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  • Advice for my SR505

    I have a Soundgear SR505. I bought it for a steal , as the electronics were damaged . It has the active Bartolini pickups, MK1-5, and the battery connector was apparently damaged. I fixed that, but it still has problems and cuts out from time to time, but it's fine in the studio, and I've recorded several songs with it. I'm a pretty good bass player but I've never gotten into specs or tone the way I have with guitar.

    So I'm gearing up to record a pretty heavy sounding album.. and now I wanna dive into this bass and get it sounding right. Since I know nothing about bass stuff, my question is.. are these Bartolini pickups considered good ? What's good about them, what genres are they good for ? Is it worth me digging into the electronics and fixing whatever is wrong with it ?
    Because, here's the thing. I want this thing to have a hot rockin' tone.




    The album I am working on is I am recording all of the songs from that soundtrack with real instruments. I want it to sound like something Metallica or Megadeth would've recorded in the 90's. Funny enough, the bass tone on the soundtrack is already kinda what I want to emulate, notice how you can hear every note so clearly yet it still punches you in the face ? The guitars I am using are EMG equipped, and with the modern 5150 type of amp models. so my first instinct is to go to EMG for the bass also. But I don't know anything about bass pickups, which EMG is going to give me that punch in the gut heaviness but also supreme clarity ? Or.. can I even fit EMG's in this bass without routing anything ? The ones I'm looking at that caught my eye are called EMG 40DC. Dual coil ceramic humbuckers. Can I mix those with the already existing EQ controls or would I have to replace my whole system ?Can anyone vouch for just keeping the Bartos instead ? Thanks for any thoughts or advice.

    Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
    Last edited by Ghwar; 02-06-2019, 07:33 AM.

  • #2
    Re: Advice for my SR505

    Well, I think the first step is to get the bass in playing condition, and then you can decide if anything needs to be changed. If the pickups don't work, you'd have to replace them anyway. It is hard to know if the sound of the bass is the right one for you if it isn't working properly. Bartolini makes good pickups, but they make many different models, so the ones might or might not be the right ones for you. If you like the bass, it is worth reviving. If the cost to revive it is more than the bass is worth, you have to decide if it is worth it, or if you want to move on to something else.
    Administrator of the SDUGF

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    • #3
      Re: Advice for my SR505

      I agree with Mincer, fix the problems first, then decide if the pickups are working for you. Bartolini's are as good as EMG, just different, but if you want clear they should be doing that for you, if you are recording, as long as you have a clean signal from the bass, what you are running it through probably makes a much bigger difference.

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      • #4
        Re: Advice for my SR505

        Originally posted by devastone View Post
        As long as you have a clean signal from the bass, what you are running it through probably makes a much bigger difference.
        I agree.

        I'd also add that a bass that sounds great live might not be the best choice when recording (and vice versa). There's a lot of trial and error involved and a lot of variables.
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        • #5
          Re: Advice for my SR505

          Originally posted by Ghwar View Post
          I have a Soundgear SR505. I bought it for a steal , as the electronics were damaged . It has the active Bartolini pickups, MK1-5, and the battery connector was apparently damaged. I fixed that, but it still has problems and cuts out from time to time, but it's fine in the studio, and I've recorded several songs with it. I'm a pretty good bass player but I've never gotten into specs or tone the way I have with guitar.

          So I'm gearing up to record a pretty heavy sounding album.. and now I wanna dive into this bass and get it sounding right. Since I know nothing about bass stuff, my question is.. are these Bartolini pickups considered good ? What's good about them, what genres are they good for ? Is it worth me digging into the electronics and fixing whatever is wrong with it ?
          Because, here's the thing. I want this thing to have a hot rockin' tone.




          The album I am working on is I am recording all of the songs from that soundtrack with real instruments. I want it to sound like something Metallica or Megadeth would've recorded in the 90's. Funny enough, the bass tone on the soundtrack is already kinda what I want to emulate, notice how you can hear every note so clearly yet it still punches you in the face ? The guitars I am using are EMG equipped, and with the modern 5150 type of amp models. so my first instinct is to go to EMG for the bass also. But I don't know anything about bass pickups, which EMG is going to give me that punch in the gut heaviness but also supreme clarity ? Or.. can I even fit EMG's in this bass without routing anything ? The ones I'm looking at that caught my eye are called EMG 40DC. Dual coil ceramic humbuckers. Can I mix those with the already existing EQ controls or would I have to replace my whole system ?Can anyone vouch for just keeping the Bartos instead ? Thanks for any thoughts or advice.

          Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
          Use Seymour Duncan Blackouts for Bass, far superior to EMG, clearest and meanest punch around

          Chuck the onboard preamp, go with the supplied "passive" pots (still 'active' values 10 / 25 / 50k whatever comes in the box, but cut-only, no boost)

          Better that way
          "New stuff always sucks" -Me

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          • #6
            Re: Advice for my SR505

            All advices appreciated so far ! Thank you. I feel like I should clarify a little bit. The bass works fine for studio use, it just has a habit of cutting out when it's moved around a lot so it's not something I would trust to play live. And I'm worried that the problem is internal, in the Bartolini EQ system somewhere which I've heard is a nightmare to repair, I'd rather not go thru the trouble if I'm still not going to get the tone I want ?

            Here is a song I recorded with it. I'm not happy with the tone, it seems like a great mellow jazzy tone but as you can see it doesn't punch thru the mix. It can't go toe to toe with the guitar so to speak. The guitar was a Jackson Kelly with a Duncan custom pickup. I tried lots of tone settings and EQing and that was the very best I could get it to sound. And for those that asked, I'm using a POD HD500 with one of the bass dlc models (cant remember which one though, but it was the best one to my ears)

            So as far as I can tell, after some thought, the pickups just aren't going to work for what I want. But maybe if anyone could give me some tone tips on how to get that hot metal tone I'm looking for, I'd love to try that first before yanking anything out of there cause yan never know
            Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
            Last edited by Ghwar; 02-06-2019, 12:43 PM.

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            • #7
              Re: Advice for my SR505

              Originally posted by Ghwar View Post
              All advices appreciated so far ! Thank you. I feel like I should clarify a little bit. The bass works fine for studio use, it just has a habit of cutting out when it's moved around a lot so it's not something I would trust to play live. And I'm worried that the problem is internal, in the Bartolini EQ system somewhere which I've heard is a nightmare to repair, I'd rather not go thru the trouble if I'm still not going to get the tone I want ?

              Here is a song I recorded with it. I'm not happy with the tone, it seems like a great mellow jazzy tone but as you can see it doesn't punch thru the mix. It can't go toe to toe with the guitar so to speak. The guitar was a Jackson Kelly with a Duncan custom pickup. I tried lots of tone settings and EQing and that was the very best I could get it to sound. And for those that asked, I'm using a POD HD500 with one of the bass dlc models (cant remember which one though, but it was the best one to my ears)

              So as far as I can tell, after some thought, the pickups just aren't going to work for what I want. But maybe if anyone could give me some tone tips on how to get that hot metal tone I'm looking for, I'd love to try that first before yanking anything out of there cause yan never know
              Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
              Your input jack is probably loose.
              "New stuff always sucks" -Me

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              • #8
                Re: Advice for my SR505

                Originally posted by Adieu View Post
                Your input jack is probably loose.
                Nah it's definitely not that , thanks but i wish it were that simple man but I've been repairing guitar electronics for 15 years and that's something I would've caught right away. I've never worked on one of these bass EQ systems though but I'm pretty sure it's an issue in there somewhere. I haven't played the bass in a couple months but I just got it out of storage last night and I'll be giving it a go tonight, I'll have more details then. When I got the bass it didn't work at all, re-wired the battery connection and that fixed it for about a year. Started cutting out intermittently and I replaced the battery connector entirely, still cuts out though

                Also; thank you for your suggestion about the blackouts, I hadn't even realized they made those for bass. I will definitely check out some sound clips tonight .

                Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
                Last edited by Ghwar; 02-06-2019, 01:09 PM.

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                • #9
                  Re: Advice for my SR505

                  If you're looking for 90s era Megadeth, David Ellefson was using EMG DCs from 1994 though 2001 or so. They're a bright pickup and can have quite a bit of 'zing' in the bridge position. Lots of the guys on talkbass like to pair a DC in the neck or middle with a CS in the bridge which is fatter sounding and not quite so bright. I have a TW (dual mode CS/JCS) in the bridge of my Spector Rebop and it's bright in a Stringray kind of way without taking your head off.
                  Originally posted by crusty philtrum
                  And that's probably because most people with electric guitars seem more interested in their own performance rather than the effect on the listener ... in fact i don't think many people who own electric guitars even give a poop about the effect on a listener. Which is why many people play electric guitars but very very few of them are actually musicians.

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