pickup replacement for schecter, can't get the sound I want

[keyofnight]

Get rid of the Schecter. They aren that great anyway

They aren't? I've always thought they were really well-made. Is this just brand perception?

 

[TakeABreak]

My first bass was a Schecter Omen 4. It was not an expensive bass, but has very nice build quality just the same - noticeably better than my MIM Fender P. As many have noted, the onboard electronics were the weak point. I would get clipping even with a fresh battery and without any eq boost.

I rewired the pickups to bypass the preamp, and they sounded pretty nice on their own - high output and ballsy in a good way. But they didn’t have the upper register clarity I was looking for. I’m guessing this is the tone you’re missing as well.

Swapping in some Nordstrand BigRigs lowered the output, but really restored the upper mid clarity.

Different pickups are definitely going to change the tone - look for ones designed to emphasize the tone you’re looking for.

 

[andruca]

I'm a Stingray5 guy who's been thru many attempts during years looking for a nice Fender Killer 5er and I'm happy to have found it in a Schecter. Mine is a CV-5, with the J-bucker pickups which make this bass chamaleonic. Each is like 2 jazz pickups (with a more aggressive/wild character) welded together you can connect in series/parallel/single coil. No Yammie BB I've ever owned (425X, 415, 615) or played can get even close in both tone clarity, character, balls and playability. Neither could some other more expensive basses (most notably a Maruszczyk Jake 5a+ with the big pole Delanos -hated them in that Jake and every other Maruszczyk and Sandberg I've played, some of the most DEAD pickups I've ever experienced, moreso when compared to the real thing, Musicman-, can't remotely touch the J-buckers). There's many Schecter models that come with these pickups in a passive coil tappable configuration. Maybe they can sell you those pickups, them you'd need a couple switches to do the series/parallel/single coil tap thing, IME full pickup flexibility is where it's at with these J-buckers. Some call the CV-4/5 the "poor man's Roscoe Beck Jazz" but I much prefer how the Schecter plays (a much more comfortable neck, tighter spacing --a pro for me-) and sounds.

 

[chadface]

Here's the dip switches I referenced in my earlier post

 

[keyofnight]

Here's the dip switches I referenced in my earlier post
View attachment 3435081 View attachment 3435082

I remember messing with these settings so long ago. It sounded like junk flat, but the 1off/2on position helped a little. Thanks for sharing this.

 

[thebreakman]

I hate active pickups and electronics. I tried but they are not for me. Like you, cannot get a sound out of it I like.

 

[jw23mind]

I had an active Stilleto Extreme 5'er, and loved the feel/playability, but not the sound. A huge part of it was the way active interacts with fuzz pedals and dirt, sounded flat and harsh. Briefly considered modding it to passive and possibly different pickups, but also thought it a little too fancy-looking for me so sold it.
If you decide to try and mod the Schecter, I would suggest the following, echoing some of what others have already said:
1) strings; compare the two basses with the same(fresh) strings
2) Higher value control pots will raise the resonant frequency and make brighter
3) Go passive. Less hassle, and would put it more on-par with the Yamaha in the way it reacts with the rest of the rig.
4) Try different pickups. The last recommendation, as it is also the most expensive and not a sure thing.

 

[paul_car]

Wait up, dude! Don't do it yet! I skimmed all of the posts, and I think I know what's going on here. Coincidentally, this is one of the issues that brought me to TalkBass! (Btw, welcome! ) I went through a journey to get here, so get your juice box and blanket ready because it's story time.

I have an old Schecter C-5, which is a cousin to the Stiletto that uses the 5-string EMG-HZ size. I was not happy with the electronics at all—they sounded muddy. I found out that this bass comes with an EMG BTC preamp. I think the Stilettos do too. I found a few posts saying that some EMG preamps sound muddy with 9v and much better with 18v (edit: even better 24v)—the BTC was one of them. I wired in terminals for a second battery, and that really did help. You could try that. (Edit: they even sell battery pack mods you can just drop in, no soldering required.)

But it wasn't enough. The bass didn't sound BRIGHT enough. So, I took a look in the Invalid Link Removed and found the specs for the pickup. Apparently, for my EMG 40HZ, the resonant frequency changes drastically depending on what volume pots I use. This is pretty common knowledge about guitar electronics, but it was amazing to see just *how much* it changes for these pickups. For my 40HZ, it goes from 2600Hz with a 500KΩ pot to 4400Hz with a 1MΩ pot. For your 35HZ, it's from 2850Hz to 4900Hz. We all know that pots matter, and in my case, they really mattered. It was like my bass finally came alive. Maybe you can try this too?

That said, I still love the idea of getting me a Yamaha. The old BB5000 has this punchy, bright, full sound that I love. I might still get one of those. But I still love my Schecter, so I probably wouldn't replace it.

Edit—some closing thoughts: if you don't mind the idea of customizing your instrument to make it yours, a minor modification (more juice, different pre, or different pots) could make the EMG HZs sing. But if you just want to get what you want and get it over with? Yeah, go ahead and get the Yamaha.

that's really great info, thank you. I'll have to take my time and think about how much time I have to dedicate to modding it. Selling it isn't going to be quick either usually. I'm the kind of person that hates selling things (the process included) and I just add on. I told my wife, when I die, she has a lot of stuff to sell

 

[paul_car]

I must have missed something. If you like the sound of the Yamaha just play that. Problem solved. Get rid of the Schecter. They aren that great anyway and Yamaha is highly underrated.

I have a setup at home, and a setup at work. I can play my metal at concert volume before anyone gets to my office. I can't do that at home. I could trek the Yamaha back and forth (or on the weekends) but I just want to pull something off the wall and play when the mood strikes me. So I kind of need two bass guitars.

 

[TonyP-]

One thing about Schecters...

If you replace just the preamp (like I did on an Omen) with a Nordstrand Pre (which made a clarity difference) be sure to replace that battery.

That Overseas battery distorted with using it with a Nordstrand Pre. Once I changed it to a Duracell I was fine.

 

[TonyP-]

BTW This thread is great...I'm a Lull Endorser and it hard to compare anything to them.
However, I sometimes do not want to travel with (2) $4-5K basses.

I will say this to the OP - about Schecters and Yamaha (both offer good inexpensive basses)

I like the Schecter 5s because they are 35" scale. I agree the electronics are the Achilles hell on them, but more so the pre. Don't get stuck on necessarily changing the pickups. I only changed the Preamp and to me thats all I needed to do.

Yamahas are great and a little more traditional sounding so to speak but they are 34" scale.
If you don't want to mod to much and want that traditional tone go Yamaha

 

[Ronny Berry]

I improved my Schecter Omen-5 with an Aguilar preamp and Seymour Duncan pickups.

Do you recall the specific Aguilar preamp and S/D pickups models you picked...?

 

[City]

Do you recall the specific Aguilar preamp and S/D pickups models you picked...?

BBG 16169vP Prewire - Aguilar - Preamp - OBP-1 - 2-Pickup,4-Knob - V,Bl,T,B
System Voltage: 9v System
Pickup Impedance: For Passive Pickups

BBG 897 Seymour Duncan SSB-5S 5-String Pickup SET (these are passive pickups, so see above)

as you can see I had it prewired for me and then constructed the electronics to the pickups once they were shipped.

City