Question upgrade pickup

[metalicman]

hi all this is my first post so need some advice. i have a made in china sub bass i have to say well impressed for the price however i am sure i could get a better sound out of it with a better pick up so looking for suggestions. i am guessing a real mm pick up would be a vast improvement but as i am no tech head i really dont know the difference between the stock chinese sub pick up and the real deal pick up. tthanks for your help.

 

[danny-79]

If it’s genuine MM parts you want your best bet to to keep an eye out for second hand parts that crop up now and again in the usual places (eBay, bass forums etc)
Or...... after market parts. I’ve heard very good things about Nordstrand and John East ......
good luck !

 

[Golem]

I have a strong suspicion that EBMM PUs
are engineered sympatico to EBMM active
EQs such that seeking an EBMM PU to use
with SBMM electronics may be a bad idea.

Not implying that the "mismatch" would
be horrible ... only that you'd pay a major
premium for a scarce EBMM PU, but given
the mismatch, you wouldn't get the "extra
special majik" that you'd payed extra for.

Acoarst, I verrrry warmly welcome being
corrected by anyone with the authority to
render the True Facts here !

 

[mouth]

I have a strong suspicion that EBMM PUs
are engineered sympatico to EBMM active
EQs such that seeking an EBMM PU to use
with SBMM electronics may be a bad idea.

Not implying that the "mismatch" would
be horrible ... only that you'd pay a major
premium for a scarce EBMM PU, but given
the mismatch, you wouldn't get the "extra
special majik" that you'd payed extra for.

Acoarst, I verrrry warmly welcome being
corrected by anyone with the authority to
render the True Facts here !

I've tried several combos of aftermarket pups with original SR preamps, and I agree, the stock has that certain magic going on when paired together, especially in the lows and high mids/highs.

As for what I'd upgrade a SUB with - Aguilar AG4M pickup sounded the best out the aftermarket ones to me, Nordstrand MM4.2 was a bit too tame and mild (especially in the band mix) for my taste. Preamps - John East MM preamp is a great choice, Nordstrand 2 bander was good too. That's if you wanna go the easier route than hunting down original parts.

 

[danny-79]

I've tried several combos of aftermarket pups with original SR preamps, and I agree, the stock has that certain magic going on when paired together, especially in the lows and high mids/highs.

As for what I'd upgrade a SUB with - Aguilar AG4M pickup sounded the best out the aftermarket ones to me, Nordstrand MM4.2 was a bit too tame and mild (especially in the band mix) for my taste. Preamps - John East MM preamp is a great choice, Nordstrand 2 bander was good too. That's if you wanna go the easier route than hunting down original parts.

Not tried a Nordy pre amp but the East’s are great. Nordstrand BigMan is an amazingly powerful pup. It’s also not long been updated to a double split for extra anti hum.
Definitely easier than hunting down original MM parts. (I’ve got all my original parts safely stashed up for obvious reasons)

 

[Samoht]

Give us an example of the tone you're chasing, and we might be able to give you specific recommendations. My opinion on this: you can replicate the old, classic pre-EB Stingray tone using a Nordstrand pickup and John East MMSR preamp...but if you're looking for a newer EBMM Stingray tone, I don't know of a good way other than getting stock EBMM pickup & preamp used on ebay or Reverb. I found a 30th Anniversary Stingray5 pickup on Reverb for $100 by watching the listings every day...I haven't seen many stock EBMM pickups or preamps for sale in many years of looking. Here's what i mean by the newer EBMM Stingray tone that i think would be hard to replicate (first 48 seconds of this video):

 

[Golem]

I had the SD Basslines PU in a 93 SR4
along with the matching SD EQ-pre.
The EQ-pre featured a stacked pair of
knobs so that you had 3-band control
even tho it was a front jack rather than
an edge jack body.

Most importantly, the volume pot was
push-pull which swapped between a
"generic electric bass" tone and "slap
tone". There were trim pots on the PC
board for bass boost and something I
forget.

Anywho, given the trim pots, 3 band
EQ, and the push-pull switch, it could
deliver just about any tone you want.

FWIW, it was on "slap" when I bought
it and it was many years before until I
discovered the push-pull ... cuz why
would I pull out the vol knob if I didn't
know it did that ? The slap setting was
perfect for "normal" [?] FL playing, so
I really loved that ax. The reason it is
gone is that I discovered piezos. Just
read my sig !