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Nordstrand big singles... experiences?

#201
bassplayer7770 said:
Which is why I tend not to do these types of projects myself. That and I've never soldered anything in my life... :D
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I'm installing these Big Splits and an Audere Classic 4-Band, so I'm not even plugging my soldering iron in. I use butt connectors (tee hee, he said butt connectors) like this:

1062h-outlined.jpg


Audere preamps come all pre-wired and there are only a few wire-to-wire connections to be made. Put the ends of the wires in and crimp. A little heat-shrink tubing over the crimped butt connector and you're golden. I'd much rather crimp my way to completion.
 
#203
I'm just hoping all the work I'm putting in is worth it. I had a Bartolini ITMB (18v version of NTMB) and Bartolini dual coil pickups in my bass. It had a good sound but not the sound I wanted, since I prefer a single coild sound.

I sold the preamp, pickups, and my Sansamp BDDI to buy a set of Big Singles and an Audere Classic 4-Band. So far, I've deepened the pickup cavities with a chisel to make room for the BS's (since the cavities were too shallow) and done a complete copper foil shielding job on the control cavity and pickup cavities.

I sure hope the Big Singles + Audere preamp gives me the tone I'm looking for!!
 
#205
I finally got to play my bass through my amp and I really like these pickups. From all the hype I expected to be blown away, but then I remembered that my last few basses have either had G&L MFD pickups, USA Barts, or active USA Peavey pickups - all of which are really good sounding pickups. These are on par with all of them in terms of quality and are the best sounding single coil pickups I've heard.

This is the sound I've been looking. I suppose I could have gotten a Jazz Bass, but I really like the way my BTB plays and feels - it just wasn't the sound I was looking for.
 
#206
I spent some time down at my local GC A/B'ing my BTB with a Fender 60's RI Jazz and found that if I completely cut the high mids (800 Hz with a narrow Q) and the low mids half-way (200 Hz with a wide Q), fully boosted the treble (shelving around 2 KHz), and boosted the bass half way (shelving at 172 Hz) I got a VERY similar sound. I also A/B'd it with an MIA Jazz and found the sound similar with these preamp settings but the Jazz had a more detailed sound (probably due to the rounds on the Jazz and the flats on my BTB).

The soloed neck Big Single in my bass sounds very similar to this with my preamp set flat.

Squier Classic Vibe Precision '50s Bass

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Big Singles are definitely single coil pickups, but they don't sound like Jazz Bass single coils on their own. In addition to replacing the Bart soapbars in my BTB I also replaced the Bartolini ITMB preamp with an Audere Classic 4-Band pre.

It's my understanding that Nordstrand Big Splits are very similar tonally to the Big Singles but without the hum. I don't get any noticeable hum with my Big Singles unless I boost both treble and high mids, so it's not a problem for me.
 
#208
that seems odd, never noticed. One thing, tho. How close are the pups to the strings? If they are too close the pole pieces will pull the strings, expecially the neck pup. We set the height around 5-6/64 for the bridge (both sides) and 7-8/64 for the neck (measuring between the pp and the strings, holding the strings down at the last fret).

M
 
#211
maurilio said:
that seems odd, never noticed. One thing, tho. How close are the pups to the strings? If they are too close the pole pieces will pull the strings, expecially the neck pup. We set the height around 5-6/64 for the bridge (both sides) and 7-8/64 for the neck (measuring between the pp and the strings, holding the strings down at the last fret).

M
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Chef said:
IME; some of that string/fret noise is gonna depend on:
neck relief
string height
string type
right hand technique
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When pressing down on the 24th fret, the pickups are about 1/8" underneath the E-string. The treble side is a bit closer for more even output.

Neck relief looks about right to me (about .015" which is about what Stew Mac suggests). String heights are about .094"-.105" at the 17th fret for the G through E strings. The strings I'm currently using are Skjolds. I haven't really noticed that fret noise so much with my Yamaha, but I'll more closely a/b them when I get a chance.

BTW, I wouldn't say the fret noise is overbearing or anything. It was just something I've noticed, but I've been practicing mostly with my Hanewinckel lately, so it's possible my Yammy will sound the same.
 
#212
i didnt have big singles, but i had big splits in my fodera for a minute and they were so extended and live sounding they almost reminded me of my old yamaha trb6 with the piezo. they had a super extended top which accentuated string and fret noise quite a bit. i was cutting a ton of treble with those pickups. is that the kind of fret noise youre referring to?
 
#213
narud said:
i didnt have big singles, but i had big splits in my fodera for a minute and they were so extended and live sounding they almost reminded me of my old yamaha trb6 with the piezo. they had a super extended top which accentuated string and fret noise quite a bit. i was cutting a ton of treble with those pickups. is that the kind of fret noise youre referring to?
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I think so. However, I compared to my Yamaha yesterday, and the fret noise on my Hanewinckel didn't seem abnormal. It doesn't distract me much, but it was just something I noticed. The Hane is a bit brighter in comparison anyway, plus I think my Carvin BX1200 head also accentuates those higher mids a bit.

So, in short, I'm still happy with my Big Singles. In fact, after comparing more directly with my Yamaha, I'd say the Big Singles are what I was after tonally in my Hanewinckel. I also love the versatility using the Blend control, Passive Tone, and 3-band EQ.
 
#215
jb63 said:
I replaced the MK-1 pups and pre in my 55-01 with Big Singles and straight forward V-V-T controls and I couldn't be happier.

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If you ever want more tonal control (or want something to plug up those holes) you might consider an Audere Classic 4-Band. It's a very transparent preamp, and your tone will be virtually the same as passive with controls set flat.
 
#217
I'll second that;)
Valenti 18 had Big Singles and the Audere when it came to me; I pulled it for the Nord preamp.

Of course, personal tastes differ, so, there's all that...
 
#218
emjazz said:
I'd personally suggest the Nordstrand preamp over the Audere, but that's my opinion.
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Chef said:
I'll second that;)
Valenti 18 had Big Singles and the Audere when it came to me; I pulled it for the Nord preamp.

Of course, personal tastes differ, so, there's all that...
Click to expand...

What do you like about the Nordstrand pre over the Audere? (just curious, not being defensive).
 
#219
To me, the audere didn't sound at all like the pickups; and dialing much boost in sounded artificial, to me. In other words, passive vs engaged sounded really different. I didn't care for the three modes; whatever they're called.

The Nord pre, on the other hand, set flat, really does sound just like when it's disengaged.
The boost and cut don't change the tone of the pickups.

hth-alan
 
#220
Chef said:
To me, the audere didn't sound at all like the pickups; and dialing much boost in sounded artificial, to me. In other words, passive vs engaged sounded really different. I didn't care for the three modes; whatever they're called.

The Nord pre, on the other hand, set flat, really does sound just like when it's disengaged.
The boost and cut don't change the tone of the pickups.

hth-alan
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Gotcha. I didn't actually hear how the pickups sounded without the pre (so I'm not credible on how the Audere changes the sound). I sure do like the way the audere sounds with these pickups, though.

What did the Audere do to the sound?
 

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