Music Man sound and pickups

[Rano Bass]

Right now and for the past 6 years I own a SUB Sterling active bass. For recording I used a rental Mesa M-pulse 600 recently and the results were pretty good to be honest... Has anyone done any pickup replacing in a SUB Sterling? I was thinking about the SMB-4D pickup but I'm not sure because of the poplar wood body...

You could upgrade to this: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Those are really good IMO.

 

[TonyP-]

I skimmed through and didn't notice where this might have come up so far. Apologies if it has...

A buddy is working on a scratch build for me and I was wondering: Is there a standard measurement (like from the bridge) for placing a MM style pup in the "sweet spot" as it where? It will be a 5 string if that matters for any reason...

Ok I just measured 5 Rays and was surprised. I was expecting them to all be the same but they where not. All single pickup models.

I measured all with a cheap tape measure from where the bend is on the bridge. I will post after each where the pickup started from that point.

The 3 5 strings where

Roasted 5 Black Sugar model 4"
1989 old school alder body 4 5/16"
SBMM Ray35 4 5/16"

The 4 strings

(2) Ray34ca 4"

I'm curious now about a new standard 4 strings are at.

Anybody else...Please feel free to share your results.

 

[BassZilla5]

Ok I just measured 5 Rays and was surprised. I was expecting them to all be the same but they where not. All single pickup models.

I measured all with a cheap tape measure from where the bend is on the bridge. I will post after each where the pickup started from that point.

The 3 5 strings where

Roasted 5 Black Sugar model 4"
1989 old school alder body 4 5/16"
SBMM Ray35 4 5/16"

The 4 strings

(2) Ray34ca 4"

I'm curious now about a new standard 4 strings are at.

Anybody else...Please feel free to share your results.

Actually, I did some more digging in the days after posting that question and I learned two things...

1) You're right. The measurement varies between different Rays and...

2) It's much easier to measure from the nut (doesn't move when you adjust your intonation). That said, most of the results I found (of people posting their measurements) were right around 30-1/2" to 30-5/8" from the nut to the centerline of the pickup. So that's the "ballpark" we're going to use for this.

Thanks for checking, though!

 

[MoonDoggy]

Maybe off topic, maybe not, but I have an SR5 with a bad treble pot. The center detent is gone and it cuts out when fully on or fully off. I attempted to take the pot apart and fix it myself, but the wafer board is broken and the slip ring (contact ring) is cracked.

The EB/MM website has replacement pots, BUT, they only have the typical pots with the typical solder terminals. I need one with the longer leads that go directly to the circuit board. MM will replace it for $8.00 + $7.50 S&H. That's absurd if you ask me. Most pots are about $3.

MM's part number is M05383. The p/n on the pot is MF4627A, and it's a 50K. A brief Google search didn't give me any results. Before I fall prey to spending $16 on a pot from MM, I thought I'd see if you wonderful TBers know where to get replacements!!!

I've attached pics to show what I need to replace.

Thanks TBers

 

[Down_Low]

So you're complaining at a $5 difference between the two pots?

 

[MoonDoggy]

I'd rather not pay the $13 difference between the MM pot and a generic 50K pot from a music store or electronics store. Thanks for the help.

 

[Darkstrike]

Why not use one with the typical solder lugs, and some wire up to the circuit board, in a way imitating that pot.

 

[TonyP-]

I'd rather not pay the $13 difference between the MM pot and a generic 50K pot from a music store or electronics store. Thanks for the help.

MoonDoggy, this is offtopic and I don't want to derail the sticky. However let me just point you to who would most likely have that part your looking for.

Link Removed
They are some very knowledgeable folks over there and you might want to give a call. They carry or can get every nuance electrical component you can think off and are HUGE.

If you have further questions on this please open a new thread.
Good luck.

 

[MoonDoggy]

Thanks! And feel free do delete the posts. I just thought this thread would get me the quickest answer.

 

[GYang]

From several experiences so far, I can summarize my results for Stingray 5 (only EBMM basses I play).
Different pickups are not preferred or better choice compared to Alnicos they put into newer Stingrays. I've tried Duncans (didn't particularly like them), Nordstrands are same level and ballpark as Stingrays IMHO, Bartolini, Delano and EMG are different to extent to somehow change real spirit of this classic bass.
Next thing is preamp. I agree that Audere, East, Duncan and few others are all nice preamps, but after experiments, I would NOT keep any of them over stock (I talk about latest incarnation of MM pre from 2007 on).

 

[morcmarc]

Hi,

Is there any way to tell whether the preamp + pots are original or fake? I've checked Link Removed to compare and it seems to be the same. It's a 2 band EQ ~2002 preamp. What do you think?

 

[Rano Bass]

It looks like a genuine EBMM 2 preamp to me.

 

[ryansalmond]

Could someone tell me what makes this particular bass in the clip sound the way it does in the high end? I've read the thread, and looked at a lot of other sound samples. None of the other samples I've found sound like this. In my two experiences playing basses with this style of pickup one sounded like this (an ibanez, oddly), and the other did not (a real musicman). It's what I would call 'springy' on top.

It could be as simple as him boosting the treble, maybe they all sound like that with treble boosted. Or maybe it's alnico magnets or parallel wiring or who knows? Hopefully you do, because I'm wondering.

Musicman Stingray HH y SVT4 PRO en venta. - YouTube

 

[TonyP-]

Could someone tell me what makes this particular bass in the clip sound the way it does in the high end? I've read the thread, and looked at a lot of other sound samples. None of the other samples I've found sound like this. In my two experiences playing basses with this style of pickup one sounded like this (an ibanez, oddly), and the other did not (a real musicman). It's what I would call 'springy' on top.

It could be as simple as him boosting the treble, maybe they all sound like that with treble boosted. Or maybe it's alnico magnets or parallel wiring or who knows? Hopefully you do, because I'm wondering.

Musicman Stingray HH y SVT4 PRO en venta. - YouTube

Looks like He has both pickups on (middle of the slector switch) and this sounds a lot like when I owned 2 pickup sterlings.

Maybe the highs and lows are boosted. Maybe...
To me I hear that scoop more then anything which I think leans to the accented highs and lows.

 

[ryansalmond]

Like I just listened to all the Ed Friedland demos of musicman basses (except the big al) and NONE of them sounded like the video I linked above. And I mean Im not making a minute, subtle distinction here, I mean it's a BIG difference in high end harmonic content. Confused!

 

[bottomzone]

These basses have the Music Man vibe:

Skjold basses NAMM 2010 Trip Wamsley - YouTube

MLP Tamas Barabas Signature 5 (TOP Funk) - YouTube


A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

 

[funkster62]

Is it possible to do this and get the pickup switching combinations that are on the new MM 5HH (bridge coils parallel, outer coils parallel, all four coils parallel, inner coils parallel, neck coils parallel)? If not, why not?

 

[Ulysse]

Hi there,
I am not sure if this is the appropriate thread.
Anyway, I have a yamaha bbg5 5 strings jazzbass in which I replaced the stock pickups with Sadowsky humcancelling PUs.

The neck PU sounds really great, but the bridge pickup clearly lacks of body and is not really usable when soloed.

As the MM/J pickup configuration yiels some of my favorite sounds, I am considering placing a MM pickup in the bridge position. One of the cheap options is the Wilkinson MWM5 PU (ceramic) (25$ ebay). For a bit more dough, there is the Seymour Duncan SSMB-5A (around 100$).

The thing is that I am not sure about the type of magnet/pole pieces of the sadowsky PUs. I tried a bass recently which had a ceramic neck PU and an alnico bridge PU and sounded awfully unbalanced.

Do you guys think I could have trouble getting a balanced sound if I mix an alnico J neck PU with a ceramic MM bridge PU ?

Has anyone tried this kind of configuration?

Thanks for you input!


Ulysse

 

[TonyP-]

Do you guys think I could have trouble getting a balanced sound if I mix an alnico J neck PU with a ceramic MM bridge PU ?


Thanks for you input!


Ulysse

Hi Ulysse

I have not tried this but it sounds like it could be a messy.
(I'm not sure but in general I think there tends to be a little more output with ceramic) It could be a costly mistake since it sounds like $ is part of the equation based on your post. I would pick up alinco MM pickup and play it safe. Nino Valenti has done more then a few MM pickups paired with a J pickup (from the same company Nordstrand) with much success.

IMHO I would stick with the same.
However whatever you do post your results

 

[Ulysse]

Thanks B~!
I had a bit the same feeling. Anyway, in a moment of bay-weakness I placed a bid on a wilkinson MM p/u. If I win the auction, let it be wilkinson, if I don't, I'll try the Duncan.

In any case I'll let you know!
cheers,
Ulysse