Musicmaster Mod - Chasing Nick Campbell's sound

[hbrown36251]

Hey TB! I've recently expanded my bass collection with a 78 musicmaster, inspired by Nick Campbell and the sound he gets from his heavily modded musicmaster. I've been planning to mod my bass to get my sound as close to his as possible, and I'm wondering what pickups to go for.

For the bridge pickup I'm pretty sure he's got some sort of jazzmaster guitar pickup in his bass, although I'd be open to just sticking a jazz bass bridge pickup in mine, so long as its got a good quack/mid punch. Not too fussed over what I put in the bridge to be quite honest.

However, the neck pickup in his bass is a huge mystery to me (and everyone, he won't say what it is online or when I asked him in person after I chatted to him after a gig, which is fair enough haha). He did let me guess what the pickups were, and he confirmed that the neck pickup is NOT the mojo pickups Gtone gold foil pickup that people in other TB threads/online seem to think it is - he told me that someone had tried to imitate the aesthetic of his pickup but that the hardware is not the same. (Also just out of interest, if anyone have tried the mojo ones, how are they?)

While my guess is that nobody other than his friend who did the mod on the bass actually knows what the pickup is, my question to TB is does anyone know of any pickup that can produce a similar sound to his neck pickup? He describes the sound as spongy and microphonic, and it comes across as being very punchy and having pretty good bass for what I'm assuming is a guitar pickup (as it has six pole pieces). Any pointers for similar sounding pickups would be hugely appreciated!! I definitely want to get rid of the stock strat pickup in my bass for sure as its quite weak and lacks punch and lows.

Link to a video where he's playing the neck pickup soloed (4:43 time stamp):


Pictures of the pickup and bass:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Thanks in advance for any advice!! )

 

[andare]

Can't help with the pickups.
It'd be cool if he and his friend went out if their way to misdirect everyone by hiding mystery pickups under a jazzmasyer and a guyatone cover.
It's also hard to tell how he sets the volume knobs.

I'm more interested in the gritty tone he gets with both the MM and the P bass. It's either the vemuram od pedal or a setting on his amp.
He says his P sounds like Jamerson and it doesn't at all but it is a cool tone.

You can find a video of Nick playing with Vulfpeck when his bass has jazz pickups. It's a live performance somewhere.
Compare the tones.

 

[MidlifeBeginner]

Have you thought of a Telecaster pickup? Some are a bit microphonic. Focus your search on pickups that are not fully paraffin soaked.

 

[EastCoastThump]

Curtis Novak gold foils

 

[andare]

Curtis Novak gold foils View attachment 4916150

That's what they look like but he went out of his way to mask the actual pickups so who knows.

In an interview he said people will be pissed off when they find out what the pickups really are.

 

[pepj]

I'm not sure this needs over thinking.
Sounds right in P bass territory to me. However, he does have a pretty sophistated touch so work on getting that into your playing, imv

 

[EastCoastThump]

That's what they look like but he went out of his way to mask the actual pickups so who knows.

In an interview he said people will be pissed off when they find out what the pickups really are.

Not saying you're not right; but other than you saying in post #2 that it'd be cool if he went out of his way to hide the pups under decoy covers, is there any good evidence that the covers are decoys?

Those Novak gold foils are fairly expensive kit. If he had been looking for a gold foil to cannibalize for the cover, it would have been easy to find a less expensive and less distinctive looking donor.

 

[andare]

I have no evidence but this is what Nick said

 

[EastCoastThump]

Thanks for that link. I'm trying to read Nick's face when McGrath says, "It's o.k. to keep one thing secret. I'm not sure about when guys cover up all their pedals and put dummy pedals to confuse people. That's going a bit far......" (1:12:46).

I think if I'd seen this video coupled with Nick's SBL video where he waffles about whether to reveal, I wouldn't have posted here about the front pickup. I might ask a mod to delete or edit my post above. OTOH, that pickup in that particular set of options is pretty distinctive.

I also think much of the sound he gets—especially the quality of the mids—is down to his string choice, set up, and his RH attack.

 

[EastCoastThump]

I've asked a mod to remove the ID from my posts #4 & 7, and from Andare's quote in post #5

 

[shwashwa]

I've asked a mod to remove the ID from my posts #4 & 7, and from Andare's quote in post #5

There's an interview with him out there on the internet somewhere where he admits that it's a guitar pickup. To me it looks just like a Novak gold foil. Easily accessible public information actually

 

[andare]

There's an interview with him out there on the internet somewhere where he admits that it's a guitar pickup. To me it looks just like a Novak gold foil. Easily accessible public information actually

oh absolutely, they look like a curtis novak gold foil and a jazzmaster pickup. we're probably reading too much into this

 

[pixelpounder]

Both pickups are Mojo pickups from the UK. Jazzmaster bass pickup in the bridge position and GTone gold foil in the neck. probably a .47 in the tone circuit.

 

[andare]

Both pickups are Mojo pickups from the UK. Jazzmaster bass pickup in the bridge position and GTone gold foil in the neck. probably a .47 in the tone circuit.

The bridge pickup has 6 pole pieces. It's w Jazzmaster guitar pickup

 

[pixelpounder]

Good eyes, probably just the Mojo Jazzmaster pickup. You need to make sure you have a balanced output, so check the resistances on the neck and bridge models to achieve the tone you're after

 

[Ulesti]

Both pickups are Mojo pickups from the UK. Jazzmaster bass pickup in the bridge position and GTone gold foil in the neck. probably a .47 in the tone circuit.

Where do you get the certainty of your assertion from? You don´t say "could be" or "perhaps". So, are you sure because you know?

 

[andare]

Where do you get the certainty of your assertion from? You don´t say "could be" or "perhaps". So, are you sure because you know?

They can't be certain. As I wrote earlier, it's clear the bridge pickup has 6 pole pieces. The bass Mojo JM pickup has 8 pole pieces.

 

[Thomas Morrison]

Modified my Squier Mustang Bass last weekend; inspired by, Nick Campbell’s Musicmaster, but by no means a copy. Fun project, and it sounds amazing!