EBO bass pickup in parallel?

[idsnowdog]

I have been watching some videos on youtube and reading a few message boards about the Sidewinder neck pickup used on EBO bass. The consensus is it's a big hairy beast 30K that lacks clarity and is more powerful than needed. However, I haven't been able to find anything about people trying it in parallel rather than series? How does it sound in parallel? Would using a 1 meg volume help with clarity?

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

I have been watching some videos on youtube and reading a few message boards about the Sidewinder neck pickup used on EBO bass. The consensus is it's a big hairy beast 30K that lacks clarity and is more powerful than needed. However, I haven't been able to find anything about people trying it in parallel rather than series? How does it sound in parallel? Would using a 1 meg volume help with clarity?

That pickup does have a particular tone. You can wire it in parallel. Not sure how much of a difference it will make, but it would drop the impedance to around 7.5k.

Some vintage Gibson basses also have a cap rolling off high end. My EB-2 was like that.

You’ll never get a very clear tone out of them, but that’s kind of the charm of that pickup. I’ve rewound a few to around 12-14k will helps.

The newer Epiphones don’t have the same pickup. They wound them with heavier gauge wire so they are low impedance. But without an impedance matching transformer they sound weird.

The Gibson SG bass is a fake mudbucker with a humbucker under the cover and fake pole pieces.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ICTGoober]

The reason those pickups got a reputation as a "mudbucker" is because they were usually installed in the neck position of a short scale bass. The short scale is going to sound very tubby to begin with. Back in the late 70's I installed one of those big shiny chunks in my P-Bass copy in the bridge position. With roundwound strings on a 34" scale, it had a great growl and bark - especially when played with a pick.

 

[jeremy]

i have an old one down on the bench that needs a rewind on one coil when i get around to it,. two big ass coils but rotated 90 degrees from a typical paf type bucker

 

[idsnowdog]

I'm thinking about buying a husk and routing out the neck spot for a EBO bass pickup. The bass would be normal scale length and I would prefer a maple fretboard. I was thinking that series/parallel could be done with a push/pull volume and might be useful. I also thought that the de-mud mod might also help tame it a bit.

 

[jeremy]

i think the series/parallel option would be cool, but havent actually heard one in parallel

 

[idsnowdog]

I decided against the EBO bass pickup. I picked up a used Dean Edge 09 yesterday for $65. I put a Dimarzio X2N in it with a 1 meg volume. The X2N is powerful enough and doesn't sound muddy. It has a lot of drive, sustain, and the tone is very round. It also sounds better distorted than my other basses. I need to cut a mounting ring for it tomorrow and I will try neodymium magnet in it to get a bit more clarity and punch.

 

[ICTGoober]

X2N units have a samarium cobalt magnet as I remember.... Can they be disassembled?

 

[idsnowdog]

X2N units have a samarium cobalt magnet as I remember.... Can they be disassembled?

The X2N is from Dimarzio and is supposed to have ceramic magnets. It looks like it's built like any other humbucker. I think you have it confused with Fender's SCN series?

 

[ICTGoober]

The X2N is from Dimarzio and is supposed to have ceramic magnets. It looks like it's built like any other humbucker. I think you have it confused with Fender's SCN series?

I am NOT confused. I am old, and that means I KNOW SOME SHIT. I had a Les Paul in the 80's loaded with THREE X2N's. DiMarzio promoted them as having samarium cobalt magnets - at that time the most powerful magnets available.

 

[jeremy]

simmer down old man (you said youre old, so just running with it) dimarzios website says ceramic. maybe they changed the mag type at some point?

 

[idsnowdog]

This is what I'm talking about https://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/high-power/x2n . Are you sure the one you were talking about wasn't powered by coal or whale oil Grandpa?

 

[idsnowdog]

I cut a mounting bracket today and put a Neodymium magnet in the X2N. The X2N uses three double thick Ceramic magnets. I kept the two outer Ceramic helper magnets. I had to change the volume pot back to 500K because it sounded to weedy and bright after the magnet swap. I will also wire up a passive bass cut once I get a 1 meg pot instead of a regular tone control.

 

[ICTGoober]

dimarzios website says ceramic. maybe they changed the mag type at some point?

A lot can happen in 40 years, you know? And we all know Gibson and Fender have NEVER changed anything on their 40 year old designs, have they?

If you find a copy of Guitar Player Magazine from around 1978 or 1979 you'll find DiMarzio ads for the X2N stating "This is the most powerful pickup on Earth. We will never make it", thus ensuring that there would be a huge demand for them. And they advertised them as having samarium cobalt magnets. Maybe you can find an old advertisement on Squeebay or Treeverb that states this. If I find one, you can be sure I will post it.

And yes - when Bill Lawrence was asked to design Fender's first noiseless series of pickups, he used samarium cobalt. This was much later than 1979, of course.

 

[Mincer]

A lot can happen in 40 years, you know? And we all know Gibson and Fender have NEVER changed anything on their 40 year old designs, have they?

If you find a copy of Guitar Player Magazine from around 1978 or 1979 you'll find DiMarzio ads for the X2N stating "This is the most powerful pickup on Earth. We will never make it", thus ensuring that there would be a huge demand for them. And they advertised them as having samarium cobalt magnets. Maybe you can find an old advertisement on Squeebay or Treeverb that states this. If I find one, you can be sure I will post it.

And yes - when Bill Lawrence was asked to design Fender's first noiseless series of pickups, he used samarium cobalt. This was much later than 1979, of course.

I totally remember those ads, too.

 

[ICTGoober]

I totally remember those ads, too.

Thanks for finally backing me up.