Nordstrand Poly Vox

[Jared Lash]

Yeah, I wouldn't say the Big BladeMan is anything like the PolyVox or a Wal. I know Carey built that bass for Justin Chancellor and was going for sort of a pseudo Wal vibe, but the BigBladeMan to me sounds like a hi-fi/modern Stingray pickup. The PokyVox are much more complex, mid heavy and authoritative.

Speaking of which, my new bass with those pickups (and a filter preamp from Underhill) just showed up yesterday.

 

[Jared Lash]

These PolyVox pickups are something else. Tons of heft and mid character but simultaneously very clear throughout the full range of the bass. Chords and double stops have lots of note separation. They are modern and articulate but with a lot of personality.

This preamp has a sweepable bass control (from 30 Hz to 200 Hz) and a boost or cut of 0-7.5 dBs. I almost never cut lows on other basses. I either leave it flat or boost it a bit (the exception being when there's a room/acoustics issue) but with these pickups cutting bass opens up a lot of other tones. Very cool.

 

[5StringPocket]

Here's a few more samples so you guys can hear them in different mixes. They just naturally cut through any mix.

The TRBX305 has a lot going for it at that price point and sounds great with the Poly Vox 5 pickups. I like its looks and the 18mm spacing. How do you like the 2-band EQ with 5-position EQ switch that comes with it?

 

[5StringPocket]

These PolyVox pickups are something else. Tons of heft and mid character but simultaneously very clear throughout the full range of the bass. Chords and double stops have lots of note separation. They are modern and articulate but with a lot of personality.

This preamp has a sweepable bass control (from 30 Hz to 200 Hz) and a boost or cut of 0-7.5 dBs. I almost never cut lows on other basses. I either leave it flat or boost it a bit (the exception being when there's a room/acoustics issue) but with these pickups cutting bass opens up a lot of other tones. Very cool.

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That is one sweet bass!

 

[Jared Lash]

After spending more time with the PolyVox this is what I'll say. These are some of the best pickups I've ever played.

In terms of Nordstrand pickups I've owned Jazz Bars (NJ4s with a 70's wind in a soapbar shell), an NP5/Big Splitman 5, an MM 4.2, Fat Stacks, and Big Singles and I've tried the Big Blades (Clean and Clear), and Dual Coils. All really good. The NP5/Bigsplitman combo is especially good for covering a wide range of vintage and modern tones and the Big Singles are perfect in my ash/maple 70's Jazz style bass.

But the PolyVox are just flat out addictive to me. They are mid heavy and don't have a pronounced top end so they are inherently slightly dark and very full sounding, but not the slightest bit muddy. They have good clarity and note separation and what I can only call an "authority" to them.

What's more, they are super dynamic. You can get big, fat, round notes by playing softly, you can get a great thumpy sound by palm muting and playing with your thumb, and if you really dig in they have a growl and bark that I love.

Last night was the first chance I had to record with them on just a track I created for a new song idea. It's just a rough idea and the sound levels are all over the place, but listening to the playback I can hear just how well these are going to sit in the mix. I'm not even sure what pickups I'd compare them to. Are there hints of the Wal sound? Maybe just a touch. And I have them in pseudo 70s jazz positions (outer coils where the jazz pickups would be) so they aren't as midrange focused as a Wal. They kind of sound like series wound Nordstand Dual Coils or Fodera/Duncan Dual Coils (in humbucker mode) due to the fat midrange, but they have more heft and richness and less top end than the Foderas. They really are their own thing.

And while I'm sure they are great passive or with a traditional 2 or 3 band preamp, I am REALLY loving them with a filter based preamp. I had an ACG with the John East designed EQ03 filter preamp and the ACG FB pickups which are VERY clear and hi-fi pickups. That bass could sound like 10 different basses because the pickups had so much tonal information for the filters to sculpt. The PolyVox aren't that. They have a very distinct character, so the filter preamp can sculpt the sound quite a bit, but the PolyVox always sound like themselves.

It was a gamble to try these since when I spec'd the bass out I'd never even heard a sound sample of them. But I figured worst case scenario I could sell them and go with Big Blades or Big Rigs or several other options in that same P2 shape. But after only a few days I can tell you that the PolyVox aren't ever coming out of this bass.

TLDR - I highly recommend these pickups.

 

[Jared Lash]

One other note that I forgot to mention. The Polyvox play VERY well with effects. I ran my new bass through my full pedalboard and it sounded great with delay, filters, modulation, and even dirt. This really surprised me.

My experience with Wals (and with my other new bass that has Turner Multicoils and a Lusithand preamp) is that they don't always sound good with effects. And (at least for me) they are very particular about which overdrives or distortions sound good. For example, my new bass with the Turners doesn't sound great (to me) when played fingerstyle through the Damnation Audtio MBD. It does sound pretty good with a pick though. My previous ACG Uber bass with the ACG/Armstrong multicoils was similar. It sounded pretty good through some dirt boxes and not good through others.

But the PolyVox sounds great through everything IMO. I even tried a few other dirt boxes just to verify. Given my experience with other Multicoil pickups I wasn't expecting that.

 

[winston]

Hey all, the red ABass fretless with the extended fingerboard & single bridge PolyVox that @emjazz posted IG video for is coming to me!
I'm guessing that's why the video link is down, will post some clips after I get the bass, though I'm crazy busy through mid-October.
I have a Radial BassBone OD preamp with 3-band EQ, adjustable mids/HPF, and variable impedance "Drag" control I'm eager to use with this.

I've been looking for a first-quality unlined fretless 4 to celebrate my 40th year of playing bass, and I've had my eyes on Albey Balgochian's basses since I saw Foley play his blue ABass piccolo bass with Miles Davis in '89!

In a very strange turn of events, Albey made me an offer I simply couldn't refuse...so I've also got a blonde fretted ABass 4 string with Aero PJs coming in!!
J pickup is hum-cancelling too, and push/pull switch takes the J out of the circuit for pure "no load on the P" tone.

Albey's pix below...

 

[emjazz]

Hey all, the red ABass fretless with the extended fingerboard & single bridge PolyVox that @emjazz posted IG video for is coming to me!
I'm guessing that's why the video link is down, will post some clips after I get the bass, though I'm crazy busy through mid-October.
I have a Radial BassBone OD preamp with 3-band EQ, adjustable mids/HPF, and variable impedance "Drag" control I'm eager to use with this.

I've been looking for a first-quality unlined fretless 4 to celebrate my 40th year of playing bass, and I've had my eyes on Albey Balgochian's basses since I saw Foley play his blue ABass piccolo bass with Miles Davis in '89!

In a very strange turn of events, Albey made me an offer I simply couldn't refuse...so I've also got a blonde fretted ABass 4 string with Aero PJs coming in!!
J pickup is hum-cancelling too, and push/pull switch takes the J out of the circuit for pure "no load on the P" tone.

Albey's pix below...

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I just talked to Albey yesterday and he said that someone bought both of those beauties. Congratulations!!

Yeah, I had a couple of his basses for a while to try and help sell them. I gave them back while I moved back down to Brooklyn and you connected with him. When he told me that they were sold I took the videos down. Glad it worked out. That fretless in particular is really special. Enjoy!

 

[5StringPocket]

Here's a few more samples so you guys can hear them in different mixes. They just naturally cut through any mix.

The audio quality of these videos is outstanding and made my decision to spec a pair of these in a Serek MW2 5-string (scheduled for completion this November). It will be a 32" scale, set mahogany neck on mahogany body with an ebony fingerboard, Dunlop flat wounds and a Trickfish IPA preamp with switchable mid frequency and active/passive switch. I'm going with a Sadowsky Modern kind of spacing but slightly farther from the bridge as shown in the pic below. I'm looking for a thick but articulate tone that will punch with good weight to the notes. I'm a finger style player but will probably use a pick as well with these flat wounds. I've always had a passive tone but only use it to tame a harsh treble, never dialed way back for a muffled tone. Not sure if I need one with this configuration. What do you think?

 

[SuperTheBass]

The audio quality of these videos is outstanding and made my decision to spec a pair of these in a Serek MW2 5-string (scheduled for completion this November). It will be a 32" scale, set mahogany neck on mahogany body with an ebony fingerboard, Dunlop flat wounds and a Trickfish IPA preamp with switchable mid frequency and active/passive switch. I'm going with a Sadowsky Modern kind of spacing but slightly farther from the bridge as shown in the pic below. I'm looking for a thick but articulate tone that will punch with good weight to the notes. I'm a finger style player but will probably use a pick as well with these flat wounds. I've always had a passive tone but only use it to tame a harsh treble, never dialed way back for a muffled tone. Not sure if I need one with this configuration. What do you think?
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I'm a big fan.

 

[Bassinthemudd]

This one has Poly Vox pups into two Lusithand NFP Single preamps, each with their own output.

I've had this bass for 2 months now. I've played my other basses very little since. Each time I do play a different bass, I think: oh yeah, I like this bass too. But when I switch back, I start to think I can sell all the others.

Last Thursday, for the first time since I've had it, I didn't bring it to rehearsal (as an intentional experiment.) That won't happen again. It just sits perfectly in the mix. And with the dual filter preamps the range of tones available is incredible.