I posted a new to me Fender HM 4 about a month ago and wanted to share the upgrades I did. For a bass called "Heavy metal" I found the pickups to sound good but more polite than powerful. I upgraded the pickups to a set of three Delano JMVC Humbucking Series. I added a Nordstrand 2B plus boost only Treble/Bass preamp. I wanted a tone control, so I installed a "Dark" switch mini toggle to give me the rolled back tone pot sound when needed. The bridge is now a brass Hipshot B style.
The result: This bass is now worthy of the name Heavy Metal 4. Powerful low mid growl. Punchy, tight bass and clear highs. The 5 way position switch allows for J bass tones. Stingray type tones with both bridge pickups on, and a P bass kind of tone in the neck position.
The middle and neck pickup together has a great Slap tone with the treble and bass boosted. Engaging the Dark switch gives me a very Joe Dart tone with the 2 bridge pickups and treble at zero with bass boosted.
I love the neck on this bass. One of the best Fender necks I have played. I am very happy with the results, and it is now one of my favorites among my Fender bass collection.
Here's a link to the original thread for comparison. https://www.talkbass.com/threads/nbd-fender-heavy-metal-iv.1683738/
The result: This bass is now worthy of the name Heavy Metal 4. Powerful low mid growl. Punchy, tight bass and clear highs. The 5 way position switch allows for J bass tones. Stingray type tones with both bridge pickups on, and a P bass kind of tone in the neck position.
The middle and neck pickup together has a great Slap tone with the treble and bass boosted. Engaging the Dark switch gives me a very Joe Dart tone with the 2 bridge pickups and treble at zero with bass boosted.
I love the neck on this bass. One of the best Fender necks I have played. I am very happy with the results, and it is now one of my favorites among my Fender bass collection.
Here's a link to the original thread for comparison. https://www.talkbass.com/threads/nbd-fender-heavy-metal-iv.1683738/
