Putting in new pickups?

[blankrider]

Hey all,

I've wanted to have a pair of barts in a bass for a long time now, and I was thinking about investing in a set for either my ibanez 300dxl (jazz bridge + pbass neck) or my Schecter studio elite 5 (5 string soapbars duo). How would I go about installing the barts in either of these basses. Should I get a new preamp for my Schecter if i'm going to even bother upgrading it. The schecter is about as mellow as you can get right now (bubinga + mahogony)

I am leaning towards putting them in the schecter as I play that way more than my ibanez (even though I REALLY like the feel of the soundgear necks).

[thumbslam]

AAHHhh the pickups preamp switch-a-roo thing. Dude this is a street you will have to go down to cure your mental disease if your are like me. There are some really great sites out there with exact dimensions and helpful info. Bestbassgear.com rules BTW I have bought tons of stuff there. And always have a great experience.

Dude no matter what anyone says you will do want you want to anyway just like I did but please remember a couple of things after you realize 90% of the time it’s a mistake. Pickups and preamps are like rims on a car. You put $1000 rims on a Hyundai it still sucks but now it looks even dumber. Pickups only reproduce the tones of the bass they really don’t improve them so as awesome as any electronics or pickups could get if the bass is a lower end model it’s really won’t sound better actually it could get worse.

I have read threads on Talkbass years ago about this very same thing and most of the time everyone reported even after upgrading everything on an instrument that was underwhelming to begin with over and over they almost every single time sold it anyway and just lost their ass in the process. Even after being warned I upgraded 3 Euro Spectors at the cost of hundreds of dollars and sold them anyway. The one and only time for me it has been successful is this last time with a complete overhaul of my Warwick Streamer but now I have some hum crap I can’t figure out but that’s another story. Well good luck you’re going to do it anyway but just remember “I told ya so”. I’m not trying to be a prick man I swear I’m just trying to save you some time money and aggravation. It is cool to learn about it and try it out. Lefty wiring is enough to make you want jam a wire brush up your ass but it’s something us guys do I guess. The pickup thing not the brush. Sell the $400 basses and buy a good bass that sounds great off the wall…different rims on an Audi A8 will all look bad ass and will perform great. The same rims on a Prius will only make it suck more.

Please know this is just my experience and you may find completly different results after all I had a couple nice Fenders and sold them in weeks because I thought they were some of the worst made and sounding basses I ever owned. I know I could get stoned for that comment because other guys here have them and they sound increadible and I wish my tone was as good so don't listen to me.

[blankrider]

I sort of figured that

I like the sounds of my basses, just felt like seeing if I can get even more tonal variety. Although the Schecter is midrange (like $800 new), it really sounds / plays great. I guess I just wanted to see if I could make it sound even better.

I'll wait till my Carvin gets here to do anything

[glefty5]

A bass shop repair guy once told me "you can't polish a turd" when I asked about putting whizbang Barts in a cheapo bass. I thought it sounded better but maybe that was subliminal wishful thinking. The pups cost more than the bass so......

[Frenchy-Lefty]

Dude no matter what anyone says you will do want you want to anyway just like I did but please remember a couple of things after you realize 90% of the time it’s a mistake. Pickups and preamps are like rims on a car. You put $1000 rims on a Hyundai it still sucks but now it looks even dumber. Pickups only reproduce the tones of the bass they really don’t improve them so as awesome as any electronics or pickups could get if the bass is a lower end model it’s really won’t sound better actually it could get worse.

I have read threads on Talkbass years ago about this very same thing and most of the time everyone reported even after upgrading everything on an instrument that was underwhelming to begin with over and over they almost every single time sold it anyway and just lost their ass in the process

I can't agree more - I spent thousand of dollars trying to upgrade some basses that were not worth it. Afterward I thought "damn it, with all this money, I could have bought the bass of my dreams".

[pjmuck]

Well I'm going to respectfully disagree.

True, you can't polish a turd, but you can certainly tame the smell. All right, bad pun. But in my experience, I've found that the ONE thing that can drastically change an instrument's tone for the better is replacing the PUP(s). Granted, it won't make up for a lousy build, bad pots, hardware, etc., but it's usually a good first start. The Fralin I just recently dropped in my '73 P was like night and day compared to the original PUP. Not even close.

[andrew]

I am leaning towards putting them in the schecter as I play that way more than my ibanez (even though I REALLY like the feel of the soundgear necks).

Do you play the Schecter more because you like the tone or the feel of the bass?

[andrew]

Well I'm going to respectfully disagree.

True, you can't polish a turd, but you can certainly tame the smell. All right, bad pun. But in my experience, I've found that the ONE thing that can drastically change an instrument's tone for the better is replacing the PUP(s). Granted, it won't make up for a lousy build, bad pots, hardware, etc., but it's usually a good first start. The Fralin I just recently dropped in my '73 P was like night and day compared to the original PUP. Not even close.

I agree with Peter on this.

And I too put a Fralin in my '73 P-bass.

[blankrider]

I am leaning towards putting them in the schecter as I play that way more than my ibanez (even though I REALLY like the feel of the soundgear necks).

Do you play the Schecter more because you like the tone or the feel of the bass?

it really depends. For what I play, the tone of the Schecter is much better suited (jazz, smooth stuff, latin). Maybe my ibanez isn't adjusted right, but the schecter has no fretbuzz, while i've had issues with my ibanez on the first fret. Maybe it just needs a setup. However, i LOVE the ibanez soundgear necks. They are fast, straight, and narrow.

[velalv]

I just took PJ's suggestion recently on putting in a new pickup into my Squire P-Bass. I ended up buying the 62 RI/ Custom Shop P Bass pickup and dropped it into my Squire P-Bass without redoing any of the wiring, and it was a significant improvement over the stock pups. I also just got some TI flats to replace the very worn stock roundwounds that came with the bass.

I don't think that sound nails the american p-bass sound exactly, but it gets about 80% of the way there for, in my case, about $50. My bandmates definitely noticed it.

I bet it would have gotten closer if I improved the wiring and pots, but found myself suddenly short on funds. I also wonder if the difference in tone also comes from the woods. The Squire p-bass is made of agathis instead of alder.

[blankrider]

Good to hear it had such a good impact on your tone

And from what i've read here (I'm not an expert), the wood has HUGE impacts on tone. Wood density, type, etc all have impact on the tone

[Frenchy-Lefty]

My guitar tech is currently installing the same pickups (Fender 62' originals) and I have the same strings (TIs flats) on my Am Std P Bass. Sometimes next week, I'll record some sound clips so that you can get an idea of how the wood affect the sound.