Neck or Bridge Pickup for a Curbow 5

[00Nothing]

Hello all. I'm a long time lurker (and bassist!), first time poster. Now that that's out of the way...

A Cort Curbow 5 found its way to our local guitar shop last week, and I snapped it up for a $50 bill and my relatively unused Dean Metalman Z (I knew it was gonna be bad when I ordered it, but I didn't know it was gonna be THAT bad). Now I have another really sweet bass, and the store owner has an instrument that will practically sell itself to some kid starting out.

Anyway, I really love the sound of the bass, particularly with the slap switch on, but the stock Bartolini MK1 pickup is horribly uneven across the strings. The B and E Strings are thunderous, but from A on up there's at least 5db of drop off. I can compress the hell out of it, but who wants that? I'm looking at upgrading, and despite the volume problem, I really do love the sound, so I'm thinking of just getting a better Bart. The MK5CBC in particular looks good, but I only have one pickup, and I'm not sure if I should get the neck or bridge version. My gut reaction is to go for the bridge simply because it will likely be hotter, but figured I'd look for some advice first.

My current gig is a bar band playing covers from fairly wide-ranging styles. I do have enough tonal control in my fingers that I generally don't play with knobs from song to song though. I've been playing for over a decade, but have only in the last year or so begun to take a serious stab at learning slap.


TL;DR Cort Curbow 5. Replacing the stock Bartolini MK1 with a better, but similar Bart. Should I grab a MK5CBC, and if so, neck or bridge? Thanks in advance.

 

[Blue_Whistle88]

Bridge, but only cause my preference for pickups is the hotter, the better. Bridge pickups will generally be wound a little more to compensate for the slightly weaker signal you get from that position, and they might also be designed to produce a little more low-end (which I'd also favour).

Considering that the Curbow's pickup is in the "sweet spot" position, you can go either way though; it's totally a matter of personal taste. If the pickup's a little quieter, turn your amp up a little. Simple. But as mentioned, I prefer a hotter sound at the source.

 

[mmbongo]

Definitely Bridge. That's a great pickup. Add a series/single/parallel switch and you'll be in heaven!

 

[josiah goldfish]

I own the tanglewood curbow, and I think I'd upgrade to a bridge (actually I've already upgraded to a mightymite sweet spot soapbar). It fits the tonal qualities of the bass better

 

[00Nothing]

Sold! Thanks for the help, I'm ordering it now.

 

[00Nothing]

Gah! Out of stock!

Does anyone know what kind of restock time bestbassgear has? I'm itching to get this bass on stage, and EMG hasn't let me down yet.

Edit: and if I go EMG, sould I get the 6 string model since it would have the same width as the Bart 5 string (4.5in)?

 

[DaveyM69]

They went out of stock on a Bart 5.4A/P pre I was wanting. Put myself on the notification list and they came in stock within 48 hrs. I don't know if that's normal but it worked out for me.
If you drop BBG an email they may be able to give you an approximate lead time, they are very helpful in my experience.

 

[Watchootognbout]

Hi.A question to any and all.I own a "Burlwood" finish Cort Curbow 5 made in 2000.It has a Mighty Mite pickup that I like and want to keep.Does any one know if it is possible to add another MM pickup between the original pickup and the bridge?Can the new pickup be connected to the current electronics,or do I need totally different electronics?Has any one done this?Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Watchootognbout]

OK.No one answered my question.No biggie.I called a local Luthier about adding a bridge pickup to my Curbow 5.He says it CAN be done without needing an electronics upgrade.But I will have to have the slap switch replaced with a three position mini toggle pickup switch.The slap switch doesn't make that much of a difference in the sound IMO.I can do without the slap switch.I will have this done this spring.

 

[fawkes318]

Any follow ups from you guys? I also have a Cort Curbow 5 with "walnut" finish that I actually bought from Greg back in 99. Having the mighty mite stuff in it I am wanting to change the pickup out finally. I'm torn between the Bart and the EMG 40. Any opinions?

 

[JustForSport]

If the Mighty-Mite is a split-coil as is the Ibanez (A)DX5 series, it'll be alot diff than an EMG 40DC (which has 2 full-length coils), but maybe less diff than a 40P5- it's also a split-coil.
You can check the coil/rail layout with a small screwdriver or cutoff bass string across the top by seeing where it's attracted.
Not sure what the Bart you're referring to is.

 

[fawkes318]

The Bartolini M4, the dual coil. I want something with some more bite than the stock. I know Bartolini is usually the answer but I wanted to see what ya'll have done.