I have a pair in a Peavey Foundation. Great sounding pickups. I find that the tone control actually works now. They have not been too noisy or hummy.
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Nordstrand big singles... experiences?
- Thread starter Willem
- Start date
I had a pair of custom big singles and a pair of big splits for my F Bass BN6.
Had the Big Singles in the bass for a couple of months now and i must say they are full of growl and can cut thru mixes and any band very well. I'm so comfortable with them I don't find an urge to swap the Big Splits in for comparison.
They will go in someday but you get the geeze of what i'm trying to say.
Cause nothing compares... nothing compares... to you... "single coils!!!"
Had the Big Singles in the bass for a couple of months now and i must say they are full of growl and can cut thru mixes and any band very well. I'm so comfortable with them I don't find an urge to swap the Big Splits in for comparison.
They will go in someday but you get the geeze of what i'm trying to say.
Cause nothing compares... nothing compares... to you... "single coils!!!"
got a great deal on a pair of Big Singles from John Wymore,, was shipped yesterday, also shipped a set of Hipshot Ultralites that's going in a Squier Active Jazz V. also got the pickup routing template coming in from Best Bass Gear. the Singles will initially be passive VVTT,,, can't wait
The new issue of Bass Player (Peter Cetera) features a review of passive and active Nordy Jazzes with Big Singles. It would appear that the passive version is not as bright as a standard Jazz, the reviewer talks about lots of high mids. These pickups sound like they would be nice alternatives to soapbars on "modern" basses.
You have to take in consideration Alder with Rosewood. Plus, the placement of the pole-pieces (twisted 45 dgr.) gives to these pups a fatter sound (compared to a traditional single coil) resulting in a perception of less highs. Carey's pups are not meant to be super high, crisp (hi-tech) sounding pups (aside the dual-coil) but organic and natural with some kind of a modern twist...
I usually don't like too much Herrera's reviews, but this one about the Nordys is definitely spot on! (also his complain about the control layout on the Audere's preamp)
M
Actually, the review says that the active version has Big Splits, which are advertised to be just a hum-free version of the Big Singles with a similar tone. I've heard that the Splits lose a bit of the high end relative to the Singles, so it seems odd that they are in the active Nordy rather but not the passive. Maybe the idea is that with the onboard preamp, the slight loss of highs isn't an issue because it's easy to jack them back up anyway?
That clip is Adrian Garcia with his Nordy VJ5.
I believe Adrian has Big Splits in his Nordy-------NOT Big singles.
I played Adrian's Nordy VJ5. In person. It was the inspiration for my Nordy Vj5. Adrians' has Big Splits, and so does my Nordy. Brightness is something this bass does NOT lack in any way. The PU's are very full range across the frequency spectrum. I've never played Big Singles, so I can't draw any comparisons. But I love the fact that mine have zero humm!
Here is my Nordy with Big splits.
if i ever feel that i ever need the tone shaping of an active system ( which is not often ),,, i've got a Xotic Tri-Logic on my pedalboard 
I've only played Big Singles on a Cort/Elrick (ash/rosewood I think) and they were a bit harsh (in the high mids) for my tastes (& rig). My Martin Keith bass has Fat Stacks, and I'm very happy with that, but I can't say for sure what makes it sound so great (the construction, the woods (walnut body,katalox board), the electronics, the pickups, etc..).
Marshall
Marshall
Interesting comment. I've wondered how the Fat Stacks compare with Big Splits. My Big Splits are quite hot and punchy. I wondered if the Fat stacks might be just a bit less agressive, and maybe sweeter somehow. Not that I have any inclination to swap out my Big splits. I love them. But I do wonder how they compare.
My best guess is that they're all good, but that Fat Stacks are less agressive than Big Singles, but I'm not really sure since there are other differences between the two basses. No idea about the Big Splits. If you try Fatstacks on another bass, a SC/HB switch is a must IMO. If I didn't have fat stacks put into my bass, I would've tried big splits, so I'm curious about those too...
M
i agree with smperry,, my Fat Stacks in my passive Peavey Grind has a very round organic,, smooth,, tone,, but i can dial in a lot of punch & some grind as well, as the DR Fat Beams help, strung BEAD.
i'm running it thru a simple pedalboard, then LMKII,, into two 4ohm Avatar Neo's 210/410, & the Grind is normally my go to bass, even over my Sterling
i'm running it thru a simple pedalboard, then LMKII,, into two 4ohm Avatar Neo's 210/410, & the Grind is normally my go to bass, even over my Sterling
Can the big splits be smoothened with a tone control?
Do they actually have some growl? And what does snarl mean?
Do they actually have some growl? And what does snarl mean?
From all the comments above, it seems like the Big Splits versus Big Singles match the very general differences between all split coils and single coils... with the splits having slightly less mid response, a more glassy, cleaner treble response, and a little bit deeper low end (what many call a slight 'scoop' to the tone).
The only split coil I've ever heard that really sounds like a single coil is the Kent Armstrong splits that are made for the Celinder basses. Every other split coil model sounds quite different from the true single coil version, and EQ or passive tone controls don't really make one sound like the other.
It seems for those who prefer a true single coil sound, but use either the neck or bridge pickup solo'd, and hence are worried about hum, would probably be best served by the Fat Stacks with a coil tap switch, so that you can switch to stack mode when totally soloing one of the pickups for quiet operation, but still get true single coil tone when both pickups are full or mostly on.
Also, remember, that you can slightly blend single coil pickups to favor the bridge or neck pickup without inducing much if any hum at all. I don't find single coils to be a problem at all, and there's just something about that grindy, raw tone that sounds great in a mix, if that's what you are looking for.
IMO and IME.
I actually spoke with the guys at Nordstrand about this when I was trying to decide which PU's to install in my Nordy. They recommended the Big Splits over the Fat Stacks. I was thinking the same as Ken. (That I could use the fat stacks in SC mode and that they would more closely approximate the Big Singles. But in fact, Stew from the Nordstrand shop directed me to the Big Splits. This was Carey's recommendation as well) No regrets! They GROWL ...NO problem!
+1.. they moved me away from the Fat Stacks with coil tap to the Big Singles in my case. They also said that the Fat Stacks in single coil mode were not quite the same as the big single coil tone of the Big Singles. Cool with the Big Splits... they sound great on Adrian's clips. I guess that would be the way to go if you are worried about the hum of true single coils. Nice!
