Berserker Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Hi, I'm currently building my first bass and am looking for advice on pickups. I couldn't see a pickup section so I thought this was the closest section. Please let me know if this should be somewhere else. I've built several guitars and have changed pickups in almost every guitar I've ever had, so I'm pretty knowledgeable there, but bass pickups seem to be another kettle of fish. Most of the highly recommended brands (Bartolini, Nordstrand etc.) seem to be almost impossible to get hold of in the UK, and reviews of pickups in general are few and far between compare to guitar pickups. I guess I'm looking for advice on what's available in the UK and what some of you guys recommend. I'm not limited by pickup shape as I'm building the bass, but I play a fair bit of rock and metal. I have a Yamaha TRBX605 and really like the active pre amp and dual humbuckers, but I also love the bridge pickup in my Sterling Sub5, so I was thinking a Musicman style pickup in the bridge, then something more versatile in the neck. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 (edited) Bartolini, Nordstrand and many other brand pickups are available from BassDirect here - http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Pickups.html Edited July 16, 2018 by ikay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Do a search for Herrick Pickups, they`re very good and Martin is a member on here as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berserker Posted July 17, 2018 Author Share Posted July 17, 2018 Thanks guys, I'll Check them out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 There are also a lot of UK based custom pickup winders around, that are priced competitively to off the shelf parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berserker Posted July 17, 2018 Author Share Posted July 17, 2018 23 hours ago, Lozz196 said: Do a search for Herrick Pickups, they`re very good and Martin is a member on here as well. They look great... do you know if he does 5 string pups? Can't see them mentioned on the site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 Try Warman ( UK ) Prices are amazing - i have one of their MM humbuckers and it's a peach http://www.warmanguitars.co.uk/product-category/pickups/bass-guitar-pickups/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 Used the Warman jazzbar plenty of times, great pickup. Hope to have their MM installed by the weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 I have two of the warman MM humbuckers in my fireman. They are great, very powerful output, I need to wind them down a bit so I don't have to readjust all my inputs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 14 minutes ago, Woodinblack said: I have two of the warman MM humbuckers in my fireman. They are great, very powerful output, I need to wind them down a bit so I don't have to readjust all my inputs! 13.2 k for the 8 pole MM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 Yeh, and 15.4k on the 5s, which is what I have. So when I switch from parallel to series it goes from one extreme to much further along the same extreme! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berserker Posted July 18, 2018 Author Share Posted July 18, 2018 9 hours ago, fleabag said: Try Warman ( UK ) Prices are amazing - i have one of their MM humbuckers and it's a peach http://www.warmanguitars.co.uk/product-category/pickups/bass-guitar-pickups/ Interesting, I've seen them on eBay. I know they're generic re-branded chinese pickups so good to see some guys with positive experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 (edited) On 18/07/2018 at 07:23, Berserker said: Interesting, I've seen them on eBay. I know they're generic re-branded chinese pickups so good to see some guys with positive experiences. Josi is a top bloke. I've used his stuff in upgrades. His humbucker sized P90s are fantastic. Frankly couldn't care less where they're made (or the price point), they're just so damn good. Edited July 20, 2018 by NancyJohnson 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 https://www.houseoftonepickups.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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