Osiris

I recently bought a Nordstrand MM4.4 pickup from Dave and it couldn't have been easier. He was fast and friendly in his communication and posted the pickup off quickly once I'd sent the payment. In short, Dave's a great guy to deal with.

Try dropping Thunderbird (Paul) a message. He's just the man for the job and has very reasonable rates. He's about 15 miles down the road from Kettering so if you have your own transport I'm sure he'll gladly help you out (he doesn't drive, unfortunately).

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1431420869' post='2771003'] It could be the pots, it could also be a leaky capacitor allowing DC into the audio circuitry. You could do a reasonably cheap replacement with an Artec SE3P-A giving you the same number and function of controls - [url="http://www.axesrus.co.uk/SE3PA-3-band-EQ-system-p/se3p-a.htm"]http://www.axesrus.c...em-p/se3p-a.htm[/url] has them at £36. [/quote] Thanks for the input, tauzero, but I took a punt on a 2 band Glockenklang pre-amp at the weekend. My 2 Sandbergs use them and they are great sounding, very natural and organic tone. It certainly wasn't as cheap and cheerful as the Artec, but having already spent a fair bit of money on trying to get the bass back in order I thought it wise to get something that I know will do what I want it to. At least by replacing the whole circuit it will (hopefully) eliminate all and any duff parts on the old one, whatever the cause of the problems, and the bass will finally be back up to earning its keep.

The pots certainly seem secure enough on the bass body, the casing doesn't move when they're turned and you can clearly see the spindle rotating when the stacked pots are turned.

[quote name='PlungerModerno' timestamp='1430956249' post='2766368'] As simple / silly as it sounds - I'd try turning the noisy pots back and forth 100+ times to see if that lessens the symptoms - often pots just need plenty of use to clear up noisiness. Unfortunately the stack type are sometimes trickier to clean. In general - unless there's clear signs of damage or loose wires - if electrics are noisy, my first move is to roll those pots back and forth a whole bunch of times... after checking they are turning internally, not the whole pot with wires whipping around and snapping off in the control cavity . [/quote] Thanks for the suggestion, but alas, I've already done it many times. It certainly helps in the short term (we're talking minutes rather than days or weeks) but it no way 'fixes' the issue. For example, the last time I gigged it 2 or 3 years ago, the stage was booming so I tried backing the low end off a bit but it killed the output all together - I'd rolled the pots back and forth several times during soundcheck and it seemed to be OK. Fortunately I had another bass to swap over.

Having looked inside the cavity earlier, the 2 stacked eq pots each have their own mini circuit board with what looks to be 6 closely packed solder points for each pot. So with my limited soldering skills, swapping the pots out isn't as straight forward a task as it might initially seem. Factor in the fact that the bass has already been to a couple of different people to fix and has had a fair amount of money chucked at it (one so-called reputable luthier had it for 6 months, bodged it, tried to palm me off with some half arsed excuse and charged me £80 for the pleasure ) I'm really looking to get this sorted for once and for all. Needless to say I don't really have much faith in the electronics that are currently in it so although I thought changing the pots could have been a possible cheap fix, it's not a simple as I first thought. And although it may have resolved the issue, it may have been another potential bodge too if it's a fault on the circuit board! I'd rather spend a bit more money on it and know that it's going to work. Now that a couple of other factors have been eliminated from the list of likely causes, I'm trying to figure out if changing the pre-amp will solve the issue? I think that it will, but I'm no expert on these things. Do you agree with it being the right thing to do?

Forgot to add, the battery box has fixed terminals at one end, not a floating clip so I think we can cross that off the list too.

Thanks for the information. I've just given the cable a heavy handed wobble about in the jack socket and the signal was fine, no crackling, static or other nasty noises so I'm as sure as I can be that that's not the problem. Unless there's a more scientific way to check? The pots on the other hand are a different story. The volume and pan are OK, just OK. A bit noisy in operation but when left untouched for a few seconds seem settle down. The 2 stacked eq controls are noisy and each cuts the signal when touched. These, I'm sure are the culprits. I don't have time to whip the plate off the back of the bass right now as I'm off to rehearsal in a minute but I'll take a look tomorrow to see if it's feasible to replace the pots. If they can't, and you think the Barts need a pre-amp, then I'm going to have to replace the stock model.

I have an Ibanez RS1000 Prestige that my good lady bought it for me as an engagement present in around 2006. After about a year or so, the output has been temperamental or intermittent - if you move any of the controls (volume, pickup balance, stacked bass and treble and a stacked parametric mid) there's lots of static type noise and more often than not, the output cuts right out. It's been to a couple of luthiers/repair men over the years with mixed results, but the long and short of it is that it's still unreliable. It has also had copious amounts of switch cleaner squirted into the pots on numerous occasions too. Much as I'm tempted to burn it, this was an engagement present and one can only grow ones pips back a finite number of times .... So, would I be right in thinking that the pre-amp is at fault here? (The pickups are Bartolini 'custom' soapbars but I have no idea what the stock pre-amp is). In terms of getting the bass up and running again, can I get away with just having the pots replaced? Or am I looking at a new pre-amp? Is there any reason why I couldn't just rip the current electrics out and go passive? Or do the Barts' need a pre? Any help greatly appreciated.

A couple of quick question for you guys that have bought and fitted these; How do they shape up after months of playing? Are they still as good as new? Do they show signs of wear? Has anyone tried removing one? Did it leave any residual glue or make a mess of the fingerboard in anyway? I'm tempted to get a set of these as it's a tad cheaper than buying bass that comes fitted with the real thing, but I don't want to end up regretting it, especially as I'm thinking of fitting them to an expensive bass. What are your experiences, folks?

Who'd have thought of using Marmite to relic a guitar? Not me, that's for sure.

In my ongoing quest to stop my single humbucker Sandberg Basic form sounding like a stingray, I came across the Nordstrand MM4.4 Pickup, which according to their website; [color=#333333][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"the mm4.4 is the pickup to use if you want all the switching options. each row of magnets is actually 2 coils (2 magnets each), so the pickup can be split and remain hum cancelling in any configuration. front coil, rear coil, series, parallel… this pickup has all the basses covered"[/font][/color] Has anyone got one, tried one, heard one etc? Essentially I am looking to get away from the MM sound and want something that sounds more traditional. So the thought in my mind is how this would sound using only the neck coils? Would this sound be much different to the modern MM style tone that the bass currently has? I appreciate it'll never sounds exactly like a traditional J or P pup but would the tone be closer to these or still retain [i]that [/i]inherent sound? Your thoughts please, folks.

This is what our keys player swears by, an app called [url="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/piascore-sheet-music-reader/id406141702?mt=8"]Piascore[/url], I can't comment on it myself as I've not used it but he swears by it.

Our keyboard player uses an iPad with various chord charts, scores etc on. I'll ask him what software he uses to organise them and let you know.

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1422702988' post='2675770'] Yeah, my MM is a Delano, and I've done the coil tapping thing, It's just the sound doesn't really get close to the P-pup for me...tho YMMV, so it might be worth trying the rewire route, shouldn't cost more than £25-30 to have someone do it for you... The pickup position does mean it won't ever get exactly to the P-pup sound, but you can definitely get away from the MM sound... [/quote] I recently parted ways with a Sandberg JM which had a coil tapped humbucker and the sound was great in single coil mode when it was blended with the neck single coil, think Jazz bass on steroids! Am I right in thinking that if I get a coil tap fitted that a solo single coil could be a bit noisy? Yes, I appreciate that whatever happens that it will never sound exactly like a P (that's wishful thinking on my part), but getting away from the MM sound is certainly what I'm aiming for. I've been speaking to mate of mine who is a bit of a whiz with guitar electronics and he's got a number of options in mind to try, the same as have been mentioned already in this thread, experimenting with series, parallel and phase options. If we can get it so that it loses or at least reduces the nasal edge to the tone I'll be a happy little bunny. It makes sense to try the simplest, cheapest and least destructive options first before seriously considering new pickups and custom mods. Having spent more time playing with various option to alter the fundamental tone, one of the most effective so far has been to cut the mid frequencies on the on-board Glockenklang pre-amp, the greater the cut the less nasal the tone. According to the specs, the pre-amp offers 9db's of boost or cut at 550 hz. But as with all scooped sounds, it doesn't sit in the mix as well as I want. (I tend to play with the pre-amp flat on the bass and only minor tonal adjustment on my amp i.e. thing cut back further than about 11 o'clock and nothing boosted beyond about 1 o'clock - this gives me a tone that sits perfectly in the mix).

Errr, oh yeah, I guess the 2 halves of a P pickup do make a humbucker! To be fair, I'm no expert on these things so apologies for the confusion or apparent contradiction. When I said that I've yet to find a humbucker that I actually like, I had in mind those pickups that have 2 adjacent coils in a single enclosure like the MM style domino. Hope that helps.

Thanks for the suggestions folks. Money isn't a major consideration, I'm happy to pay a £100+ if it will get me a sound that I'm happy with. Which is what I'd end up paying for a good quality replacement pickup anyway. The pickup has 4 wires; red and black soldered together and white and green soldered together. It makes sense to me to start off by trying coil tap and or series/parallel switches first to see how things sound after that. If I'm still not happy then it'll be time to look at getting my pup modified as in my original post or possibly replacing it. The Nordstand Bigman looks interesting and is worth a serious look. Not sure about the Sims Super quad though, the video didn't sell it to me and it looks as though it's a bigger unit than the pickup I have, so after buying the pup and paying them to route the body and fit it etc, it'll cost best part of £300 which is what I paid for the bass!!!

[size=4][font=Calibri]I recently posted a thread asking for some ideas as to how to stop my Sandberg Basic from sounding like a Stingray.[/font] [font=Calibri]There's no point repeating myself but [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/252345-changing-the-fundamental-stingray-sound/"]the original thread is here[/url] if anyone wants to know a bit more about where I'm coming from - In short the bass is fantastic in every way and I'm loathed to part with it, but I'm just not a fan of the MM sound.[/font] [font=Calibri]I was starting to come round to the idea of having a neck pickup fitted but now another idea has struck me, but I want to know if my new idea is viable or just a bit silly.[/font] [font=Calibri]My new idea is this - can the existing MM style humbucker be 'converted' into a P style single coil using the existing (or identically sized) oversized pole pieces and pickup case? [/font] [font=Calibri]If this is possible, it obviously eliminates the need for any surgery on the body itself.[/font] [font=Calibri]My idea would be for a reversed P configuration with the bridge side of the pickup covering the E and A strings and the neck half of the pup covering the D & G strings.[/font] [font=Calibri]Tonally I'm after something more traditional, more vintage sounding. I don't mind if the pup is wired to the existing 3 band Glockenklang pre-amp or is passive.[/font] [font=Calibri]Due to the pickup position being closer to the bridge it obviously won't sound exactly like a traditional P but I'm guessing (hoping) that the sound will be more to my taste than the current tone; I've yet to find a bass humbucker yet that has a tone that does it for me, I just prefer single coils. [/font] [font=Calibri]Any idea if the unused pole pieces would interfere with the tone in anyway?[/font] [font=Calibri]So, can it be done?[/font] [font=Calibri]And if so, who comes recommended for such an undertaking? Preferably UK based.[/font] [font=Calibri]From what I've seen on a few other pickup related threads Armstrong seem to have a good reputation. [/font] [font=Calibri]Answers on a postcard, please.[/font][/size]

Thanks for the help, people! Unfortunately I don't really have the time or inclination to whip all the plugs off, add some tubing and then re-solder everything back up, but tauzero's idea of getting some oversized tubing and shrinking it down sounds like a plan. By the way, do you ever have any problems with condensation or water affecting the cables if you're using a kettle to supply the heat???

[size=4][font=Calibri]I'm thinking of getting some heat shrink tubing to mark my cables up but have a couple of questions.[/font] [font=Calibri]From what I understand most of what's available has a shrink ratio of 2 to 1, so it effectively halves in size i.e. a 12 mm bore tube will shrink down to 6 mm bore.[/font] [font=Calibri]Is this right?[/font] [font=Calibri]How much does it stretch (if at all) before you shrink it?[/font] [font=Calibri]i.e. can you stretch it over a Neutrik plug or would you need to remove the plug, slide the tubing over the cable and then re-solder the plug back on?[/font] [font=Calibri]How exactly do you shrink it?[/font] [font=Calibri]I've read that you can use a hair dryer but some of the tubes quote a 70 degree centigrade heat required and I don't think many hair dryers would run that hot, would they?[/font] [font=Calibri]Any words of wisdom, or suitable alternative methods for marking my cables appreciated. [/font][/size]

It's already been mentioned but try and give the [url="http://www.markbass.it/product_detail.php?id=117"]Mark Bass Super Booste[/url]r pedal a go, it has the same 2 filters that Mark Bass amp heads have. I have one, it's the only pedal I use live, and the Vintage loudspeaker emulator is brilliant, you can go from a bright modern to a warm traditional tone in a second and, to my ear at least, it is spot on, it cuts the right frequencies by the right amount (I'm using a TC RH450 amp into a Tecamp 2 x 12 cab with tweeter) but still leaves you with a perfectly usable tone without getting muddy or lost in the mix. Only problem could be that I think they have been discontinued....