considering a bartolini mmc

[Aragorn35016]

arab at topeka ks.


tk

I live in a town called Arab

 

[Mobay45]

I live in a town called Arab

HEY! I knew that!

 

[Mobay45]

Used to do so. Not really active now other than to support the children.

tk

I'm currently the Pres. of the Texas Shrine Drum Corps Association. I'll be glad when it's done so that I can go back to just playing soprano bugle for them.

 

[tkarter]

You are busy brother. it is all good

tk

 

[tkarter]

We better knock it off this is looking like the shriners against bart thread here LOL


tk

 

[skabassist13]

To paraphrase yet again something Todd Rundgren once said, "If I want to get a certain noise, and I have to hit the mixing board with a hammer to get it, I'll go find a hammer."

And I remember when Ian Paice of Deep Purple used to nearly destroy his drums at the end of the show, he'd kick them over and bash them and go all Townsend on them, and critics would give him crap about it. He said, "They're mine and I'll bloody well kick them if I want to."

That is my entire opinion about this. It's YOUR instrument, not mine. I like the stock electronics, but if I ever got a hankerin' to slap something else in one of my basses, I damned sure would.

Bovine speaks. The matter is ended. All hail almighty Lord Bongo.

But in all seriousness, now that this is resolved we should probably try to help this guy out and answer his question.

 

[tkarter]

I would try to help out if I knew what a Bart on an EB bass sounded like. I think there is only one here that really knows and it was said in a different thread. I just din't search. Imagine that


tk

 

[bovinehost]

I honestly have no freakin' idea what a Bart sounds like in a Stingray or I'd for sure be tellin' it, brethren.

I know this. I've had Barts on a number of other basses (okay, Laklands, if we must know) and I didn't care for them one bit.

Pickups are very personal, though. One of my best bassist buddies loves those Barts and hates DiMarzio Ultra-Jazz, which I like a LOT, and yet we both sound good playing our respective basses.

He's an old jazzer, and I mean REAL jazz, not that greasy crap I hear way too much of lately, and I'm an old rock and roller, and that may have something to do with it.

Or not.

Who knows?

 

[bassmonkeee]

Bovine speaks. The matter is ended. All hail almighty Lord Bongo.

But in all seriousness, now that this is resolved we should probably try to help this guy out and answer his question.

Now, technically, he was simply agreeing with ME with that post. He just added a Todd Rundgren quote and went that extra mile. I brought Shriners into the thread, though, and that's got to count for something!

And, his question was answered with a great link to a MM pickup comparison thread at Talkbass by someone who obviously has more experience with swapping out pickups than the Orthodox MM owners represented here.

 

[bovinehost]

Now, technically, he was simply agreeing with ME with that post. He just added a Todd Rundgren quote and went that extra mile. I brought Shriners into the thread, though, and that's got to count for something!

I am almost always, technically, agreeing with you. Although let's admit it - you're a bit more prickly than am I. I have my moments, sure, but you can be so....well, bassmonkee-ish. Were I not a moderator, which is a heavy load, to be sure...well, but that way lies madness.

Hee hee.

I do have to reign my natural sarcasm in sometimes. When that happens, I often resort to the Vonnegut-esque "WTF are we doing here?" response.

When in doubt, go Vonnegut - that's my advice.

 

[mike jungle]

i don't quite understand the site. i haven't fully gone through it yet...but did he do this on a mtd kingston with a musicman preamp?
i'm confused.

heheheh...i like the response in this thread. i was expecting everyone to back up 83, but thankfully, no one is. i hate it when people believe that an item can't be made greater by adding aftermarket parts. it's like...i could like everything else about the bass, but dislike the pickups. is that a sin? ****. and i hate it even more when those people talk crap about you in your thread.
i'm being a bit childish. i'll stop.

anyway...thanks for the responses.

 

[bassmonkeee]

I am almost always, technically, agreeing with you. Although let's admit it - you're a bit more prickly than am I. I have my moments, sure, but you can be so....well, bassmonkee-ish. Were I not a moderator, which is a heavy load, to be sure...well, but that way lies madness.

Hee hee.

I do have to reign my natural sarcasm in sometimes. When that happens, I often resort to the Vonnegut-esque "WTF are we doing here?" response.

When in doubt, go Vonnegut - that's my advice.

Well, you'll usually know where I stand. I was kidding about the whole "He was only agreeing with me" thing. Hence, the use of bold and all caps on ME.

And, if I reign in the sarcasm, I twitch and fall down.



One of my favorite guest lecturers I've seen in my life was Kurt Vonnegut. Absolutely amazing. Seen lots of amazing people (James Burke, Douglas Adams, Jello Biafra, Dith Pran, etc, etc), but Kurt was something special.

Where's the cat? Where's the cradle?!?

 

[nismaniac]

i've heard good things about this pickup...is there anyone who's tried it that has any opinions on it?

do i need to buy a bartolini preamp too or will the pickup go well with the existing preamp? i've heard mixed opinions on this.

anyway...thanks.

-Mike

I have the Barts in my Lakland. They are a smooth, natural, less agressive sounding pickup. I think they sound really good but it is a matter of personal taste and your current playing situation that should be the deciding factors. I would assume that putting a bart in a stingray or SR5 etc would have an overall softening effect on the bass. The preamps will make a difference, but the general characteristics I would give to the bart pickups are smooth, natural, refined, pure. Those are just the words that come to my head when I think of the tone. These are purely subjective. Good luck

 

[oldbluebassman]

i've heard good things about this pickup...is there anyone who's tried it that has any opinions on it?

do i need to buy a bartolini preamp too or will the pickup go well with the existing preamp? i've heard mixed opinions on this.

anyway...thanks.

-Mike

I have a Bart on one of my SR5s. I agree with nismaniac about the softening and purity of the tone, however it still retains retains that beautiful MM growl, which I think is more to do with position. It was fitted to the bass when I bought it along with an Aguiller OBP-3 pre-amp which complements it very well and seems slightly less agressive than the stock pre-amp. I run it with the bass full up, treble flat and the mid selected to 800Hz and about 3/4 up. That surprises a lot of people but it gives a really good mid boost, cuts right through the mix without sacrificing any low end.

I've just fitted a Nordstrand 5.3 to my other SR5 just to see what the differences are but to be honest I'm not sure I can really tell. I need to gig it a bit. I tried a pre-EB 2-band in the SR5 to see if I could get a similar sound to my pre-EB SR4. I'll have to try the Nordstrand, which is Alnico, and the 2-band and see what that sounds like.

 

[cgworkman]

I'm going to get in on this while it lasts...

IMO the stock pup in a SR or SR5 is great. IMO there's no need to ever repalce it barring a defect.

Having said that, there are a lot of instruments out there that the factory pups suck. Hands down. MM isn't one of them.

People swap pups for many reasons. No one has ever said they were swapping pups due to the MM stock pup being trash. So, I agree, some people need to chill.

I can get the sounds I want from the stock pup. I think it's great.

In the end, there isn't only one pup. However, I bet EB would rather sell basses and have the pups changed out than not sell basses at all.

We live in a custom world these days people. Get over it.

I would like to get some fancy knobs

 

[Rayan]

My200BuckZ

I'm going to get in on this while it lasts...

IMO the stock pup in a SR or SR5 is great.

Having said that, there are a lot of instruments out there that the factory pups suck. Hands down. MM isn't one of them.

People swap pups for many reasons. No one has ever said they were swapping pups due to the MM stock pup being trash. So, I agree, some people need to chill.

I can get the sounds I want from the stock pup. I think it's great.

In the end, there isn't only one pup. However, I bet EB would rather sell basses and have the pups changed out than not sell basses at all.

We live in a custom world these days people. Get over it.

I would like to get some fancy knobs

Very well said !!!

One of the reasons I posted recently,
asking about certain online ads
schlocking used MM basses with "Upgraded" offbrand pups
was because I wanted to get to the 'bottom' of this matter ...

I have no prob with folks swapping pups - that's their biz ...
& no prob with folks saying "such & such is better IMHO" ...

But I have no confidence
in a supposedly respected (EBMM Authorized) retailer
that promotes offbrand pups as an "Upgrade"
without the IMHO qualifier

It makes me wonder if they're
dishonest, simple-minded, simply-greedy,
uninformed, uninspired, presuming, or whatever
& I will NOT deal with such a retailer

If I'm looking for an alternative sound to stock issue
I want some assurance
that a retailer or repairman supplying the products
has some knowledge, expertise, AND integrity,
and is doing so to "serve my needs and requests",
which should include at least
a brief and honest discussion of pros and cons -
but not to just "make a buck" as fast and easy as possible

I don't need to pay good money to an EBMM Authorized retailer
for what any @$$#013 can do with a screwdriver and soldering iron -
(or to blow $un$hine up my @$$)

As uzual, it's
Buyer Beware
Which begins to raise another matter
But that's another topic
For another day

GottaGo
BongoHunting
By&Buy

/R

 

[word]

in contrast to most of the other posters here, i've actually played bartolini MMC pickups in 1) a fretless stingray, 2) a fretted stingray, and 3) a passive OLP direct to the jack, 4) and even in a cutlass.

i do not like this pickup in any bass that i've played it in. i even preferred the stock OLP pickup to it. i do love the barts in my pedulla, tho. hope this helps you some in making your choice.

 

[Rayan]

Tinkering&Tonkering

Neither do I have enough SR5s
nor am I dissatisfied with the two I have
enough to experiment on them
with offbrand pups

When I decide I need Bartolini pups
I'll get Mike Kinal to supply them -
he charges a bit more than parts suppliers
but his price includes a
free, custom, 100% handcrafted bass

/R

 

[hands 5]

congrats.

nothing like destroying the resale value of your bass.

Not really

 

[bassmonkeee]

Not really

Did this thread really need to be revived for that bit of enlightening commentary?