Should I Replace My Bass...?

keep it, mod it with Delano, Norstrand or some other fully passive pup. In fact you could install a humbucking J style pup - which other than the wiring would keep your bass "stock" and silent.

Keep in mind that single coils can be very "aggressive" sounding, often more so than humbuckers. If I want some snarl and attack I'll go to single coil on my basses that are wired to accomodate this.

 

They do. It just seems like you know what you want already. Getting nasty won't get you any love here...

If you want EMG's or Barts, then go get them. I don't think the EMG's will get you the sound you're after. You can't really apply the "They work well on guitar so they must work well on bass" theory though...because it isn't the case. Some people like them and some don't. Les Claypool likes them, I don't...and I'm not alone.

 

i thought "thaught" was spelled with an "o".

 

You're clearly not happy with the Soundgear, and the price of routing and replacing the pickups with humbuckers would most likely cost you more than selling the bass and buying the ont you want. Also, you can't mod the 885 to have a longer scale length, so I'd advise against throwing your money into modding it. I'd also wait until I tried the new bass out in the studio before getting a new set of pickups for it; you might like it just as it is.

 

i'd go for the spector elite
or go for delano pickups with thicker gauge steel strings
http://www.delano.de/english/index-eng.html
no routing required all the tone you can handle
especially the JMVC4 FE model

 

You can always look at the ESP F-405FM



http://www.espguitars.com/

Construction / Scale : Neck-Thru-Body / 35”
Body : Mahogany w/ Flamed Maple Top
Neck / Fingerboard : 5-Pc. Maple-Walnut / Rosewood
Nut Type / Width : Standard / 47mm
Neck Shape : Extra Thin U
Inlays : Custom Tribal
Frets : 24 XJ
Bridge / Tailpiece
Pickups : EMG 40DC Active Set
Electronics :Vol / Bal w/ EMG B64 3-Band Active EQ

Sounds like your ticket. Shame about the looks. Too metal for me, bordering cheesy.

EMG pickups are popular in metal (Spectors, ESP, Schecter). Generalising, but Bartolinis are considered warmer, EMG have more of a clean, modern tone. Clean deep bass, crunchy highs. Neckthrough improves sustain, so does the long scale, just like the guitars. As for tone woods, I don't know exactly how much of an impact it has in a neckthrough. But mahogany is heavier than basswood (very light, like swamp ash). Mahogany is suppose to give nice punchy lows.

my $0.02.

 

ESP is a well respected manufacturer. It's not just about the looks, they are quality. This model is brand new 2007.

ESP LTD F255 : 540 euros / $470
ESP LTD F405 : 870 euros / $760 (estimated)

prices : http://www.thomann.de , http://www.musiciansfriend.com

 

Yeah, schecter or ibby should do fine for metal. Which one, I guess it's a matter of personnal preference. They both have their fans, and quality-wise, sound as a pound. I would go with schecters, personnaly. I like the look of the custom, there don;t seem to be much difference between te custom and the elite. Same pickups apparently, same everything except the finish.

EDIT : Oh right. One is bolt on, one is neckthrough. hmm.... I'd go with the NT, personnal preference.

 

but a lot of really expensive basses are neck through
its a matter of personal preference, and neck through's are not necessarily darker, ricks are neck through, is still say go with the schector neck through

 

this thread is going to cause so much pain and agony i can just feel it

anyway, to the matter at hand, since you play metal and other heavier stuff, i'd suggest going with active pickups, nordstrand pickups are usually nice, but im not sure how they respond tonally, but buying high end active pickups with an active preamp will run you as much as it will to buy a new bass, but it basically comes down to whether you like the sound you get from the basses you like to see, and the pickups you want to get, very tough decision, im also debating on what to do with my own bass.