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Schecter Pickup Musings

BeowulfKingsley

BeowulfKingsley

Nov 9, 2010
259
87
Ann Arbor Michigan
www.beowulfkingsley.com
#1
I bought a Schecter Diamond Elite 5 string...again. I got one and sold it a while back. So this is number two. Very nice basses to play, but I'm starting to think the pickups are not working for me. Perhaps I need to spend more time tweaking the setup, but these EMGs seem to be hard to tune in to what I like...I do a lot of old-school R&B, Blues and older Funk stuff, and I'm having trouble dialing in those old tones on this thing. Using a GK 1001RB with a Greenboy Designs F112 cab. Any suggestions? I very much like the design and the woodworking of these basses, and if I had a clue as to how to get the sound I'd want out of it I'd even consider grabbing the Stiletto 6, which looks to be a very similar model. I'm open to new pickups, or to different strategies to working with these existing ones. Thanks!
 
#2
Your Elite 5 has factory installed EMG-HZ p/u's in it. It's a matter of personal taste regarding them, but I've always felt the HZ's were thin sounding and never to my liking. I've owned 2 Diamond Elite 5's in the past and like yourself really liked the playability and feel of each bass, but not the tone they produced. The second one I bought I replaced the EMG-HZ's with a pair of EMG 40P5 p/u's (P-bass p/u's in a soap bar casing) and added an Aguliar OPB-2 preamp to it. That combo hit the nail on the head tone wise for me by producing deep solid bass and excellent mid and upper tones. Ultimately, I sold that bass but if I was ever to buy another Elite 5, I wouldn't hesitate to do the same thing again.

Regarding the Stiletto 6, they too also come with factory installed EMG-HZ p/u's. If you want to change them and stay with EMG's, you move up in p/u size to any of the 45 models. Check out EMG's website and look at "Soapbar" pickups. You'll see they have an excellent selection of p/u's available that will fit either Stiletto 5 or 6 to choose from.

TD
 
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#3
Old skool R&B, blues and funk? I hate to say it, but soapbar pickups are going to be an uphill battle for that vibe. Passive split P's for R&B and blues (funk as well), maybe a MM humbucker for agressive funk stuff. Methinks you may be using a tool made for heavier rock to get an old skool tone!
 
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#4
I'm inclined to agree that the pickups in this may not be voiced optimally for the music I like to play, but as I say I'm open to experimenting, either with the existing pickups or replacements, since I like the rest of the instrument. I played primarily Jazz Bass for literally decades, but for years now I've been using a Kawai FB2, which has soapbars, and it's worked quite well for those styles. I just feel like those EMGs are voiced funny...perhaps indeed more for heavy rock. I can't quite define what I don't like, it seems that there's lots of high and low end but something seems missing in the midrange.
 
#8
scotch said:
Old skool R&B, blues and funk? I hate to say it, but soapbar pickups are going to be an uphill battle for that vibe. Passive split P's for R&B and blues (funk as well), maybe a MM humbucker for agressive funk stuff. Methinks you may be using a tool made for heavier rock to get an old skool tone!
Click to expand...
Its funny....because I would have thought the same thing.

I'm totally surprised by Schecters and find them the most underrated company on the market.
I can only speak on the Damien Elite 5 that has a 3 band EQ. The Damien Elite 5 has 2 musicman style humbuckers, if I add just a hair of bass, a hair of mids and cut the highs the same (just barley) you can get a killer old school vibe with all that superior playing for next to nothing in price.
 
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#10
scotch said:
I wasn't commenting on Schecters, just that soapbars aren't the obvious choice for 'old skool' funk.
Click to expand...
Oh Yeah...No I understood, what you were saying.
I'm just suprisded how well a little EQ creates a quick old school vibe with humbuckers...IMO

Cheers
 
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