Swap of pickup advise/help?

[peanutmans]

Hi,
I have this bass "Shine Bass SB14" should I replace the pickups I currently have flatwounds on it and I have no idea if changing the pick ups would make a big difference to the sound(has the standard ones on currently) my budget for pickups would be about £40.
The reason I ask is i'm in a band now and want it to sound as good as possible for when we start gigging.

[Machines]

I don't think pickups costing £40 will improve your instrument. What type are the pickups?

[peanutmans]

Ah ok and they are the standard pick ups

[KiOgon]

TBH you'd almost certainly get more benefit swapping the pots, jack, cap & wiring - for less than £40

[Dad3353]

[quote name='peanutmans' timestamp='1452948573' post='2954950']...my budget for pickups would be about £40...
[/quote]

Have a look through here ...

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/forum/21-other-musically-related-items-for-sale/"]Marketplace forum for p/ups and stuff for sale ...[/url]

... You may find something suitable (look for a pair of 'Jazz' p/ups...).
You don't [i]really [/i]need to change, though, unless there's something actually [i]wrong [/i]with your current bass. Maybe not the latest thing in sliced bread, but a bass is a bass is a bass, really.
Hope this helps.

[Chienmortbb]

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1452960921' post='2955122']
TBH you'd almost certainly get more benefit swapping the pots, jack, cap & wiring - for less than £40
[/quote]Unless the pots are noisy this would be a total waste of money,

[Conan]

I'd have thought that changing the STRINGS would have far more of an effect - especially if you put roundwounds on (assuming that you don't like the tone of flats of course, but you wouldn't be asking about changing pickups if you liked the sound you currently get!).

[Conan]

[quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1453042944' post='2955857']
Unless the pots are noisy this would be a total waste of money,
[/quote]

Why? Have you tried one of KiOgons wiring looms? They make a heck of a difference to the sound of a bass - especially one that has cheap components as standard.

[synthaside]

i'm going to second what Conan said ... about Kiogon's custom loom's His noiseless soldier less loom has changed my cheap jazz basses life ...
major props to that man .

Incidentally Bexhill on sea .. We used to vacation just up the coast from you in Normans bay .

Edited January 18, 2016 by synthaside

[Chienmortbb]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1453132422' post='2956667']


Why? Have you tried one of KiOgons wiring looms? They make a heck of a difference to the sound of a bass - especially one that has cheap components as standard.
[/quote]I have seen them and they look very well made and reletively easy to install. However wiring, pots and caps have little real effect on the sound of a bass UNLESS they are massively different from the normal values used on basses.

[synthaside]

Sorry Chienmortbb... I dont agree with that in the slightest , with a quality loom , pots and control's which are far more usable my stock rubbish ... the tone control went from an on off button that seemed to turn on at about 50% and get even more nuts at 100% ... to a gradual control that add's brightness as i roll it.

The 60 Hz hum that i'd get from my single coils is totally gone due to them being properly shielded .. and he offers whatever cap's you want ... so if you want a grease-bucket he can do it ... if you want vintage he can do that ... Yes of course upgrade the Pu's but the loom makes a huge difference too ...

[HowieBass]

Try swapping the strings from flats to rounds before you try modding the instrument... unless you've already had rounds on it and changed to flats on purpose. If you like how flats feel then you'll probably like nickel rounds over steels.

[Chienmortbb]

[quote name='synthaside' timestamp='1453135652' post='2956730']
Sorry Chienmortbb... I dont agree with that in the slightest , with a quality loom , pots and control's which are far more usable my stock rubbish ... the tone control went from an on off button that seemed to turn on at about 50% and get even more nuts at 100% ... to a gradual control that add's brightness as i roll it.

The 60 Hz hum that i'd get from my single coils is totally gone due to them being properly shielded .. and he offers whatever cap's you want ... so if you want a grease-bucket he can do it ... if you want vintage he can do that ... Yes of course upgrade the Pu's but the loom makes a huge difference too ...
[/quote]I don't want to hijack the thread so I gave contacted KiOgan about his loom, Incidently you never had 60Hz hum/intrrference unless you live in the USA, Japan etc, In Europe we run on 50Hz,

Edited January 18, 2016 by Chienmortbb

[synthaside]

I' didn't call it 50hz hum because were more familiar with the term , 60hz hum , but yes cheap ass pick-ups with a cheap ass unshielded loom sat a little too close to my amp in the living room
( volume quite low to not irritate she who would be obeyed)

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ... required me to change my volume / tone settings to make it go away ... since getting a loom upgrade the Hum ... she is gone :-P and i can set the pickups to my old settings and sit mere inch's from my speaker .