Delano pickup combination J+MM?

[sdb9053]

Hey everyone, im new to the forum. I'm just looking for some opinions on various Delano pickups as i'm trying to decide which ones i want. Ive got a Walnut Jazz on order with a J (neck) and MM (bridge) routings, and i've also got myself a Glockenklang 4 band preamp for this project. After considerable research im pretty sure i want to get some Delano's as ive heard such great things about them and that they pair really well with Glockenklangs. Which brings me to my final dilemma; which particular Delano's do i want!?

For the MM there is considerable choice: Firstly either Alnico or Ceramic. But then either the MC 4 AL or the MC 4 AL/V4 OR the MC 4 FE or the MC 4 FE/J M2.

For the Jazz its between the splitcoil humbuckers. The JC 4 AL/M2 or the JMVC 4 FE/M2.
Im leabing towards the JC 4 AL/M2 as i've heard that the JMVC 4 FE/M2. is bordering on no longer sounding like a J anymore, which is an option i would like to have available to me.

As for the MM's i havent owned a bass with one before and so my knowledge is fairly limited other than knowing i want one! (due to playing various basses over the years).

It'd just be cool to hear people's opinions and preferences on these pickups so i can get a better feel for what they're like. Most reviews i've been able to find have been focused on the JMVC 4 FE/M2. I'd like to know more about the MM's, the differences between them (besides the quite vague descriptions on Delano's site). And also which combination would work best together and compliment each other.

My main band is an Alternative Hard Rock band, but i play a wide range of music as well for other projects. Versatility is a huge plus. All opinions and input would be much appreciated. Cheers

[simon1964]

Have you thought about one of the Delano hybrids in the MM position?

I've got on on my Shuker. It's wired so that it is a single coil J in passive mode, but twin coil MM type in active. It works really well with a J neck pickup. The passive Jazz tones are excellent. The active MM tone is a bit different to classic Stingray (to my ears at least). Perhaps a bit more controlled / refined that a classic 'ray, but a very usable and versatile tone.

I've got the [font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]JMVC 4 FE/M2 in the neck position. They are a bit more "full" sounding than a traditional Jazz, but it's certainly more J than P. Also, it's worth mentioning that the split coil balances very nicely with the MM pickup in terms of volume. [/color][/font]

They look rather cool too!

Edited May 26, 2014 by simon1964

[sdb9053]

I had actually, but i read that you can lose some of the power you would get from a standard MM and that kinda put me off as i have other basses with J's in the bridge i was looking for something a bit different and id like it to still be MM in passive mode to. Thats why i hadnt pursued it any further. Thanks for the input though, i do fancy trying one of those Hybrids out in a future project simply because they seem really interesting .

[GrammeFriday]

Hello sdb9053 and welcome to Basschat!

I have a Sandberg fretless that has a Delano J + MM plus Glock pre combination, and it sounds fantastic. I'm afraid I can't tell you which of the numerous variant J coil pups it's got - to be honest, I had no idea that there were so many! What I can say is that Sandberg wire the MM pickup to a coil splitter switch, so you can flip it between humbucker and trad single coil Jazz bridge pickup sounds in an instant. Having said that, I almost always leave it in humbucker mode as it sounds just so nice - super fat and super funky. The only other thing that I can say about it is that - despite the name, and despite the looks - the Delano MM pickup doesn't sound remotely like a Stingray. It sounds more like the kind of 'modern superjazz' sound you'd get from soap bar pickups (e.g. Barts or Nordstrands) in bridge position - closer to a Roscoe or an MTD than it is to a Ray, if you want a comparison, but really it has a sound all of its own - clean and modern, but very fat at the same time. So ... if the idea is to emulate the Stingray sound with the Delano MM pup, then forget it; but if you are after a really juicy superjazz bridge pup sound that you can lay down a meaty groove with as well as solo with, then the combination you have in mind gets two thumbs up from me.

PS Some pix here if you are interested:
http://basschat.co.uk/topic/168961-sandberg-love/page__view__findpost__p__2257010

[GrammeFriday]

PS I forgot to say that the Glockenklang pre is 2-band and has a push-pull active/passive bypass system. As with the coil splitter, I thought I would be using this a lot, but in practice I have tended to keep it in active mode all the time. But it is nice to know that there is a failsafe if the battery were to conk out in the middle of a set!

[sdb9053]

Thanks very much; yeah they have a big variety, which is what is causing the dilemma. The JMVC 4 FE/M2, according to their website 'painstaikingly recreated that timeless voice to the very detail' of the B 00 series Stingray. But i wanted some description of the other types, so yours was very helpful, just wish i knew which model the pickup was . Thats a mighty fine looking bass you've got yourself there!
Hopefully some other people round here will have had some experience of the others.

[GCYPbass]

I installed JC 4 HE/M2 in an Ibanez SR I used to have. Great bottom end. Probably the best lows among all Delano jazz PUs. You should check them out.

[mike257]

I was going to post about the J/MM combo in my Sandberg jazzer but the above poster has more or less said word for word what I would have. I'll just chime in to say that it sounds bloody brilliant and is versatile enough to deal with any of the various genres/styles i've thrown at it across a bunch of different bands.