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Nordstrand Dual Blade Neo's

Awesome Sauce

Awesome Sauce

Already tired tomorrow
Dec 21, 2011
1,666
1,532
NW Chicago 'burbs
#1
Anybody have experience w/ these yet and can comment on the sound? Growly, gritty, bottom heavy, thin, too much sparkle, what-have-you? I want to learn more about these, specifically on a 5 string, but I can only find one vid on the 'Tube. :(

Thanks all!

Rob
:bassist:
 
#3
I suppose somebody had better order a pair of these and test them out. Yep, somebody.

Hmm. Now let's see, who do I know... :smirk:

Seriously though, I've been curious about these for a while. Now seems to be a good time. Are you guys okay with an amateur's review of these pickups in a fretless bass? I know my opinions on pickups tend to be biased by the fretless thing, but if it's useful, I'll do it.
 
#8
I just installed a set. I need more time with them to really review them. However, from what I've heard so far, the single coil mode is a bit edgier and hotter than the hum bucking which is smoother in general but a bit thicker. Nice to have two usable options with this design. They are responsive with decent attack. They have a tone that cuts through, and has more detailed midrange than say your Bart P2CB. While it does not have that very high snap the Bart has, it still has an upper midrange presence that cuts nicely. I'll have to try them through a decent system as one was not available after the install. I'll come back tomorrow and add more info. So far, so good!
 
#9
I have these on my Clement #311. While I haven't been blown away, I'm hoping it's because I've haven't put a new set of strings on the bass. I still have the original DR strings that came with the bass, and I've had it for a few months. :hiding:

To be honest though, I've been thinking about swapping these out, but I haven't decided whether it's worth the trouble to make P2-size wood covers for a pair of Bill Lawrence J45s, or just buy a different set of pickups.

I'm reserving judgment on these until I either change the strings or the pickups to ones that I'm familiar with.
 
#10
Just FYI : Nordstrand changed the design on these pickups, how recently I don't know. These changes are rather significant in my opinion. The set I just installed are the new design and they are really clear and punchy.
 
#11
Is there any similarity in tone to the Big Splits? I've had those and they were amazing, IMO. Super punchy awesome Jazz. I've been wanting something like that without having to order custom width spaced pickups.
 
#12
rojo412 said:
Is there any similarity in tone to the Big Splits? I've had those and they were amazing, IMO. Super punchy awesome Jazz. I've been wanting something like that without having to order custom width spaced pickups.
Click to expand...

Not really, the big Splits are brighter with more of a J- Bass vibe (IMHO) these are more even with some lower mid push but more "even" overall than say a single coil basic tone. These in single coil mode can even sound a tad nasally but it reminds me a little of a Ken Smith in that regard. In single coil mode It's a different vibe than a J Bass tone in that the "muscle" of the overall tone seems to sit a little higher. Not as deep and probably for that reason there is ZERO problem not being heard in the mix.
 
#13
Doug Parent said:
Just FYI : Nordstrand changed the design on these pickups, how recently I don't know. These changes are rather significant in my opinion. The set I just installed are the new design and they are really clear and punchy.
Click to expand...

Good to know. My initial thought was that it's not punchy, so I may have one of the original designs. I guess I need to find out before making a change.
 
#14
pogipoints said:
Good to know. My initial thought was that it's not punchy, so I may have one of the original designs. I guess I need to find out before making a change.
Click to expand...

The new design has shiny Neo magnets on the back of the pickup. Each coil has two side by side magnets. So it appears as of there are four separate magnets. Each magnet bar is the same dimension. The old design looked completely different.
 
#15
Doug Parent said:
The new design has shiny Neo magnets on the back of the pickup. Each coil has two side by side magnets. So it appears as of there are four separate magnets. Each magnet bar is the same dimension. The old design looked completely different.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I'll take a look at this when I get around to changing the strings. It'll be a while :o
 

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