Anyone interested in pickup sound samples?

[Inflames626]

Bass players, over the past few months, as a guitarist, I've inquired about help in finding my ideal bass for my needs.

I wanted to secure a bass of each pickup type (PP, J, PJ, MM, soapbar) to explore how differences in coil construction affect tone.

I now have:

A BC Rich NJ Warlock dual P (Fender Original 62 reissues, non Custom Shop)
A Peavey Foundation 5 J clone
A Jackson CBX V (soapbar) (EMG HZ soapbars)
LTD F5E (soapbar)
A Peavey Zodiac David Ellefson PJ (SPB3/SJB3)
A Schecter Damien Elite 5 MM (EMG MMCS5)

As thanks for your help, if the community is interested, I will post files of these on my SoundCloud page to help you all decide which you like best.

Over the next few months, I plan on securing most of the Duncan P and J lines (SPB and SJB 1 2 3s, Steve Harris, MMs, passive/NYC soapbars), as well as Fender Custom Shop P's and J's. Some of these instruments come stock with passive EMGs as well so they can be compared.

Sorry active bass players, I don't care much for that tone, so, aside from active preamps in some basses, I won't have any active examples.

I understand there are some DiMarzio and Bartolini fans here as well. Bart has a lot of designs and they have kind of a weird airy quality going on in the high end that some people like. To me they have aspects of an active sound without being active. As for DiMarzios, their bass pickup line seems to be an afterthought for them. The examples I have heard seem to sound muddy/clacky, so I don't think I'll be trying them either unless I can find some good used deals that I can turn around quickly in the event that I don't like the sound.

My hope is that I'll cover the most popular EMG/SD/Fender passive, non-stacked designs.

Anyway, if you all are interested, I'll start working on and posting what I do have.

 

[JOLLY]

Re: Anyone interested in pickup sound samples?

Go for it!!

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Anyone interested in pickup sound samples?

Sadly, this is true. Me playing my basses will not sound like you playing yours, or even if we play each other's. However, one should be able to get at least a general sense of a given pickup's response curve and voicing.

On the CBX, do you find the EMGs to sound a bit lifeless? Not "sterile" or "well-balanced" as everyone always says about EMGs, but simply under-powered and thin? I have the Ellefson R.I.P. CBX 5-string with the same pickups, and it's got to be the dullest-sounding thing I've ever owned.

The Jackson C5-P, however, is very nice, with Duncan Designed bars in it.

 

[Inflames626]

Re: Anyone interested in pickup sound samples?

Regarding the tests, I am not doing an infamous Kinky Wizzards style test where the technique obscures the playing. I am playing every note up and down the fretboard at 100 bpm. It is boring but it demonstrates the tone.

The recordings are done directly into the recording interface and into Sonar X1 with no processing of any kind.

While concerns about doing the tests on the very same instrument are sound, I don't know of a single manufacturer who makes every single pickup combination. PPs and dual MMs especially are a bit rare, so unfortunately the tests have to be done on different models.

Where I might be legitimately called out is by using a metal pick and not using fingerstyle. I am not a fingerstyle player and lack consistent tone in that regard, so my playing that way would only obscure the test results.

On the HZs, I haven't played with them enough to find out, Dr. Newcenstein. I know I was underwhelmed by the MMCS5 HZ. With the mids raised via the onboard EQ it sat well in a mix I had going.

A lot of people swear by EMG actives in basses. I tend not to like active pickups in basses.

I find that the HZs are fairly flat, with the usual EMG emphasis around the 2-2.5 khz region. I don't think they're meant to blow people away in the SPB3/SJB3 sense where the tone is immediately fat from the get go (I found those pickups to be somewhat troublesome without a parametric EQ to roll off the low end in a mix, anyway.) The HZs are mostly just very even and on par with a lot of ESP/Ibanez stock OEM pickups I've been hearing lately in import models of the past few years. Nothing special, but nothing terrible.

I was not a fan of EMG HZs in guitars until recently, when I found them to be similar to the actives in 18 volts in a mix, but with somewhat softer transients. The HZ4 did me well doing some 70s Priest. And their benefit is they split with much less hassle than the huge, clunky 81tw, which requires some additional routing of the body cavity because the pickup is so tall.

I can't go on further without trying more of the Duncan production lines in comparison. This weekend's project is a dual SPB3, which I think will be a bit much. My judgment on the SPB3/SJB3 line is it sounds incredible by itself, but in a mix the relative lack of mids become a problem. I consider them to be the Invaders of the Duncan bass pickup line, and my guess is I will prefer the SPB/J2s or SPB/J4s.

A key thing here I think is whether the player derives his tone from the instrument or his signal chain. As a guitarist, I primarily get my tone from my signal chain and presets. Even if a tone is underwhelming, I find I can usually compensate with plugins to a degree far more precise than any pickup wind. We can spend all day discussing magnets and winds, or we can actually analyze the frequency spectrum and alter what we need on a graphical interface quickly and accurately.

I understand this view has made me somewhat "new school" for the sake of these boards, but I consider it to be the equivalent of soundproofing a studio or using an impulse response. There's no need to alter the physical world (the pickup) when software can do it to where no one can hear a difference. Fractal Audio and Kemper are bringing this flexibility to live situations while purists grumble. Pickups do, however, alter the way I play in terms of touch.

I will post more when I have results.

 

[Inflames626]

Re: Anyone interested in pickup sound samples?

To be honest the last time I was blown away by a bass was a Lightwave fretless 5 string. I plan on picking one up when I can. I see some of them going used for about $600.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RheshR-9Q0w

 

[Inflames626]

Re: Anyone interested in pickup sound samples?

Wot? No Rickenbackers?



Wot? No objectivity?

Come back, DreX. All is forgiven.

If you would supply me with the Rick, sure!

More like a caveat than a lack of objectivity.