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Upgrading the pickups in my Ibanez SR600


Waddycall
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After the honeymoon period wore off I haven't been that happy with the tone from my SR600. I've read lots on the internet about upgrading the pickups from Korean Bartolini MK1 to US made MK4.
After a year of owning the bass and loving everything else about it I decided to try the upgrade. Ordering the pickups from the U.S. Saved me £60, even after import tax.
Swapping them over was pretty straightforward other than the fact the original pickups have one two core wire and the MK4s have a 4 core. They come pre soldered for series connection but you need to insulate the join between the two coils which is basically two wires coming out of the end of the cable soldered together. That leaves a hot and ground. Simple enough to desolder the old pickups from the pan pot and connect the new ones.
The only things that stop it being a complete like for like swap are the fact the mk4 has three mounting screws compared to the mk1 having two and the fact that the original mk1s are mounted on springs held on by self adhesive foam pads. I pulled the springs off of the mk1s and reused them for the mk4s. It was a bit fiddly as the springs were sat loose in the route but went ok. I should have bought some foam to sit the new pickups on.
Sound wise I'm pleased with the new pickups. Lower notes on the e string are much clearer and the g string is much more full sounding - I may even start using it now! Overall the sound is much more clear and punchy.
I'm tempted to also upgrade the preamp and have the Delano sonar 3 in mind as it has a bypass switch with treble control in passive mode.
I was torn between upgrading/modifying this bass and buying another but a recent experience gigging with guitarists who change guitars every other song has convinced me that one versatile instrument is the way to go. And the process is fun too.
I recorded the original pickups before changing them and will record the new ones in a couple of days once the strings have settled back in. I'll put them on sound cloud if anyone's interested.
Cheers,

Pete

Edited by Waddycall
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Just come back from the first band practice with the new pickups. The band rehearses in an empty village hall committee room. Shiny floor painted walls, shiny ceiling, no soft furnishings. In the past I've really struggled to be heard in there - especially as the drummer has an electronic kit and keeps the bass up so that everything he hits has a boom that reverberates around the room.
Today with the the new pickups I found I could use the bridge pickup for pretty much everything with the mids boosted on the amp and the upper mids boosted slightly on the bass. It gave me a really clear growly tone that worked for pretty much everything. With the old pickups the bridge pickup was reserved for odd songs like alright now but now it's in full use (along with the g string).
Very happy with the results.

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