New Pickups or Compressor?

[perk45]

Hey guys, I have an Ibanez SR 900 that I play through a Nemesis NA650 head with an Avatar 212. I get a good tone and the bass is very comfortable for my hands, but the problem is the E string is much louder than the rest of the strings. I've read that others have had this problem and solved it by replacing the MK-1 pickups with USA-made Bartolini MK4CBCs. Would yall suggest going this route or buying a compressor? I had the Demeter Compulator in mind.

Edit: Sorry mods, this topic should be moved to the Pickups forum

 

[Webtroll]

If others have resolved this by replacing the pickups then I imagine that's going to be the correct solution.

 

[bongomania]

I would also suggest taking the bass in for a professional setup. That solves this sort of thing fairly often.

 

[IanStephenson]

Have you tried different weights/brands of strings?

Or simply lowering the pickup on the E side?

 

[4Mal]

If you like the overall tone - don't do either of those. The Compulator isn't going to solve that issue for you. I found that it was too much compression - even at the lowest settings for me.

My thought is that the advice to get a good pro setup is good. A good setup starts with where you get to talk to the person who will do the setup and you get to describe what you're looking for. It almost never start's with walking into Guitar Center ... Some lutheirs do great work on solid body electric's - some don't. Ask around your area and don't be afraid to ask what the guy's experience with basses is.

In the mean time, drop the E side of your pickups a bit. I like my pickups a little further away from the strings than siome do. Tonally it seems a little more full, less 'peaky' for lack of a better word. Don't be afraid to drop the whole pickup, but the E side slightly more.

 

[pbass2]

Ya never want to rely on compression to "fix" an issue with an instrument like that--sure it can have the effect of evening things out but then you're playing and "touch" on the bass is going to be affected by having that thing on all the time, at what would have to be a pretty heavy-handed setting. Would backfire on you later when you need to play a different bass and rig or if you end up in the studio where you wouldn't want to use a stomp for compression while tracking.