Music Man sound and pickups

[ilansgroove]

Ok, I'm going crazy here... Please , help me

Ever since I decided to get my stingray a new pick up, I have been reading reviews and opinions and I'm just getting more and more .... Lost !!!

I love my MM stingray sound , but I've wanted some extra sound possibilities for a while now...
I tested a bunch of basses, and although some sounded great, I was never as comfortable as with my MM (that has been my main axe since 1996)... Well, sometimes I did play on basses that were amazing and comfortable but then the price range went beyond 3000$ ...

Anyway, I'm trying to decide on a pickup that will first of all keep my original MM stingray sound, and add some modern clarity , punch .... Maybe P or JB sound....

What can you recommend ???

I have been reading about the Nordstrand MM4.4 and the Delno MC 4 HE

All experience sharing and recommendations will be appreciated

 

[Dave W]

Nothing is going to sound like a standard MM and add something totally different at the same time. The best you can do is a variation on the basic MM tone.

You could do something similar to a Stingray 5 or Sterling, a 3 way switch to give you series/parallel/single.

The MM 4.4 can give you more switching options but I didn't care for it's standard tone all that much. Kinda bland.
No experience with Delano.

The Seymour Duncan stuff can as well and I felt they did the MM thing very well. I ended up with the ceramic version in one of my Rays.

 

[ilansgroove]

Nothing is going to sound like a standard MM and add something totally different at the same time. The best you can do is a variation on the basic MM tone.

You could do something similar to a Stingray 5 or Sterling, a 3 way switch to give you series/parallel/single.

The MM 4.4 can give you more switching options but I didn't care for it's standard tone all that much. Kinda bland.
No experience with Delano.

The Seymour Duncan stuff can as well and I felt they did the MM thing very well. I ended up with the ceramic version in one of my Rays.

do you have any sound demos of that bass with the seymour duncan?

 

[Dave W]

Nope

 

[Sputnik Monroe]

I love my Nordstrand MM 4.4 equipped EBMM Sterling ... I needed a bass for live use that could emulate a P bass and a J bass plus the MM sound when needed. What it takes is dual preamps, one on each bank of the pickup that and a 3 way switch and stacked knobs ... An earlier post on this thread details what I did, works great for me.

 

[ilansgroove]

I love my Nordstrand MM 4.4 equipped EBMM Sterling ... I needed a bass for live use that could emulate a P bass and a J bass plus the MM sound when needed. What it takes is dual preamps, one on each bank of the pickup that and a 3 way switch and stacked knobs ... An earlier post on this thread details what I did, works great for me.

I would love to see pics and any sound demos if you have !!!!

 

[Sputnik Monroe]

No sound clips ... Pictures are on an earlier post on this thread (don't recall the number)
The 3 way switch is not an absolute necessity if you use three stack knobs, as Warwick did on the Streamer Pro M series bass. To keep the "passive" P bass and J bass sounds the pre amps are mostly on cut mode not past the center detent, with the lone exception of a slight bass boost on the neck pickup to move it sonically to that P bass vibe. For an MM sound you start at everything at center detent and boost to taste ... It all works very well and is my main gig bass ...

 

[chumbo73]

I have my SBMM Ray34 and it sounds really good IMO, the thing is I have some money and want to spend it on improving the sound.

Do you think buying some Seymour Duncan SMB4 would make my bass sound better? I would like to get some more low end.

 

[bunnykeeper]

Can anyone help ID this pickup? It's currently on Yahoo Japan auctions. I think the best clue would be the residue from the logo on the lower right. The seller suspects it's a Duncan SMB4-D, but I tend to doubt that, because the size isn't consistent with the basslines logo. The seller also says the foil on the back was added by the previous owner. It's clearly a ceramic magnet, whatever make it is.

Any guesses?

Invalid Link Removed

 

[Mucho-P]

Anyway, I'm trying to decide on a pickup that will first of all keep my original MM stingray sound, and add some modern clarity , punch .... Maybe P or JB sound....

What can you recommend ???

I have been reading about the Nordstrand MM4.4 and the Delno MC 4 HE

All experience sharing and recommendations will be appreciated

Just thought I'd throw in my solution to when I came across this problem. I have had my MM SUB for over 10 years now, its the first bass I ever bought and I want to hang on to it, but than I had this Musima Action Bass (a really good Precision copy) that I put some great Häussel P Pickups in and some nice passive electronics and it just sounded awesome, but I wanted to reduce my bass collection and so I had my Häussels, together with the PIO Cap and good potis put into my SUB and it runs completely seperate.

I have a switch that allows me to go from MM pickup with active MM electronics to a passive Häussel Precision. No mixing, just two completely seperately wired pickups, running through the same jack. I love this solution as it has not lost any of my MM sound and has given me something different when I get bored of it (also something passive if ever my battery goes flat).


check it out here

 

[Mucho-P]

Standard wiring and pickups are (with some exceptions with the wiring)

EBMM Stingrays: wired in parallel and use alnico pickup(s)
EBMM Sterlings: wired in series and use ceramic pickup(s)
H=Humbucking, HH=Dual Humbucking , HS=Humbucking&Single

And also, as a happy MM SUB owner, I thought I should add that the EBMM Sub seems to also have alnico pickups and paralell wiring (let me know if i am getting this wrong!). There is also a MM SUB Sterling which i guess must be wired and have the same pickup as a normal Sterling. But then I didn't even know that the Sterlings had different pickups and wiring, I thought it was just about the smaller neck and body..

Here is a pic of my SUB pickup.

 

[OMM]

I've got a modified SR5. It has a Seymour Duncan Alnico pickups and an Audere 18v 4-band EQ. I also have the original components. Should I return the bass to its original state or keep the upgraded parts?

 

[HeyyyyyJoe]

Hi, I just purchased a 2004 Musicman Sterling bass in mint condition. The original owner replaced the stock pickup with a Norstrand MM4. My question, is it possible to sell the stock pickup without the preamp? Does the pickup function with any preamp or must it be a musicman sterling? I hate to see the pickup go to waste and rather have someone get better use out of it.

Thanks!
Joe



[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[BassLife77]

Can anyone help ID this pickup? It's currently on Yahoo Japan auctions. I think the best clue would be the residue from the logo on the lower right. The seller suspects it's a Duncan SMB4-D, but I tend to doubt that, because the size isn't consistent with the basslines logo. The seller also says the foil on the back was added by the previous owner. It's clearly a ceramic magnet, whatever make it is.

Any guesses?

looks like a cheap chinese pickup. the DC resistance is probably around 12K

 

[Dave W]

Hi, I just purchased a 2004 Musicman Sterling bass in mint condition. The original owner replaced the stock pickup with a Norstrand MM4. My question, is it possible to sell the stock pickup without the preamp? Does the pickup function with any preamp or must it be a musicman sterling? I hate to see the pickup go to waste and rather have someone get better use out of it.

Thanks!
Joe

Sure, it will work fine.

I strongly suggest you hang onto it though. If at some point you decide to sell the bass having the original pickup would be huge.

You can't buy MM pickups direct from them and I strongly prefer the stock ceramic pickups in your Sterling to the Nordy.

 

[big_teee]

I haven't read the whole thread, it is pretty intensive.
Was just curious if anyone in the pickup trying and changing, has tried Mult-coils In there MM basses?
Looks like a A5 Rod Multi-Coil pickup, made in a MM Cover might be a good option?
T

 

[blindrabbit]

There isn't a lot (or anything!) much out there about the Aguilar MM pickup. I've watched the demo videos, but I'd like to hear some real world experiences that people have had with this pickup, assuming there are some out there.

 

[Laurent]

There isn't a lot (or anything!) much out there about the Aguilar MM pickup. I've watched the demo videos, but I'd like to hear some real world experiences that people have had with this pickup, assuming there are some out there.

+1. I have been very impressed by Aguilar Hot P pickup. This has renewed my interest in the Aguilar AG 4M pickup but I would love to read some feedback on it.
Aguilar seems to be on a winning streak lately. Their new gear is really top notch.

 

[blindrabbit]

+1. I have been very impressed by Aguilar Hot P pickup. This has renewed my interest in the Aguilar AG 4M pickup but I would love to read some feedback on it.
Aguilar seems to be on a winning streak lately. Their new gear is really top notch.

Yeah, I have yet to play anything Aguilar that didn't sound amazing, which makes their MM pickup tempting even though I've not tried it and there aren't too many samples or reviews out there yet. These guys just make great things for bass, period.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Has anyone changed their MM Stingray preamp to change inherit tone of the Stingray with successful results? If so, what did you use and what type of tone were you going for?

Sometimes I love the Stingray, other times, not so much. In most cases, I find the treble is voiced too high and you get a lot of that clicky tone. I am wondering what the alternatives are. It seems that all of the aftermarket pickups and preamps are trying to recreate the (vintage) Stingray sounds. That is not what I am interested in.