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Pickup confusion

jimmykicker

jimmykicker

Apr 13, 2010
363
269
McCalla, AL
#1
hey guys. I have a DeArmond Pilot V that I got for a great price recently. It's a terrific base and I really enjoy playing it, but the pickups in it kind of suck. It has the two jazz pickups and I believe I read somewhere that they are really just four string pick ups in a five string housing. I believe that because the B and The G string are noticeably attenuated compared to the rest of the strings. I'd like to replace them, but I'm not sure exactly what to put in this bass. I did find some Seymour Duncans that physically fit, but the come with their own preamp. I'm not necessarily interested in replacing the stock one because I kind of like the way that it sounds. What suggestions do you guys have for replacing them without removing the stock preamp? I still don't understand the difference between what makes a pickup passive versus what makes it active. Obviously I understand the difference in passive and active setups but I don't know what makes a pickup usable in a particular setup. In other words can I use a passive pickup in an active bass? Can I use an "active" pickup in a passive bass without the pre

Thanks for humoring my ignorance!

Jt
 
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#2
How do you know if it's the preamp or the pickups that suck? In other words, how do you know the preamp sounds good if you don't like what you think the pickups are doing? How can you tell which parts of the overall sucky tone are coming from the pickups and which parts are coming from the preamp?

I'm assuming it's active/passive and you hate the tone in passive?
 
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#4
I guess I should try again here. I may not have been clear on it. I like the tone of the bass on EAD. It is just the B and G that sound "weak" compared to the rest of the bass. They lack volume which indicates that they are probably as suspected 4 String pickups in 5 String housing. Squier did that on the P bass special. As a result weak B although the G isn't as bad. What I did read about what someone did was glue some washers to the outside pole pieces off set towards the B String which raised the overall volume of the weak B. I don't know how much of that I buy though. Course I'm a newbie at this.

So I don't think the pickups are inherently "bad" as they are improper for this bass. Suppose I could take one out and look at it.
 
#6
Can you measure the length/width of the pickups for us and report back?

Also, are the pickup covers removable? If so, you could visually confirm your "4-string" theory. If not, you can still take something ferrous (like a paper clip or a small screwdriver) and lightly wave it over the top of the pickup to try and sense whether it has four or five poles (or perhaps even a blade?).
 
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#9
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#10
Funny to me cause I got the old DeArmond WITH the original case in primo condition for $119 at Guitar Center. I don't know why it was priced like that. Said "fair" condition, but when it arrived it appeared it had never been out of the house. So putting in pickups that cost more than the bass is strange, but the bass is no doubt worth it. That's the only real gripe about it. I've been curious about the Delanos too honestly.
 
#11
Wound up buying some bright tone Bartolinis for the 5 string DeArmond. They fit with ZERO modification. Drop in. Strange to me with such a freeway wide neck it would use those stupidly narrow pickups. Sound good but it's apparent the preamp is not a great unit so I gotta come up with something. Probably one of those tone monster jobs will be in order.

The pickups were definitely the problem with the weak strings B and G. G is now just as loud as the rest of the bass. In fact I slanted them away from the D and G due to that. Almost too hot. Made recordings before and after with the bass. Much better tone. Spent about an hour and a half trying to get it playing acceptable too. The E string was "splatty" which was a combination of the preamp driving the amp too hard, the E bottoming on the fretboard too much, and my sloppy ass plucking techniques. I play too hard and tend to pull the strings instead of pluck them. That's a me thing. Not the bass. I got the rest worked out I think. I adjusted the truss rod as I saw an upward bow in the neck. Subsequently I then adjusted the saddles. I'm gonna tinker some more with it later but it's acceptable except for the preamp.
 
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#12
Here she is. Really very pleased with it. Sounds as good as my Pedulla now. Don't play as well obviously but sh!t, it's a Pedulla and this is a Korean made assembly line bass. But the sound is real good. Preamp should be here next week so we will pop that in and see what effect that has on clarity and punch!

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