FarFromTheTrees Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 (edited) I play a [url="http://imgur.com/aBHEzW2"]Cort C5Z Artisan[/url] and while I LOVE the bass itself (right shape, weight, string spacing for me), i feel the tone is sorely lacking in comparison to when I play on newer model basses in shops etc. They also feel/sound somewhat dead and unresponsive. I am on a bit of a budget and cannot afford a new bass so upgrading the pups appears to me to be the way forward to get a better tone and response. The installed standard pickups appear to be Mighty Mite DXH 1-5F-and-DXH 1-5R, though I can't find out a whole lot more about them. What new pickups would you recommend? I can afford to spend up to around £150 - £200. I dont quite know enough bass eq terminology to describe the tone I want to aim for. I like a modern, metal/rock bass tone as that's the style of music I mostly play, (Tool, Soen, Deftones, A Perfect Circle, Incubus, Enter Shikari, Glassjaw, Karnivool etc & so fourth). I also play punk, ska, reggae and dub. I have a B7K Ultra, which worked wonders for my tone but I feel I could get so much more from this bass with the right pups. Please help! Cheers Edited October 7, 2016 by FarFromTheTrees Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 If the tone of a bass is dead I'd look at the strings first before the pups. Have you tried any different strings? If you're on a budget, then [url="http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/strings-c1/bass-guitar-strings-sets-c34/legacy-4-string-nickel-roundwound-45-105-long-scale-bass-guitar-strings-p972/s1014?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=legacy-4-string-nickel-roundwound-45-105-long-scale-bass-guitar-string-legacybass45&utm_campaign=product%2Blisting%2Bads&gclid=CjwKEAjwj92_BRDQ-NuC98SZkWYSJACWmjhlu4D5kIjwOaYrjFWBJT_mHPOfTlS3oboUkjdfFcSMZRoCOv7w_wcB"]Legacy strings from Rotosound[/url] are a good, low-cost string to try out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarFromTheTrees Posted October 7, 2016 Author Share Posted October 7, 2016 [quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1475832101' post='3149019'] If the tone of a bass is dead I'd look at the strings first before the pups. Have you tried any different strings? If you're on a budget, then [url="http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/strings-c1/bass-guitar-strings-sets-c34/legacy-4-string-nickel-roundwound-45-105-long-scale-bass-guitar-strings-p972/s1014?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=legacy-4-string-nickel-roundwound-45-105-long-scale-bass-guitar-string-legacybass45&utm_campaign=product%2Blisting%2Bads&gclid=CjwKEAjwj92_BRDQ-NuC98SZkWYSJACWmjhlu4D5kIjwOaYrjFWBJT_mHPOfTlS3oboUkjdfFcSMZRoCOv7w_wcB"]Legacy strings from Rotosound[/url] are a good, low-cost string to try out. [/quote] Yep, I change my strings as needed. My preferred strings being D'addario pro steels. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 Can you give us the dimensions of the current pickups ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 (edited) OK, so you, could also check the distance from the string to the pup. Otherwise it would be down to changing the pups. Assuming you'd like to keep the bass looking as it is as much as possible, the choice of pups will be ruled a lot by the size of the rout for them. Do you know the size of the pups? I see the Artisan is now sold with Bartolini pups. Have you looked into if you can get Barts that would fit? Edit - got beaten to it while I was on the phone. Edited October 7, 2016 by Grangur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarFromTheTrees Posted October 11, 2016 Author Share Posted October 11, 2016 [quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1475834924' post='3149055'] Can you give us the dimensions of the current pickups ? [/quote] Sure can! 4 inches in length, 1.5 inches wide. [quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1475836022' post='3149063'] OK, so you, could also check the distance from the string to the pup. Otherwise it would be down to changing the pups. Assuming you'd like to keep the bass looking as it is as much as possible, the choice of pups will be ruled a lot by the size of the rout for them. Do you know the size of the pups? I see the Artisan is now sold with Bartolini pups. Have you looked into if you can get Barts that would fit? Edit - got beaten to it while I was on the phone. [/quote] Distance between the pickup and strings is set right, also something else I had previously experimented with. I probably should have posted the fixes I had already tried in my first post. Doh. I havent looked at any pickups at all, mostly because I dont know a whole lot about which brands are recommended. Sorry for the late reply, i've been away for a few days. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 [quote name='FarFromTheTrees' timestamp='1476227302' post='3152584'] Sure can! 4 inches in length, 1.5 inches wide. [/quote] Grangur was bang on with the Bartolini tip - their M4 series are all 4"x1.5" http://www.bartolini.net/product-category/bass-pickup/4-string-bass-pickup/soapbar-4-string-bass-pickup/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Think that is also EMG40 size. I'd be looking at Nordstrand Big Singles, but you won't get much change out of £200 ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 (edited) I don't know how accurate the measurement of 4x1.5 is but most pups sizes are shown on sites I'm millimetres. I guess you probably know this, but it's a fine line between having a gap and needing to get a router on the job. Kent Armstrong do reasonably priced soapbars. But the size is 101mm x 38mm http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/electronics-c17/kent-armstrong-guitar-pickups-c100/kent-armstrong-bass-pickups-c101/claymore-soapbar-bass-pu-4-or-5-string-bass-pickup-p703 I guess the selection process is very subjective and potentially expensive. IMHO Nordstrand would be bang on the money for rock or metal, but not cheap. Edited October 12, 2016 by Grangur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc S Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Another alternative is to get a Pre-amp pedal. I bought a cheap Behringer Bass Pre-amp, and can't believe how much more output volume and tonal control it gave me. They're around £25 - £30 new, which isn't much more than a decent set of strings. I was so impressed, I then bought a more expensive, higher quality Pre-Amp Pedal. The Behringer still gets used occasionally - I only paid a tenner for it second-hand... bargain Worth a thought anyway..... Pickups can be expensive. I don't know if Entwistle do a model to fit your bass, but I got PBXN + JBXN's for my P/J basses, and am really impressed with them, considering their prices.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricksterphil Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 I've heard good things about Entwhistle and usually anything by Seymour Duncan is pretty good but I'm not sure they do one ine the right size I've got Delanos in my Sandberg which are excellent and available from those nice chaps at Bass Direct for £200 + postage [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Delano_Soapbars_pickups.html"]http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Delano_Soapbars_pickups.html[/url] Or try various pedals....only drawback is you'll end up with a drawer full of unused pedals....still you can always buy 'em try 'em and flog 'em Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Or get a Zoom B3? (Other multi effect pedals are available) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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