No they are both the SX pickups, sorry for the confusion.
I got the Antiquity IIs as well as a new wiring harness a week ago but the bridge pickup was broken. I am in the process of getting a new one. I sent it out to Seymour Duncan yesterday.
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Sounclips - SX J Bass pickups
- Thread starter Ryan Mohr
- Start date
I got the Antiquity IIs as well as a new wiring harness a week ago but the bridge pickup was broken. I am in the process of getting a new one. I sent it out to Seymour Duncan yesterday.
Ok, I look forward to hearing the A II's then as it's one type of PU I'm looking at for a later time.
Sounds like a J-bass with no EQ ... its got some character and is something that seems workable. That's good news since it means the bass isn't whack. The AIIs should start you out with more bottom end, but EQ is still going to be essential. What amp are you using?
umph lives between 80 and 200hz.
It is a workable sound, but I would like a more workable sound without so much EQ.
I am using a Fender Bassman 150. I typically boost around 400 Hz for some punch, and other times around 200 Hz for a fatter punch.
It was SMASH's review that really made me want these pickups
I have no idea about the wire, whatever it is that duncan is doing with those it sounds great. I think it is the best J-bass pickup around. If you end up unsatisfied with them, I'll buy them from you.
The thing is all the clips you post of your favorite tones are EQd and compressed J basses ... a J bass of any kind is not a super-fat sounding bass. Its real clear and crisp, with some meat but not a ton. Then you pump it up at the amp or at mixdown if neccesary.
If you take a J-bass, boost at 200, cut around 600, and leave the highs alone ... you end up with a nice fat, thick, punchy low mid sound.
If you boost with a broad band EQ at 40 and 4k, you end up with another kind of fat sound ... big supportive fatness that sits under the mix and pokes out up top ... smooth and scoopy.
Both of these tones benefit from some good compression.
Pickup swaps are much more about hair-splitting than any of that. Given that sound clip, I would probably save the money on the pickups and start saving up for a bigger and better amp (probably an ampeg given your taste -- J-basses love ampegs) and compressor.
If you want to hear a flat J-bass in a mix, pop in some old Van Halen.
The thing is all the clips you post of your favorite tones are EQd and compressed J basses ... a J bass of any kind is not a super-fat sounding bass. Its real clear and crisp, with some meat but not a ton. Then you pump it up at the amp or at mixdown if neccesary.
If you take a J-bass, boost at 200, cut around 600, and leave the highs alone ... you end up with a nice fat, thick, punchy low mid sound.
If you boost with a broad band EQ at 40 and 4k, you end up with another kind of fat sound ... big supportive fatness that sits under the mix and pokes out up top ... smooth and scoopy.
Both of these tones benefit from some good compression.
Pickup swaps are much more about hair-splitting than any of that. Given that sound clip, I would probably save the money on the pickups and start saving up for a bigger and better amp (probably an ampeg given your taste -- J-basses love ampegs) and compressor.
If you want to hear a flat J-bass in a mix, pop in some old Van Halen.
I read your EQ settings with interest. I have an Acoustic B200H amp and I'm not totally sure what settings I'd put to get that nice fat, thick, punchy low mid sound you're talking about. My SX bass is stock with Rotosound Swing 66 strings.
Here's the EQ panel configuration:
Preamp;
Gain
Volume
Frequency (with Notch)
Equalizer;
63
150
350
800
2K
5K
What would you recommend?
Here's the EQ panel configuration:
Preamp;
Gain
Volume
Frequency (with Notch)
Equalizer;
63
150
350
800
2K
5K
What would you recommend?
Those are trippy EQ points, but basically a small boost on 63 and 350, a bigger boost on 150, a small cut on 800, and maybe a small boost on 5k. Make a smooth-ish curve with the sliders, and also experiment with cutting 2k depending on the bass.
I got the pickups yesterday from Seymour Duncan after inquiring about the broken pickups on monday and shipping them out on tuesday. That was a fairly impressive on their part.
I intend to keep them because I am really focusing on this J Bass as my main player. I have already replaced all the hardware, bridge, pickguard, wiring harness, and now pickups. As you said, they are one of the best J Bass pickup sets on the market, maybe even the best for a fatter tone. I have been swamped with work this week but when I do get the chance to install them I will report back.
Yeah I know the J Bass is know for its pureness, versatility, and growl, but a fat, warm, punch and articulate J bass tone with a little growl is my favorite tone out there. This is a great example - - You can really hear the bass by itself after 2:35. I know he is running through Aguilar gear but that is a fat Jazz to begin with. It's a '66 which supposedly were fatter sounding.
Regarding the EQ, I only have one low mid parametic band on my Fender Bassman 150. It runs from 150 Hz to 1.5 kHz, with 700 Hz in the in 12 o'clock position. I typically boost at 10 o'clock which I am assuming is around 400 or 500 Hz. I like the midrange punch this adds to my tone, while still fattening up the bottom a little and not being high enough to enhance any grind or highs. I will try 200 Hz but I can't cut 600 Hz at the same time. The high mids start at 800 Hz so I could cut there a little... It's hard to pin point exact frequencies because the pot isn't linear.
A boost at 40 Hz and 4 kHz would be like the Sadowsky sound right. A refined, fat, more modern J bass tone I
would think.
I do have a BBE Opto Stomp.
I plan on buying a Little Mark II at some point because that is the only head in my price range that seems appealing. I will probably get Avatar or used Aguilar cabs. Maybe 112s or a 212. Ampeg or Mesa would be nice but I can't afford them.
On a side note, when I tried to first install the Antiquity II bridge pickup in my SX, the pickup height was way too low with the tubing so I used the springs from my SX pups. Is this common?
Paul's tone on those clips is not the flat sound of his bass. He uses a gas cooker DI and it is professionally EQ'd to perfection. In other clips he gets more mids and it sounds like they mic'd up one of his DB cabinets. There is no set of pickups that will get you that sound (though starting with great pickups will certainly help).
The limited EQ is one big reason I was suggesting a different amp. LMII + GS212 could be cool.
The limited EQ is one big reason I was suggesting a different amp. LMII + GS212 could be cool.
Yeah I know that, but it's a fairly good representation of the bass's sound because it is DI'd not mic'd. What frequency point(s) would you boost or cut to make the Antiquity IIs sound more "perfect". I know this is subjective but you seem to be fairly knowledgable on the subject.
I have been trying to understand the EQ on my amp lately, but I have been playing through my Squier P Bass so I'm sure it will be different for the J bass. I will probably put the Antiquity IIs in tonight. Everyone says that have a ton of bottom so I will keep the bass flat. I normally leave the treble and high mids flat. Sometimes I will cut 800 Hz to smooth out the sound or boost 800 Hz for some pickstyle grind. I usually boost in the the 200-500 Hz region, and I will fine tune that later on. I usually boost the low mids to 2 o'clock, which is about 6 dBs. Anything more than that the mids start to take over the sound.
My eq isn't that limited, and I would think it would be limited even more on the LMII because of the set frequency points. Here's the front panel of my amp - [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] Regarding the Aguilar cabs, I think I would like the "full low end, punch midrange, and smooth high end" of the DB series than the deep low end, somewhat scooped midrange and extend high end of the GS series. This is just from what I have read so I may be wrong, but generally I like vintage more than modern. However, the Avatar cabs are much cheaper and are supposed to have good tone as well. Many have said that they have a lot of midrange, which isn't a bad thing IMO.
