I have a 1999 Ibanez SR800 bass with stock electronics (see photo). I like the way this bass feels but the sound of the pickups is weak and thin – I’ve tried a few different string sets and none of them has really fixed the problem, so I am looking into pickup replacement now as a way to get this bass to be something that I’ll want to use. Selling the bass for a trade-in is not an option, this has sentimental value to me so upgrade is what I'm going for.
Current setup: Ibanez AFR-P and AFR-J pickups, the P is in reverse configuration. The jazz pickup is rather close to the bridge so it will be tight and bright no matter what I drop in. This is an active bass with a stock Ibanez vari-mid 3 band preamp (bass, treble, mid, and midrange sweep, all on two stacked pots). I don’t love this preamp – dialing in the midrange frequency is sort of finicky - but for now I plan to leave it as my budget only allows for one upgrade. I’m looking at about $200 here; I can go a little higher if it’s the right pickup but I’d like to stay close to that price point.
I have a couple of ideas in mind for pickups that I like the sound of, the DiMarzio Relentless PJ set and the EMG GZR set both sound good in demos that I’ve heard. I am open to suggestions for something along the same lines, as long as they are within my budget. What I am hoping to achieve from this change is a fatter, punchier sound that holds up to my fairly aggressive playing style. Nothing too scooped (SD Quarter Pounders just ain’t my cup of tea).
However, the main reason I’m putting this out here isn’t recommendations (I’ve read through a few other threads here on this subject, which is where I came by the two options I am currently considering). I’ve never done a pickup replacement job myself and am inexperienced when it comes to working with electronics. I can enlist some help from my Dad who is more knowledgeable but I’d also like to come in prepared. Are there any good overview tutorials about doing this sort of thing?
More specifically: The DiMarzio Relentless set has four wires for each, so that you can do series/parallel if you wish. I don’t think I will do this, but I’m unsure of what to do with the extra wires in that case. Also, the EMGs come as a solderless system; if I don’t want to use that (because I am keeping the preamp) I presume I can just trim the connectors off and strip the ends of the wires to solder as normal, correct? Finally, some of the EMG pickups offered on their site are active PICKUPS, which require a battery. I assume I would need a second battery in the cavity for the pickups, or would they also be able to run off the preamp battery?
Current setup: Ibanez AFR-P and AFR-J pickups, the P is in reverse configuration. The jazz pickup is rather close to the bridge so it will be tight and bright no matter what I drop in. This is an active bass with a stock Ibanez vari-mid 3 band preamp (bass, treble, mid, and midrange sweep, all on two stacked pots). I don’t love this preamp – dialing in the midrange frequency is sort of finicky - but for now I plan to leave it as my budget only allows for one upgrade. I’m looking at about $200 here; I can go a little higher if it’s the right pickup but I’d like to stay close to that price point.
I have a couple of ideas in mind for pickups that I like the sound of, the DiMarzio Relentless PJ set and the EMG GZR set both sound good in demos that I’ve heard. I am open to suggestions for something along the same lines, as long as they are within my budget. What I am hoping to achieve from this change is a fatter, punchier sound that holds up to my fairly aggressive playing style. Nothing too scooped (SD Quarter Pounders just ain’t my cup of tea).
However, the main reason I’m putting this out here isn’t recommendations (I’ve read through a few other threads here on this subject, which is where I came by the two options I am currently considering). I’ve never done a pickup replacement job myself and am inexperienced when it comes to working with electronics. I can enlist some help from my Dad who is more knowledgeable but I’d also like to come in prepared. Are there any good overview tutorials about doing this sort of thing?
More specifically: The DiMarzio Relentless set has four wires for each, so that you can do series/parallel if you wish. I don’t think I will do this, but I’m unsure of what to do with the extra wires in that case. Also, the EMGs come as a solderless system; if I don’t want to use that (because I am keeping the preamp) I presume I can just trim the connectors off and strip the ends of the wires to solder as normal, correct? Finally, some of the EMG pickups offered on their site are active PICKUPS, which require a battery. I assume I would need a second battery in the cavity for the pickups, or would they also be able to run off the preamp battery?
