change my pickups in my ibanez soundgear what do you guys think? BTW im trying to mimic the sound of a Warwick, Musicman, and possible a Fender. Also i play in a Reggae/rock/funk jam band, and need a punchy yet clear noticeable sound. Ps. not much of a gear head YET so please help.
 
#400
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I recently bought this pickup on a flyer hoping it MIGHT finally help me fall in love with my OLP 5, which has been through 6 pickups now without love (Duncan alnico, OLP ceramic, Belcat ceralnico, Artec ceramic, Wilkinson ceramic, Wilkinson 'blackout' ceramic) but the seller doesn't know a thing about it, and I can't figure out what it is. It was my understanding that there were no alnico phantom-coil MM pickups made, I'm not well-versed on higher-end aftermarket pickups, and it's not the form factor that most budget makers use. Anyone know what this is?
 

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