Sterling Ray34 Pickup recommendation

[Ander87]

Hey guys...!

Quick one on this old topic, I think! I've got a Sterling Ray34 (the roasted maple kind, nyatoh body) that will be soon boarding a John East 4 knob/3 band preamp running at 18v. 

My other bass is a Limelight PJ running on Aguilars, passive - I play mostly punk rock (some Neo Soul too) and whilst the PJ is the passive grunt, more vintage tone, I want the Stingray to be super punchy, cut thru the mix and do what rays do best whilst still fitting the Punk Rock gig.

I'm torn between these two sets of options:

1) More conservative, alnico magnets: Aguilar AG 4M vs Nordstrand MM 4.2 - no need for all the switching options etc

2) More modern, ceramic magnets: Aguilar DCB 4M vs Nordstrand Big Blademan

I'm more inclined to think that the Nordy Big Blademan makes sense to be 'different' from the Limelight on Aggie PJ's, but will it be too big a departure? Would either of the option 1 be too conservative? How do these pickups work with a bit of gain? If they growl, can they also clean up? 

Interested in making sure that the treble and treble strings cut through, and to respect the punch of the Ray34. Thoughts?

Best,

Ander.

[Steve Browning]

I have a Sterling SUB and had intended to replace the preamp and pickup. Having changed the preamp I have found the sound is fine. May I suggest you do your preamp swap and regroup. You may find (may!) that your have what you want and the pickup swap is unnecessary.

[Ander87]

Thanks Steve, it seems like this may be a wise course of action!