Rumble Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 I recently acquired a pedulla thunderbolt 5 equipped with Bartolini soapbars and the TC4 'preamp'. From what I can gather the TC4 works like an active tone control, but while the bass frequencies are fine the top end seems stifled; there's very little sparkle even worth the tone at 100%. I suspect this is the influence of the pickups or preamp because the bass sounds fine acoustically. Not having much experience with Bartolini, is this their natural tone or is it worth swapping the preamp out to see if that works? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 (edited) I'd want to hear the pickups passive if possible. I did the same thing with a Fender and found the pre amp was agricultural at best. I put a glock in which is such a nice piece of kit I'm thinking also of swapping out an East on another bass. I'm a bit wary of no name pre amps after my experience of fender. Edited August 21, 2016 by JTUK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 I can say I use barts and east and the East has so much scope.... Not always a good thing, or what I want, but the east's aren't shy of top frequencies. Having said that, most name pre amps have a lot of sweep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumble Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 I was thinking of putting a glockenklang in as I've had them in other basses and loved the tone. The bartolini TC4 just seems to an odd piece of kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 How about going passive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumble Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 Would happily give it a go but not sure I have the technical know-how to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 (edited) Another pro vote I changed out the standard soapbars in my ESP LTD fretless for Barts soapbars ( classics ) and its transformed the sound. There's no lack of top end on these, if needed. Its just not harsh, and thats a good thing. But beef on low / low- mid is where i roll anyway, and these have it in spades Then again, its highly possible to make any top end sound harsh, with the right electronics and amp settings. Edited August 21, 2016 by fleabag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumble Posted August 23, 2016 Author Share Posted August 23, 2016 Any tips on how to wire the bass so it runs passive? I've looked at t'Internet, but it's not particularly clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlungerModerno Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 [quote name='Rumble' timestamp='1471934611' post='3117001'] Any tips on how to wire the bass so it runs passive? I've looked at t'Internet, but it's not particularly clear. [/quote] Pics will help (hint hint!). It's usually a case of desoldering or clipping the wires running from the pickups - and throwing on some aligator clips to see what's what! Come to think of it Barts have a colour scheme. Check out these links: [url="http://www.bartolini.net/pickups-wiring-diagrams/"]http://www.bartolini.net/pickups-wiring-diagrams/[/url] [url="http://www.bartolini.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/4-Conductor-Wiring-Diagram.pdf"]http://www.bartolini.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/4-Conductor-Wiring-Diagram.pdf[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumble Posted August 24, 2016 Author Share Posted August 24, 2016 Thanks for this. In my naivety I thought such a simple 3-knob system on the outside would be mirrored on the inside, but apparently not; it's an absolute birds nest in the control cavity. Think I'll either leave it as is and mess around with the set up (although it was apparently set up by a pro recently) or change the whole lot for an active preamp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 If you want a simple, easy route to knowing what the Barts sound like passive, simply remove the wires from their connection to the TC4 and connect them straight to a spare jack socket. You can do one pup at a time and find out what it'd sound like passive, full vol, full tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumble Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 Thanks for the suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 I was looking on the Bartolini website, and they have 3 distinct ranges, Classic, Original and Singularity, all having different tone profiles: powerful lows and low-mids – bright treble [Classic Bass] :deep tone [Original Bass] :Singularity The asymmetric blade design yields powerful lows and low-mids along with bright treble due to its precise sensing aperture. This may give rise to why people have such differing experiences with Barts. You'd need to know the model numbers they are talking about! HTH MBA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 [quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1473167970' post='3127585'] I was looking on the Bartolini website, and they have 3 distinct ranges, Classic, Original and Singularity, all having different tone profiles: powerful lows and low-mids – bright treble [Classic Bass] :deep tone [Original Bass] :Singularity The asymmetric blade design yields powerful lows and low-mids along with bright treble due to its precise sensing aperture. This may give rise to why people have such differing experiences with Barts. You'd need to know the model numbers they are talking about! HTH MBA [/quote] Yes..and be honest, those overviews mean not a lot until you hear them in context. IMO. I personally don't want a great deal of influence or bias from the pickup and pre amp stage so want something quite neutral and natural... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Have you changed the strings since you got the bass? They could just be a bit old Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumble Posted September 10, 2016 Author Share Posted September 10, 2016 I had wondered about the strings, but they look pretty good. Having said that it's probably cheaper to change the strings than the pickups or preamp! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumble Posted September 10, 2016 Author Share Posted September 10, 2016 [quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1473167970' post='3127585'] I was looking on the Bartolini website, and they have 3 distinct ranges, Classic, Original and Singularity, all having different tone profiles: powerful lows and low-mids – bright treble [Classic Bass] :deep tone [Original Bass] :Singularity The asymmetric blade design yields powerful lows and low-mids along with bright treble due to its precise sensing aperture. This may give rise to why people have such differing experiences with Barts. You'd need to know the model numbers they are talking about! HTH MBA [/quote] Based on this description, the pickups in this bass would fit the OB description. Would it be stated anywhere on the pickup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schnozzalee Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Bartolini Soapbars and a Glockenlang Preamp is a wonderful combo - Marleaux used it for ages before swapping to Delano Pickups (not sure why). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumble Posted September 13, 2016 Author Share Posted September 13, 2016 Whacked on some brand new steel strings and played around with the pickup and string height and some significant improvement has been made. Maybe there's a reason some bright spark came up with the KISS acronym! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted September 14, 2016 Share Posted September 14, 2016 [quote name='Rumble' timestamp='1473776142' post='3133028'] Whacked on some brand new steel strings... Maybe there's a reason some bright spark came up with the KISS acronym! [/quote] I didn't want to say that Glad it's better without too much expense or hassle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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