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Upgrading Electronics. Need Advice.

H

hakim

Jan 21, 2009
44
0
New York, NY
hakimcallier.wordpress.com
#1
Hi All,

Its been a while since I posted. I am a beginner (5 months) but my chops are getting better man. I really love this instrument. Anyway can somebody tell me what pickups I should upgrade to for an Ibanez SR300?

The SR300 comes with two soap bar pickups that have a peculiar curve to match the fretboard.

I play mostly Indie Rock, Blues and Some Hip Hop. I like a very deep bass sound that sounds great with lots of distortion and echo. I know very little about pickups and strings and I'm trying to learn. If you could also recommend some strings that would be great but the pickup is a real need now as far as I know.

Thanks Hakim.:hyper:
 
#2
Are you sure you need new pickups? Distortion and "echo" (reverb is the term) can be had from effects. If you like deep bass you could try making some changes on your amp's EQ first. Also, flatwound strings can give you a nice deep thumpy sound. The curvature (radius) won't be a problem if you decide to get new pups, but you will need to measure them or do some research to see what pups will fit your bass.
 
#3
Zombbg4 said:
Are you sure you need new pickups?
Click to expand...
I don't know if I need new ones... but I would assume that custom pups sound much better than stock ones.

Zombbg4 said:
Also, flatwound strings can give you a nice deep thumpy sound.
Click to expand...
I tried flatwounds on a hollow body once... not my cup of tea.

Zombbg4 said:
The curvature (radius) won't be a problem if you decide to get new pups, but you will need to measure them or do some research to see what pups will fit your bass.
Click to expand...
OK thanks for the advice. I must sound like an idiot to you vets?
 
#4
Don't feel dumb! This is the place to learn. Ok, so New Custom pups= Better sound is not exactly true. Going custom can get very close to the sound you describe to the maker which otherwise would not available. First off, its going to be very expensive. As a beginner I doubt you need a pickup that specialized but if you have the cash, go ahead. What I would recomend is to keep your pups and persue your desired sound via EQ and technique- "tone is in the hands" as they say. Now if you've given both a shot and spent some time at it and still can't get the sound you want , then look at some pups. Do some research to see/hear what certain pups sound like and pick what best suits your needs. Also, the flats on a hollow body will sound much different than on a solid body. Anyway, good luck on your quest for tone!
 
#11
Before going to the trouble, and probably somewhat unpredictable results, of new pickups, why don't you try something like a Boss GEB-7 EQ pedal, or Sansamp Bass Driver/DI? With either, you can dial in a wide variety of tone and/or boost. Your current pups will probably sound great with this kind of enhancement, and the cost is going to be in a similar range to buying new pickups.

BTW, given the amp that you've been using, you probably don't really know what your bass actually sounds like yet...
 
#12
kcbassy said:
Before going to the trouble, and probably somewhat unpredictable results, of new pickups, why don't you try something like a Boss GEB-7 EQ pedal, or Sansamp Bass Driver/DI?
Click to expand...
That is actually what I did. After Zombbg4 suggested EQ I went and bought an MXR DI + and now I get a really good tone. The gate on the MXR works well to take away the clangs, I have a very low action. I also bought an Orange Crush 20... I'm hoping this helps.:hyper:
 
#14
Hakim, what context are you using the amp in? I'm not familiar with the Orange Crush, but you might find it underpowered depending on what you use it for. It's pretty important to get the amp and speaker cabinet in order before trying to figure out what your pickups are and aren't doing right. Best of luck with it! Should definitely be a substantial step up from the Epiphone.
 
#15
The Orange Crush is a small guitar practice amp. We have one that sits on my bench at the workshop.

It might be cool for a distorted bass tone, but wouldn't get a lot of low end needed for bass.

So I think it would be best to get a real bass amp and get your distortion through a pedal.
 
#17
Oh OK.... didn't know they made a small bass amp.

If you are lacking highs recording direct, it's because you need an impedance converting device.

The output of an amp without the speaker might be too harsh sounding, which is why amp modelers have speaker emulators.

But if you like the tone, that's all that counts.

My mixer has a hi-z input. I prefer to record the bass clean, and then add effects later.
 

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