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Noob questions for Spector Legend 4 mods.

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DrRoebuck

Apr 2, 2013
16
4
#1
I got this bass last summer and I love it. Pretty much my first bass and I love it, particularly the look and feel. The sound ... It's good but probably not what I've always wanted (though I don't know that I could describe what I've actually always wanted. Maybe something a little subtler. This definitely sounds more "rock" oriented than I think I want.

Anyway.

I've been looking up different suggestions for pickups and preamps and have my eyes on a few different things. But I'm confused as hell, and here's where the newb questions come in.

The specs say this bass has EMG pickups. But my pickups don't say EMG on them, they say SSD INC.

The specs also say the pickups (or preamp, or electronics) are passive, but this bass has a 9v battery. I've hunted around and best I can tell having a battery doesn't mean the pickups are active. Is this true? And then today, which is finally why I'm posting, the repairman at Sam Ash (where I bought the guitar) told me the pickups were active because it had the battery. ***?

I guess my question is, *** do I have?

After that I'm looking at an Aguilar preamp and maybe EMG JP pickups. Based on what I've read, and based on the description, those pickups will give me the diversity to find my desired sound.

If the pickups are active, what would be a good suggestion?

Also, I've read here that going from 9v to 18v is a great upgrade. How involved ($$$) is that?

Sorry for all the questions. I warned you in the thread title that I have no idea about any of this stuff.

And even sorrier if this stuff is easily searchable ... I had trouble finding definitive answers about this bass in particular.
 
#2
Pickups are passive: Has tone pro jr. preamp and active tone circuit. The pickups are EMG custom designed for Spector.

If you are looking for something specific - I suggest looking at Bartolini pickups. Write their tech rep an email describing what tone you are looking for and they will make a recommendation for you.
 
#3
SpectorErector said:
Pickups are passive: Has tone pro jr. preamp and active tone circuit. The pickups are EMG custom designed for Spector.

If you are looking for something specific - I suggest looking at Bartolini pickups. Write their tech rep an email describing what tone you are looking for and they will make a recommendation for you.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply and the info.

The active tone circuit doesn't complicate anything as far as upgrades/mods?
 
#6
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#7
Hi DrRoebuck,

people use the expressions "active/passive PUs".
It should be "low impedance PUs" ("active PUs") and "high impedance PUs" ("passive PUs").
There are only a very few basses with passive (no battery/preamp) low impedance PUs but many active basses have high impedance PUs.

If pots are between a high impedance PU (like yours) and and active electronik / preamp, these pots have to have a high(er) resistance (mostly 250-500k). If the pots are between preamp and jack, they normally have 25-50k ...
 

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