I take it the MEC's are an unusual size?
My main concern is if they are drop-in regarding the pickup selector.
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Music Man sound and pickups
- Thread starter TonyP-
- Start date
I take it the MEC's are an unusual size?
My main concern is if they are drop-in regarding the pickup selector.
The MEC dimensions are in metric, so if you're measuring inches, you'll have to do some math. But the sizing should be standard for 4-string MM pickups. 5-string MM's have 2 different shape options. I'm not sure who to blame for that, I'm guessing EBMM…
I think I didn't realize there are different sizes on those pickups.
Thank you for helping me learn something today.
I kinda-sorta did this but to a Squier Jazz V parts bass.
I have recently just changed the pickups from Kiesel AlNiCo 5 to these Duncan Ceramic's, so the routing is pretty funky…but it's a beater.
Instead of a blade switch, I have to mini-toggles (2PDT), one for each pickup. I wired them up for Neck coil/Parallel/Bridge coil. Both operate independently, so there are more tonal options; though I mostly use Both in Parallel or outer coils for single coil mode.
It's definitely a beast…it sounds very close to an L2500, not so much a Stingray. The bridge pickup is a whole inch closer to the bridge than an SR. I could have situated the pickup 1/2" closer though…live & learn I guess.
My bridge pickup is situated where a 60s position Jazz would be right between the MM coils. In this case the bridge coil of the MM is in the 70s position.
So if you move the MM route up towards the neck where the bridge coil would be where the 60s Jazz position is, that's pretty much as close as you'll get, which would about a half inch off. Close enough?
I routed the neck pickup to there the neck coil of the MM is exactly where the Jazz pickup rout is.
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Nordstrand's site shows the 2 different types, one is rectangular and the other has mounting screw "ears". EBMM has used both in the past.
5 String Music Man Bass Pickups
EB has also used a 3rd style where the 2 "ears" are fused as a thumb-rest…but no one makes that in the aftermarket that I have seen.
I don't think it's odd by any means, I mentioned them because they are excellent…
So after a while being busy with life I got around to modding my Ray4 to where I'm finally pleased with the results.
I wasn't too happy with the stock pickup when I first got it so I replaced it with a Norstrand MM4.2 and left the stock preamp in. It had a different sound for sure but not one I precisely liked. It sounded a bit tame, not very Stingray-esque to my ears, even almost P-Bass sounding, so I decided to swap it for a Seymour Duncan SMB-4D (the ceramic one), and also went and got their 3 band EQ. I got their 4 knob version because I'm not very fond of concentric knobs.
I routed a hole for the jack on the side of the body
And this is the final result:
I LOVE how it came out, the SD pickup and the 3 band EQ really brought this bass to life, now it has that characteristic Stingray growl and tone I like so much. I'm very pleased with this upgrade and now can't put this thing down LOL.
I wasn't too happy with the stock pickup when I first got it so I replaced it with a Norstrand MM4.2 and left the stock preamp in. It had a different sound for sure but not one I precisely liked. It sounded a bit tame, not very Stingray-esque to my ears, even almost P-Bass sounding, so I decided to swap it for a Seymour Duncan SMB-4D (the ceramic one), and also went and got their 3 band EQ. I got their 4 knob version because I'm not very fond of concentric knobs.
I routed a hole for the jack on the side of the body
And this is the final result:
I LOVE how it came out, the SD pickup and the 3 band EQ really brought this bass to life, now it has that characteristic Stingray growl and tone I like so much. I'm very pleased with this upgrade and now can't put this thing down LOL.
Have you played with the "Slap Switch" settings yet? They add a different dimension to the tone. But you're right, those SD pickups sound great! nice mod!
I have! It's a neat pretty feature they have on the preamp, I just love the sound of it with the ceramic pickup.
I had to replace the preamp in my bass recently.
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The ceramic pickup works REALLY well with the John East 2 band preamp. I think in that application it gets closer to the sound of a pre-EB Stingray than the vintage style pickups do.
Does anybody know the specifics about the on-board HPF?
I started a new thread before finding this one:
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/musicman-onboard-hpf.1628451/
Hi, do you know whether the on-board HPF was installed in Sterling basses in nineties?
I started a new thread before finding this one:
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/musicman-onboard-hpf.1628451/
Hi, do you know whether the on-board HPF was installed in Sterling basses in nineties?
Did something similar to mine. Went with Nordstrand MM 4.2 and John East MM Pre that has sweepable mids and pull bright. Has a lot more flexibility that definitely love. Just enjoy playin this bass so much now.
Killer bass!!! IMHO, John East electronics are hands down the best bass on-preamps on the market by a very wide margin! For a J-bass project I went through a handful of passive & different name active 2,3,4 band setups, Including some I thought were can't miss circuits. Including some of the most bassist beloved Aguilar obp-2/3 & Bartolini. Until I bought an East J-Retro deluxe back in 2000, I believed active on-preamps were just excessive features used on big $$ Boutique basses. But that J-Retro Deluxe completely changed how I thought and opened my eyes to a whole new world sonically!
**Now If only their stuff wasn't so darn expensive!! Even the J-Retro I bought in 2000' was damn pricey, and I believe it's actually one of the first side jack "jazz-bass deluxe" circuit modules offered commercially..
Search for @LowEndLobster and see how he mods a Sterling Ray4. Pick out a good Ray4, $200-250 in pickup and a preamp, you can have a killer stingray sound for around $500
Couldn't agree more - I can't get a bad tone out of my MMSR 3-band. Sure it's a bit spendy, but there is comfort in knowing you'll only have to spend once.
Oh I'm well aware of the Lobstah (sorry, bit of Boston guy humor).. However I already currently own an early 2000's Lakland USA 55-94 Deluxe, A Sandberg TM4, And a custom dual-MM built for me by Michael Tobias.. BTW, I'm only mentioning the basses I own with an MM-pickup.. I happen to have several more.. So while I appreciate the advice, Im not going to be buying a Sterling bass to gut (other folks should though). I've already modded the Lakland fairly extensively and at this point I'm content just replacing the damaged Nordy Humbucker & perhaps the J-neck if someone shares something interesting I've never seen.
I used to have a Stingray of some variety (Am I the only one that finds the constantly changing, discontinued, infinite model name juggling/Anniversary/limited editions annoying?!?)
It was one of the blade switched H/S pickup EBMM basses that I thought was one of E.Ball's cooler designs particularly because they made the switching, active eq, etc available to include the 4-string models. Something EB has long abandoned along with the hip H/S pickup configuration..
