Pickup recomendations for a Warwick 5 string

[Matt P]

hello, i bought a 5 string rockbass corvette from Shockwave a while ago that had been very badly refinished (i don't believe he did the work himself but bouight it as a project and then decided against it)

it's this one if anyone is interested [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/188159-sold-warwick-rockbass-corvette-5-string/page__fromsearch__1"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/188159-sold-warwick-rockbass-corvette-5-string/page__fromsearch__1[/url]

i've managed to strip the body and it's now nearly finished (oil and wax) my problem is that when the body was originally re-finished (before i got it) the pickups got very badly scratched by the sandpaper and now look awful, i've tried tidying them up with very fine abrasive paper and polish but they still look nasty against the newly re-finished wood. the pickups are epoxy sealed so the original covers are glued in and cannot be replaced (unless someone can prove me wrong!)

what are my options for replacement pickups? I'm trying to keep this as a budget rebuild and am mainly looking at secondhand quality pickups rather than cheap new ones.

which pickups are likely to work best, i'm guessing that the original MEC's had a blade magnet under the cover, do emg and bartolini have blades as well?

the pickups are the jazz type with both being the longer bridge type (95mm i think) and the string spacing is 16.5mm at the bridge so most of the 5 string jazz pickups just won't work/fit.

i play all kinds of music but mainly pub rock/blues/indie.

the plan is to fit one of Tommorichards fine Sabre preamps as well (the bass was originally passive)

the pickups are the final piece of this project and i'm really keen to get gigging with it!

thanks in advance

Matt

[rhythmbug]

Correct, you can't use the standard J set, needs to be 2 x 95mm ones. Perhaps for your style of music, Barts might be the way to go, as they have darker, more subtle sound. MECs, EMGs and Duncans will be bright and growly. I have EMGs in my Corvette Standard and swear by them, but they don't behave so well with non-EMG preamps; a BQC pre is recommended. I've used a variety of pres and pups in this particular bass and prefer MEC and EMG. I have a set of Delanos that I'll be selling soon but might be out of your price range, as they were about £200 new. Stingray-like tone.

Edited July 10, 2013 by rhythmbug

[Acebassmusic]

If you want to keep the pickups but dont like the rough look of them, try painting them with Hammerite or Japlac. These paints are usually hard wearing and fill in a lot of the scratches. Might be an option

[Matt P]

[quote name='rhythmbug' timestamp='1373455371' post='2137729']
Correct, you can't use the standard J set, needs to be 2 x 95mm ones. Perhaps for your style of music, Barts might be the way to go, as they have darker, more subtle sound. MECs, EMGs and Duncans will be bright and growly. I have EMGs in my Corvette Standard and swear by them, but they don't behave so well with non-EMG preamps; a BQC pre is recommended. I've used a variety of pres and pups in this particular bass and prefer MEC and EMG. I have a set of Delanos that I'll be selling soon but might be out of your price range, as they were about £200 new. Stingray-like tone.
[/quote]

Barts seem to be a good option provided i can find a suitable pair, which delano's have you got? are they a matched pair that would fit straight in (and line up properly with the strings?) depending how much you're wanting for them and whether i can get my 2 bitsa basses sold i might buy them from you, i've heard great things about delano and would love to try a pair out.

i have considered painting the existing piuckups but the pickups have had some of their corners sanded off so i'd need to do some careful shaping work to get them looking right. this is my fall-back option if i can't source some other pickups (or if i cant get the funds together for them)

[rhythmbug]

[size=4]Yep, they are a matched pair of [font=Arial][font=Arial]JMVC5FE pups. They dropped straight into my Corvette Std 5. They are pretty much as new, I tried them out and they were fantastic, very punchy and smooth, strong low mids. Just not that suited to my band's style (heavy rock / postpunk) and in my opinion bright pickups suit this bass the best. I also own a Stingray and felt it turned my Warwick into a sort of Stingray hybrid. I want a Warwick to sound like a Warwick. Anyway I could part with them for £140 for the pair. I'm not sure how good your MECs are, but I had actives in mine previously and they were great. It was the MEC preamp that was a bit underwhelming. I'd say get rid of that first and see how it sounds with a new pre.[/font][/font][/size]

Edited July 11, 2013 by rhythmbug

[Matt P]

what is the string spacing like on those pickups, the delano website states 17 and 18mm, while the warwick is 16.5mm at the bridge, are yours narrower spacing than standard or did you just rely on the fact that the polepieces are huge so the strings don't have to run over the centres. i tend to get a little obsessive about strings running over the centre of the poles (i think it's psychological thing!)

the original pickups are the mec dynamic control ones, the bass didn't have a preamp as it is the cheapest rockbass model which is passive.

if i can get one of my bitsa basses sold then i'm interested in the delano's but it might ake me a week or two to raise the money (just had to pay the car insurance and the road tax is due at the end of the month too )

Matt

[rhythmbug]

I told Delano what kind of bass I was using, whether they adjusted the spacing or not I'm not sure. But yeah, the pole pieces are a beastly 9.5mm (3/8").

I'll measure them when I get a moment and let you know. No rush on payment etc I haven't put an ad up yet and seeing you've expressed interest I'll hold off for the time being.

Cheers

Mike

[Matt P]

Sweet, let me know what they measure, I'm going to get some pictures of my basses sorted tonight so I can post them up for sale, hopefully I'll get a buyer soon as I need some space for incoming gear!.
Matt

[Drakers]

My advice, bite the bullet.
Over the years I have been back and forth, trying to compromise with cost and result, believe me, you do not get there,
Take a serious look at NORSTRAND pickups, the character of the tone is faithful but the clarity is somehow enhanced, somehow the sound is all "under the fingers",
is this not what we are all looking for?
As a very good alternative you should also speak to CURTIS NOVAK if you can explain what you want he can make em, 'phone him,

[Matt P]

I have looked at Nordstrand and they don't make anything standard that would fit, and I don't see anything from Novak either, this bass is an exercise in just returning an abused instrument to useable condition, it's not destined to be my main bass, the incoming custom Letts 5 string will fill that role.
This thread was mainly to find out what the options were for a 4 string sized pickup that would work with 5 strings as I was only aware of a few and they seemed a bit thin on the ground. I was hoping not to have to commission a pair of custom pickups in order to restore a budget bass.
The Delano pickups would be at the very top of my budget but I have been curious to try them so the money could be found if the string spacing is correct.

Matt

[rhythmbug]

Hi Matt, the Delanos measure 18mm string spacing.

[Matt P]

hmm, 18mm is quite a bit wider than the 16.5 string spacing on the warwick, i think the mismatch would bug me (although i'm sure that they'd sound excellent)
i think i'll pass on these for now, i'm leaning towards methods to smarten up the existing pickups, if you wipe them over with a damp cloth they look reasonable so i might give them a light mist of clear spray varnish and see how they look.

matt