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Franky

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Oct 18, 2004
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NSW, Australia
what is the difference in sound between...

  • Bartolini MM pickup
  • Basslines Pickup
  • Lane Poor pickups
 

cgworkman

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Apr 3, 2004
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The difference is they're not EBMM pups - thus the problem.










































:D
sorry... couldn't resist
 

Rhythmbug

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Dec 17, 2004
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Brisbane, Aust
I have a Basslines Triple Coil alnico pup on my 2004 SR5.

The sound improvement is very significant, my guitar tech concurred.
The resulting sound is rounder, more punch, more growl and eliminates some of the quackiness. Coupled with a set of DR bootzillas, my tone has gone from great to absolutely killer! :D
 

cgworkman

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While I appreciate your opinion, there are many, and I mean MANY, that disagree and say that there's no pup as good as the stock.

I personally wouldn't know. I've never tried it on any of my SR's. I'd like to see a side by side comparision though.
 

Rhythmbug

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Dec 17, 2004
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Brisbane, Aust
Thats interesting, I guess it depends on what sound people want from the instrument. If you enjoy a more subtle or classic sound you may not appreciate it I suppose.

The stingray is an aggressive instrument to start with, thats why I bought it.
IMO the basslines pup pushes its attitude to the next level & fits in well to everything I play. Even recording jam sessions with a mini disc, I couldnt believe how good it sounded.

Bear in mind my SR was built this year, I dont know how it compares to those of yesteryear.

I'd like to hear other peoples opinions.
With many things there's always naturalists or people biased towards "aftermarket" modifications. I respect that, but we're all different :)
 

Morrow

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Jul 28, 2004
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Halifax NS
cgworkman said:
While I appreciate your opinion, there are many, and I mean MANY, that disagree and say that there's no pup as good as the stock.

I personally wouldn't know. I've never tried it on any of my SR's. I'd like to see a side by side comparision though.
I wonder how many have tried other pups.....
 

JB1

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Aug 2, 2004
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Mine's all stock and I've never felt the temptation to change.

Having said that, I've never heard any of the others in a Ray.....
 

Basserama

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Dec 1, 2003
Messages
42
Pick Up Replacement

I recently replaced the stock MM pick up in my SR5 for a Bartolini (also the pre-amp too). Like Rhythmbug, I found a noticeable improvement

I was dissatisfied with the boomy, loose, bass and brittle, thin highs. I have now have a rounder, stronger sound, with more focused bass end and smoother highs.

I do feel the maple neck SR5s sound more better than the rosewood neck models - its possible owners of the former basses may not feel the need to replace their pick ups.
 

Crazykiwi

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Joined
Feb 13, 2005
Messages
35
Bad timing for me on this one or I could actually be a fair amount of help.

I've just replaced the stock Bart MM pickup in my Modulus Sonic Hammer with a complete Basslines pick up and harness. I've also got a heinz-ray made from pre EB parts on a lightweight 2 piece '93 body, including the original pre EB pickup and 2 band eq.

If you want to email me directly in a few weeks, I might be able to shed more light on comparisons with the stock pickup. But with the Bart and the Seymore there was a significant difference.

The Bart MM and Bart 2 band eq was very cutting and extremely aggressive sounding compared to the basslines, lacked a lot of warmth in my opinion. However my Akai SB-1 tracked it perfectly with no fudged notes whenever I played it.

Then I bought a basslines preamp which didn't really match up in terms of character with the bart pickup. So now the Sonic Hammer has got a basslines mm pickup instead. The sound is pretty much as has been already described above - growly, punchy, clean but not brittle and it oozed 'stingray character'. Of special note is the sweetness of the treble - there enough for clarity but its not brittle. In fact I could swear there was even a slight compression effect - all the more important bearing in mind that the neck on the modulus is graphite.

The pre EB pickup from the limited amount of time I played it (prior to dismantling what remained of the bass), was very full and powerful but with less midrange growl than the basslines. I know Ive tried other pre EB rays which had more bite but I wasn't looking for that kind of tone. It felt like I would start rearranging furniture with a few blasts from the open A string. Quite lovely and exactly the 'Nard Edwards tone I had been hoping for. When eventually teamed up with the all-valve Burmans, it should be a powerful combination.

But like I said, I can give you a better description when I've finished rebuilding the bass in a couple of weeks (once the 6 bolt neck plate arrives).

Cheers
 
Last edited:

jongitarz

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Sep 15, 2003
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Here
Franky said:
what is the difference in sound between...

  • Bartolini MM pickup
  • Basslines Pickup
  • Lane Poor pickups


They don't sound like Musicman pickups. You know...the people who provide this forum....to talk about Musicman basses...You know.
 
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