vikingbassist Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Hi Guys, Hoping to get a little advice. To give a little back story....... I've been playing a 6 and now feel its a little over kill and the neck is too wide. So I have got hold of a Tanglewood Rebel which has a really small body and narrow kneck (Exactly what I wanted). However, the pickups are original and a little lacking. I am looking to replace these along with the pre-amp and not sure what with or how. I play in a fuzz rock band and tune low (G,C,F,A*,D*) and need some advice on what pick-ups would be best to get a nice warm low mid classic/retro sound? Any help or advice anyone can give would be great. Thanks for reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 I hear Bartolini pickups have a nice warm sound. Also,if you're tuning that low, you will want to have as heavy a string gauge as possible to get more tension on the strings, and more body in your sound. I used to use a .152 for low A and that was pure beef! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingbassist Posted April 13, 2013 Author Share Posted April 13, 2013 [quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1365853705' post='2045213'] a .152 for low A and that was pure beef! [/quote] Wow that is one heavy gauge string...... I'm running a 135 atm but think the rest need to be generally thicker because its just a standard set atm so the thinest is a 45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 +1 on the Bartolinis for a nice rounded deep sound. But, Viking, what exactly are you asking? Do you want advice on pup/string selection or about the install itself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingbassist Posted April 13, 2013 Author Share Posted April 13, 2013 Sorry, my first post on a forum like this. My tuning setup was there more to give as much info as possible. I am looking for advice on what pickups to look at as I don't have any real experience in this area and if there are any particular things to watch out for whilst installing them.... A little bit of everything I suppose. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 The firs t thing I would suggest is to take your bass to a local store and tryit though a few amps of different makes. make sure it's not the amp that's the problem. It would be a shame to spend £100 on pups only to find its your amp that's lacking. Then take a good look at your bass and it's value. I've seen it on ebay for £99. OK, that was a lefty, but are you going to double your investment in the bass and it will STILL only be worth £99? I don't want to be rude, but take a good look about and think first before you spend serious money on a £99 bass. I would respectfully suggest trying out a s/hand Ibanez - some come with Barts as standard. Another is the Fender Squier. You can get a s/hand one on ebay for between £100-150. IMHO if you go for a better replacement bass the build will possibly be better and you'll gain more in the way of sustain and other factors. Right now s/hand basses are going cheap. Post again if you're sure about upgrading the pups Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingbassist Posted April 14, 2013 Author Share Posted April 14, 2013 Thanks grangur, I do completely get where you are coming from and this is the dilemma I have been going back and forth on keep trying to find a new one or repair and upgrade and old one. The Amp is a brand new Ashdown Spyder 550 and have a couple of other basses that I use and it is working fine. Value of the bass - Money is not the issue, playing is a hobby and i'm trying to learn more of the technical sides to things and would rather try and learn on a cheaper bass that doesn't matter if at the end of it all has to be binned. Plus the value of the bass is not always directly linked to the way it feels and plays. Whilst yes this is a cheap bass, The neck profile and width is exactly what I want and other basses like the Squires and Fenders have wider necks and bigger bodies than what i'm looking for (and I plain just don't like the way Ibanez feel and play) Basically after more reading and research I think what I'm looking for is advice on which is the best PJ style pickup that will give really warm, retro low mids Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 (edited) Hey Viking, thanks for the useful info. I agree with you totally and know where you're coming from. Youtube is good for checking the Bartolini gives the sound you want. This is a good video for giving info on the sound [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5kUzuLHkHY[/media] The next thing to look for is make sure the size of the pups are right for the bass; without you having to get the tools out too much on the body. Take a look here: [url="http://www.bartolini.net/information/bass/new_bass_pu_s4.htm"]http://www.bartolini..._bass_pu_s4.htm[/url] here's another video with the Bartolini P-Js [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOuV7-lV2XE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOuV7-lV2XE[/url] Edited April 14, 2013 by Grangur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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