Toby Pro 6 replacement pickups

[Paulhuntterry]

I recently bought a s/h Toby Pro 6. It plays great, I love the neck, but am not satisfied with the sound. The pre-amp seems poor, boosted bass is boomy and boosted treble just seems to add brittleness and hiss.
My main 4 string is a 1983 Aria pro Sb Elite 1 B&G with an emg replacement soapbar pickup (original one died years ago). It's running 18v, sounds very punchy and tight, and is the sound I am looking for from the Toby.
I have had a look through the emg website and documentation, and the 40 pickup size appears to be the one to fit the current pickup holes, but this is a 5 string pickup. I have read differing opinions on the maximum string spacing, one was 3.4 inch (which would be ok, bridge pickup spacing in 85mm/3.3 inch) and the other was 3.125 inch, too narrow.
I don't really want to start cutting the body around to take a 45 pickup, so has anyone used a 40 pickup in a Topy pro 6?
I'm thinking of a 40dc neck/40cs bridge, both with supplied vol/tone and adding a 3 way switch to select pickups. I've never been too keen on lots of onboard electronics, prefer to use the amps tone controls.
Any advice or opinions would be much appreciated.

 

[luknfur]

FWIW:

don't know if the EMG site lists dimensions for the pup but Bartolini does. Don't recall seeing them at EMG but they must be there somewhere cause the last thing you'd want as a maker is to encourage wasted emails or discourage someone from buying your pup just cause they can't tell if it'll fit. They should also have the spacing they'll cover listed. If they don't have either then they deserve such emails and I'd send them one. That's basic info.

The shape is exactly that and they put different pups in them so could be it varies depending on the one you buy. I had the DC40's but on a 4 string - didn't think much of them but the neck would probably be the best location for one. But then I wouldn't bother with the switch either cause it's redundant.

You might want to run the pups straight to the jack for a check. You basically said you think the pre sucks so why not find out. You may just need to get some pots and leave the pups put. If it has a passive switch that may give you some idea but it depends on how it's wired.

 

[CountBassy]

It's funny, I have the exact pickup configuration you're talking about in a Toby Pro 5 - 40DC in the neck and 40CS in the bridge. They were direct drop ins. I would think the 45s would go right in the cavities for your 6 string without routing, but couldn't say for sure.

By the way, IMO this bass sounds terrific with the EMGs, and the Toby has been my main gigging bass for years.

 

[Paulhuntterry]

I have what information is available from the EMG web site, so I know that 40 series pickups are 4" and 45 series are 4.5" tall. The PDF I got from the EMG site appears to be scanned, so the dimensions for the maximum string spacing are not that clear, and absent from the 40DC diagram.
The pickups on the Toby currently are 4.1", so the 45DC/CS would not fit without modifying the bass. 40DC/CS leaves a small gap, not a problem.
What I really need to know is if anyone has a toby pro 6 with the same height pickups, and has replaced them with EMG 40's or any other decent compatible pickups (bartollini etc.)
I'm having a go at bypassing the pre-amp this afternoon, but would like to fit some EMG's or similar eventually.