Pickups for a roasted swamp ash body

[BearClawProduct]

Hello,

Couple years back I built a warmoth bass trying a roasted Swamp ash body. I put two Nordstrand big rigs in it bc I liked how the it sounded as a neck pickup paired with a super double in a previous build. I’ve hated the tone since building it. I tend to prefer a bright sounding bass that cuts, but this one came out wooly and a bit muddy. Warmoth describes the wood as leaning towards brighter. I’m not sure if it’s the bridge pickup also being a big rig, but I hate this tone. Should I assume the issue is the pickups or the wood? Additionally should I just lean into the wooly sound? I have the pickups routed to EMG 35 size, but don’t usually like the EMG sound: bland (outside of the victor wooten pickup combo). Any advice would be welcome since the resell on Warmoths are bad value, I’d like to just get it playing where I like it.

 

[JRA]

Should I assume the issue is the pickups or the wood?

whatever your assumptions/beliefs are about "tonewood," you can actually change the pickups (and how about pickup height with the ones you already have?) and the strings.

i'd play with pickup height first, but swapping pickups could very well be on my list of options, especially if i was stuck on the strings for some reason.

but you might mention your preamp/control configuration, too, so others will have a chance at a more thorough evaluation. good luck!

 

[sikamikanico]

Yeah, setup and technique first. Then strings. For setup, pickup height directly influences tone, but I find it that action is also important as it interacts with technique, and strings. And for strings, I find it that each bass usually works best with a different set of strings, and each set needs setup tweaks.

Also influential are electronics. Key for passive electronics is keeping an eye on loading, and of course be mindful about series/parallel wiring. Discovering loading caps opened up things for me, where I default to parallel wiring (and minimum pots/resistive loading) for clear and clean sounds, then darken to taste. If your big rigs are wired in series I’d recommend trying parallel and loading caps. Consider wiring direct to output jack too.

 

[micguy]

Hello,

Couple years back I built a warmoth bass trying a roasted Swamp ash body. I put two Nordstrand big rigs in it bc I liked how the it sounded as a neck pickup paired with a super double in a previous build. I’ve hated the tone since building it. I tend to prefer a bright sounding bass that cuts, but this one came out wooly and a bit muddy. Warmoth describes the wood as leaning towards brighter. I’m not sure if it’s the bridge pickup also being a big rig, but I hate this tone. Should I assume the issue is the pickups or the wood? Additionally should I just lean into the wooly sound? I have the pickups routed to EMG 35 size, but don’t usually like the EMG sound: bland (outside of the victor wooten pickup combo). Any advice would be welcome since the resell on Warmoths are bad value, I’d like to just get it playing where I like it.

I have built a bunch of basses with Warmoth roasted Swamp ash bodies. Several of them are plenty bright sounding, some not so much. If you have a wooly sounding bass with that body wood, it's the pickups and/or how they are wired.

Big Rigs have 4 conductor wiring, and will brighten up some if you wire them in parallel. As they "listen" to the strings at two points, there is an upper mid dip that will limit that somewhat. But.....

If you wire the neck and bridge as single coils, and combine the "neckmost" coil on the neck pickup and the "bridgemost" coil on the bridge pickup, that combination will hum cancel, and will cut just fine - with no upper mid dip. You can also use the other 2 coils (the inner coils geometrically) for a similar, though somewhat different sound that'll cut and hum cancel, again with no mid dip. You have several options with the pickups you have that will sound quite different, if you experiment a bit.

 

[Malak the Mad]

I’ll second what @sikamikanico say; go through a “process of elimination” starting with the least expensive steps, first;

1. Pickup height. Compare the sound you get at different positions. It costs you nothing but time.
2. Strings. It’s the first thing that interacts with the pickups. Less costly than new pickups.
3. Pickups/electronics. This should be the last resort.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

Hello,

Couple years back I built a warmoth bass trying a roasted Swamp ash body. I put two Nordstrand big rigs in it bc I liked how the it sounded as a neck pickup paired with a super double in a previous build. I’ve hated the tone since building it. I tend to prefer a bright sounding bass that cuts, but this one came out wooly and a bit muddy. Warmoth describes the wood as leaning towards brighter. I’m not sure if it’s the bridge pickup also being a big rig, but I hate this tone. Should I assume the issue is the pickups or the wood? Additionally should I just lean into the wooly sound? I have the pickups routed to EMG 35 size, but don’t usually like the EMG sound: bland (outside of the victor wooten pickup combo). Any advice would be welcome since the resell on Warmoths are bad value, I’d like to just get it playing where I like it.

What strings? Once I get the setup right for my preference I start with any sort of decent rounds and go from there but something in rounds seems in order.