Nordstrand AlNiCo3's

[taylor16]

Anyone have any thoughts/opinions on these new pickups? I recently installed a set of the Jazz bass (NJ4) w/ 60's wind and find them to sound great although very bass-heavy requiring fairly significant EQ changes on my pre-amp to ensure the tone isn't too "boomy".

 

[Snaxster]

Anyone have any thoughts/opinions on these new pickups? I recently installed a set of the Jazz bass (NJ4) w/ 60's wind and find them to sound great although very bass-heavy requiring fairly significant EQ changes on my pre-amp to ensure the tone isn't too "boomy".

Hello. Since I never knowingly played any bass pickups made with alnico 3 magnets (A3), including Nordstrand, I don't have an opinion based on my experience. Because I would like to play some, I do have lots of questions, though. If you please:

• What was your motive in trying the A3 NJ4 pickups?

• What is the purpose of your preamp EQ settings? For example, is it for basic sound shaping or is it for adaptation to an amp and/or room?

• Was everything except the new pickups a constant in your setup?

• If your motive was pursuit of a sound you were hearing in your head, and your preamp EQ settings are for basic sound shaping, assuming that the A3 pickups must sound different from the A5 pickups they replaced, which was more likely: 1. that you would have to change the EQ, or 2. that by not changing the EQ, the difference in the A3 sound would get you closer to your sonic objective?

• Given your familiarity with everything else about your setup, after swapping the A3 NJ4 pickups in, especially before you changed the EQ, do you think that Nordstrand's description of their A3 pickups was accurate?

"Alnico III magnets differ from Alnico V in that they are warmer with a softer character. Think of them like a 60's J style sound taken even further down the warm and fat path. Alnico V by contrast is brighter, cleaner and punchier, and will have a more wiry, stringy character. As another example, we'd recommend A3 for fretless or a fat 60's Jaco type thing and A5 is great for a modern slap type thing or an R and B sound."​

Thanks!

 

[taylor16]

Found the "sweet spot". Nice

 

[winegamd]

Personally, I think AlNiCo 3 has a much better tonal quality than AlNiCo 3 or Ceramic. The mids seem growlier and warmer with a much sweeter high end. This seems to apply to any pickup I have heard, and not just Nordstrand.

 

[TimothyGroovy]

Had all my latest nordstrand pickups purchase switch to A3, they sound more open and organic compare with A5 to my ears.

 

[bigtexashonk]

Had Mike Lull modify my M4V and install a set. Asked the office manager to change all Nordy Big Splits to Big Single A3's. I'm loving the A3's. Vintage smooth, but get plenty nasty when you dig in. Mike mentioned there seems to be less sting pull over the A5's.

 

[taylor16]

Bump.

 

[Flooflox]

Bump.

So, you've had these pickups for a while. What are your thoughts now? Also, you said you found the "sweet spot". You did this with the amp or an onboard preamp?

 

[taylor16]

So, you've had these pickups for a while. What are your thoughts now? Also, you said you found the "sweet spot". You did this with the amp or an onboard preamp?

From another thread:
I have a set in my Fender AmStd Jazz bass and have moments where I love them and other times when I frustratingly reach for my Lakland DJ4 w/ Hanson/Lakland single-coils (still my go-to Jazz bass).

To my relatively uneducated ears, I really like the sound of the Nordstrands when I'm recording or practicing alone but in a band-mix (hard rock w/ two guitarists), it just seems to get lost. I use La Bella Flats in both but my Lakland just is able to get through clearly with wonderful tone both with fingerstyle and pickplay.