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Nordstrand Big J-Blade Pickups

#81
Hey guys- I've got a MIG Warwick Corvette Std Passive that I'm considering a set of the Warm & Woollys for...

The stock pups in the Corvette are a pair of noisy MECs, and part of the impetus for new pups is to get away from that noise issue, plus the fact that I love the sound the W&Ws produce in the demo videos I've found. How quiet are the J-blades in normal circumstances? I know they're still single-coils, but what do you guys think vs. other pickups you've used?
 
#83
Nenor said:
Anyone can shed some light on how the blades interact with an active preamp, or better yet on a Sadowsky bass?
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They interact just like any other pickup does. The differences will be in terms of overall output and tone profile.
I've used them passive and active. Because they have significant output they are good contenders for a passive bass. They will lose a little grind going through a pre-amp but sound a little more modern as a result. There is a lot of snap and grunt coming out of these pickups, they are more on the aggressive side. These differ from the NJ5 Alnico V formula in that they don't have that baked in low mid push, although they do seem to sound a little deeper and thick. The blades sound like a "broader brush" to my ears. If you have the pickups raised up a little too high close to the strings you can a dirty spit when you dig in. They are powerful pickups.
 
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#84
@Doug Parent, thanks for the reply. I'm especially interested in what they'd sound like with a Sadowsky preamp which is 2-band boost only. I like the passive sound of the Blade clean&clear but with that kind of preamp they might be too aggressive.
 
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#85
Nenor said:
@Doug Parent, thanks for the reply. I'm especially interested in what they'd sound like with a Sadowsky preamp which is 2-band boost only. I like the passive sound of the Blade clean&clear but with that kind of preamp they might be too aggressive.
Click to expand...

Actually with boost only pre-amp they might retain more of their passive vibe. That would be a combination I would definitely check out.
 
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#86
Hi all, has anyone tried mixing a warm and wooly in the neck with a clean and clear in the bridge? I was curious about this combo in that it may provide a nice variety of tones.

Also does anyone have a set they run in series? I'm wondering how amazing that would sound?

Thanks
 
#87
donahue said:
Hi all, has anyone tried mixing a warm and wooly in the neck with a clean and clear in the bridge? I was curious about this combo in that it may provide a nice variety of tones.

Also does anyone have a set they run in series? I'm wondering how amazing that would sound?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I have a series/parallel switch on my Jazz with a Warm/Wooly set. Definitely sounds good, but I installed the switch at the same time as the pickups, so I have nothing to compare it to. :)
 
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#92
paulelhierro said:
I have not read here about the 'scooping' effect of using both pickups. Sometimes I like that, but do the blades have that too?
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This effect is caused by mixing any two pickups together which are spaced by some distance apart such that they are sensing different locations on the same string, so yes. It has nothing to do with the pickups themselves.
 
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#95
Anyone here have experience with both the Warm and Wooly bridge pickup AND the Yamaha BB big blade bridge pickup? Does the Warm and Wooly have similar high output as the Yamaha? I am trying to find a good replacement for a BB blade pickup and the Nordstrand Big J is the closest looking I know of.
 
#96
I installed the blades W&W on a cheap Vintage Icon Fretless, and they are a huge improvement. I had a Fender custom shop in the bridge, but the blade in the bridge is more clear and 'penetrating'. The scooping effect (I wrote here about a year ago) of the blades is less, because the bridge and neck pickups are very similar, so only the effect of the different positions count. The string-to-string balance is very good, but it never was a problem!!
 
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#97
This thread doesn't seem very active. I had asked about the Warm and Wooly bridge pickup compared to the Yamaha BB blade pickup -- and I didn't get any answers. So I did an experiment with an old BB bass I have that has the bridge position routed for Fender shaped pickups. I put the Warm and Wooly bridge pickup in there and compared it (bridge pickup solo'd) against a BB2000 and BB3000 (the 3000 is a hotter wind but otherwise the same as the BB2000 pickup). The W&W is as terrific sounding pickup - it has similar enough characteristics that it keeps that flavor of a BB bass but it sounds even better.
 
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#98
I’m going to replace the factory-optioned SD setup in my Warwick Streamer 5 (ash/maple) and these J Blades look lovely - and I’m thrilled that they are available in 20” radius for flat fingerboards. Really torn between CC and WW. Now that they’ve been out for a while, what’s your real-world experience?
 
#99
burgerdj said:
I’m going to replace the factory-optioned SD setup in my Warwick Streamer 5 (ash/maple) and these J Blades look lovely - and I’m thrilled that they are available in 20” radius for flat fingerboards. Really torn between CC and WW. Now that they’ve been out for a while, what’s your real-world experience?
Click to expand...
Well I've never used the Clean & Clear set, but I've had the Warm & Wooly set in my CIJ Geddy jazz for years and they really killed any itch I had left to chase pickup swaps in that bass.
 
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