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NYC-5 Passive Phase II NYC Soapbar - Opinions please

Sundogue

Sundogue

Apr 26, 2001
8,795
481
65
Wausau, WI
#1
These look really interesting and promising ( Invalid Link Removed ) as a direct replacement for my ESP-LTD stock pups. I'm wanting to replace the rather thin and overly bright tone of my bass.

Especially that they are passive and this >"The Alnico 2 rod pole pieces provide a tone that is punchy and focused with a natural and smooth upper midrange. Compared to an active soapbar, the tone is warmer and more organic."

Not sure how to wire pups up in series or parallel, but there must be a diagram out there somewhere. Any help with that?

Who has used these and what are your thoughts on them?
 
#2
I'd love to hear about these; I've considered them just about every time I've gone to replace a set of soapbars, but keep backing out because of how little there is to read about them, especially considering the price point. I love SD's guitar pickups, jazz pickups, and I even like the their P replacement more than Fender's 62 RI, so I assume they're good.

Bring on the firsthand experience!
 
#3
I was going to replace my stock EMG's with a different set (read as higher quality) of EMG's, but someone recommended these NYC ones as an alternative. Once I read about them, they seem just like what I am looking for. And for a set of them, they aren't that much more than the EMG's. Plus they are passive which means I wouldn't necessarily have to worry about a preamp then. That's why I created this thread. I want more input from others...hopefully with first hand experience with these.
 
#4
I'm currently having a set installed in my ReBop with those 3-way series-single-parallel switches...I should have it back by the weekend, I'd be happy to upload some quick sound clips then
 
#6
I had them in a schecter 5. I actually traded it here on talkbass because I needed a 6 string (got an ibanez btb 6). But that model of schecters had emg 40 ' s in it when I bought it, and they were ok but the nyc ' s were much warmer, without being mud.
 

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#8
I used a standard seymour duncan pre amp, but I had my tech wire it as 18v (two 9v) so the output was higher than normal. The nice thing about the schecter was that there was a battery compartment for one battery and I fit the other in the control cavity
 

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#12
lowendmetal said:
Nice! The only thing I wished I'd done differently was get a 3 band preamp
Click to expand...

I'm not entirely sure which is the cause of my ESP-LTD's thin and overly bright sound...preamp or pups? While I know there are much higher quality preamps, they are for the most part just adjustable EQ systems. I'm guessing it's the pickups that lack the output, punch and depth. So I will start there.

The bass itself is killer on looks, feel and playability. I really love it. It's a great 5 string bass that I can use very low action without buzz and I love everything about it but the electronics. With today's CNC machining there are a lot of high quality/low priced basses, but it's not uncommon for lower priced basses to be lacking in the electronics.
 
#14
Same bass as in the other thread, w/EMG 40 series?
Are they 40hz or 40DC's?
40DC's don't lack power or punch (they can be prone to clipping the amp)- 'hz's' I dunno.
40DC's have plenty highs avail, and plenty mids along with solid bottom, either w/o pre-amp, or with EMG preamps.
If you want less highs, try 40P series.
There's also a youtube comparison of those EMGs- see what you think of them in the same bass, in diff configs.
Diff basses will yield diff results, along with diff perceptions due to what they're plugged into.
As I suggested in the other thread, and backed up by other's opinions, get a 40P and a 40DC-
It's very easy to swap positions with them to help find what's best on your bass with your rig for what you want.
 
#15
JustForSport said:
Same bass as in the other thread, w/EMG 40 series?
Are they 40hz or 40DC's?
40DC's don't lack power or punch (they can be prone to clipping the amp)- 'hz's' I dunno.
40DC's have plenty highs avail, and plenty mids along with solid bottom, either w/o pre-amp, or with EMG preamps.
If you want less highs, try 40P series.
There's also a youtube comparison of those EMGs- see what you think of them in the same bass, in diff configs.
Diff basses will yield diff results, along with diff perceptions due to what they're plugged into.
As I suggested in the other thread, and backed up by other's opinions, get a 40P and a 40DC-
It's very easy to swap positions with them to help find what's best on your bass with your rig for what you want.
Click to expand...

Yes. Same bass. I'm kind of intrigued by the tonal description of the SD NYC's which is what I'm looking for. I think the stock pups on the ESP-LTD's are the 40Hz or some proprietary pup made by EMG for them. Regardless, the stock ones are gutless and overly bright. I've been able to EQ and gain stage to compensate, but would rather not. On some songs (where I'm looking for a more vintage/flatwound kind of vibe) I'm running down to the control limits on either the mids or the highs on my preamp and can go no further. That's just how overly bright the stock pups are now.

I'd like my bass to sound more in the middle of the tonal spectrum when set flat so I have room to adjust depending on what kind of tone I'm copping for any given style.
 
#16
The 40hz's are passive, while the 40DC's and 40P's are active.
The DC's are stronger, more mids, while the 40P is not as aggressive, more bottom focused- could be good combo, tho- I switch 'em around once in a while.
All this depends on the particular bass, tho, and all maple can be pretty aggressive sounding, even eq'd.
 
#17
I'm going to get the NYC soapbars. I want to wire them up in series as straight up humbuckers. I'm guessing I need to wire the red and white wires together then? I want to control them via my blend pot and wire it up to my ESP's preamp. I'll be taking out the stock ESP (proprietary EMG 40 essentially) which have three wires on them. Should be a pretty easy replacement.
 

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