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Nordstrand BigRig Pickups
- Thread starter 3rdcurve
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- nordstrand pickups
Be aware that the BigRig pickups have to line up dead on with the strings to work properly…not to make Jake’s sale difficult! But it’s important that they line up just right…so measure well!
QFT. My first pickup from Nordstrand was no good because of spacing. The design is incredibly sensitive to string spacing within half a MM.
- Apr 29, 2003
- 9,074
- 9,790
- Disclosures
- Contributor- Bass Musician Magazine | Marketing Manager- Trickfish Amplification
Very important comment ^^^
I received a custom bass with 17.5mm string spacing equipped w/ Big Rigs designed for a bass with 19mm string spacing, and the bass was distinctly underwhelming. The B and G-strings ended up over a pole piece - as opposed to intersecting two pole pieces - meaning both strings sounded really feeble, especially when compared with the E, A and D-strings. Once the pickups were replaced, the bass sounded much, much better (as you would expect).
I ordered a set of BigRigs in P2 size for a project, but they took forever to arrive, so I ended up using different pickups for that bass. I ended up using the BigRigs in a couple other basses.
The bridge pickup was paired with the P-pickup in my Mike Dirnt bass. The bass has 3 push-pull pots for series-parallel switching for each pickup and when combined . I really like both the series and parallel tones of the BigRig in the bridge position, and it blends well with the P-pickup. I have a similar PJ-bass with a Big Single in the bridge position, but I like the BigRig more.
I installed the neck BigRig in a homemade Tele bass along with a Fender Super 55 split coil. The BigRig is closer to the neck than a standard P-pickup since I optimized the alignment of the pole-pieces. The bass has 3 push-pull pots for the BigRig series-parallel, then both pickups series-parallel, and then an inline capacitor on the bridge pickup (like a RIC). The tone of the BigRig in series gets a little heavy on the bass side, but it tames down when adding the bridge pickup. The BigRig in parallel sounds great on its own and combined with the bridge pickup.
If I had to hard wire the 2 coils of BigRigs, I would probably run series at the bridge and parallel at the neck.
I agree with other comments here about BigRigs playing nice with others and being careful with the alignment of the poles.
The bridge pickup was paired with the P-pickup in my Mike Dirnt bass. The bass has 3 push-pull pots for series-parallel switching for each pickup and when combined . I really like both the series and parallel tones of the BigRig in the bridge position, and it blends well with the P-pickup. I have a similar PJ-bass with a Big Single in the bridge position, but I like the BigRig more.
I installed the neck BigRig in a homemade Tele bass along with a Fender Super 55 split coil. The BigRig is closer to the neck than a standard P-pickup since I optimized the alignment of the pole-pieces. The bass has 3 push-pull pots for the BigRig series-parallel, then both pickups series-parallel, and then an inline capacitor on the bridge pickup (like a RIC). The tone of the BigRig in series gets a little heavy on the bass side, but it tames down when adding the bridge pickup. The BigRig in parallel sounds great on its own and combined with the bridge pickup.
If I had to hard wire the 2 coils of BigRigs, I would probably run series at the bridge and parallel at the neck.
I agree with other comments here about BigRigs playing nice with others and being careful with the alignment of the poles.
Just a heads up to keep an eye on the new multi coil pickups that Nordstrand is getting close to releasing. Same look as the BigRigs…I plan on trying one in the bridge position of my bass at some point, to see how it compares to my custom BigRig (that is a pain for them to make). I have a feeling it’ll be a great compliment to the BigRig neck pickup in series. The new pickups sound punchy!
- Apr 29, 2003
- 9,074
- 9,790
- Disclosures
- Contributor- Bass Musician Magazine | Marketing Manager- Trickfish Amplification
yeah those sound cool. How do they sound different to your ears from the big rig?
I can never really get a read on tone from Carey's demos with tha maple NJ5. Had the same issue with his big rig demo with that bass. IMO the big rigs sounded quite different to my ears than that demo. Best demo to hear what the big rigs sound like is Todd's Fodera 6 Big Rig demo vid.
To be fair, I had the same issue with the Zen Blades. None of the vids I found quite did justice to the amazing sound I am getting with the Zen blades.
I can never really get a read on tone from Carey's demos with tha maple NJ5. Had the same issue with his big rig demo with that bass. IMO the big rigs sounded quite different to my ears than that demo. Best demo to hear what the big rigs sound like is Todd's Fodera 6 Big Rig demo vid.
To be fair, I had the same issue with the Zen Blades. None of the vids I found quite did justice to the amazing sound I am getting with the Zen blades.
I do agree. That’s such a specific bass that Carey uses for demo pickups. My guess is the multi coils (without a filter preamp) will be super clear, not overly hyped up top, and low mid focused…which is my preference always. Punchy pickups, but with some low mid grind I think…but that could be the all maple bass that Carey is playing. Chris Seldon just finished a gorgeous new bass with different multi coil pickups, and I got the same from that demo that he posted.
- Apr 29, 2003
- 9,074
- 9,790
- Disclosures
- Contributor- Bass Musician Magazine | Marketing Manager- Trickfish Amplification
Interestingly, that’s what I get from the Zen blades in my erizias five. With a good amount of bass and treble EQ boost on the IPA , the whole instrument sounds really punchy and thick in the low meds, with super open top and bottom. Could be the instrument, but I’d be surprised about that much inherent low mid punch from a bass that is all ash and maple
Big Blades and Zen Blades are super punchy and rounded, yeah. I once described the Big Blades as a battle axe for your tone. They are high output and will push your cab unlike many other pickups. I love it. Zen Blades are a bit more reserved, but still have a similar tone signature. Actually, they sound to me like what a Big Blade might sound like, through a nice compressor, and then dial the gain back a little bit.
Love the sounds Todd gets from that Fodera! I'm sure the Pope pre helps but those Big Rigs with the series/parallel/single coil switches are so versatile.
The narrow aperture custom is harder to make and not an available option, but I wonder if 5% overwound for a little hotter output might be an option for a bridge BigRig?
Yeah, I’ve stopped mentioning the narrow aperture version as it’s not available…but your question is a great one to pose to Stew!
You can order BigRigs with either Alnico V magnets (default) or Alnico III magnets, which the Nordy website describes as "warmer with a softer".. I was thinking it might be nice to have Alnico III for the next pickup and Alnico V for the bridge.. Has anyone uses BigRigs as a pair with different magnet types?
Does anyone know if the Big Rig bridge pickup is wound hotter for the bridge position like J pickups usually are, or is it mainly just designed for wider spacing?
Ended up getting two of these for my new Cliff Bordwell build. Should be around the end of the year for delivery, yeeeow!
Definitely a question for Nordstrand directly. They may even have that on their website
I emailed Nick but he’s out on vacation, so I figured I’d try here while I wait for his response
