Harley Benton MB 4 SBK mods?

[ern500evo]

Am I looking at the right pickup, are they really only £22.99?? 

[Stub Mandrel]

The Warman? Yes silly cheap. But the main variables for pickup construction are style, wire gauge, number of windings and magnet choice. That means making a good one need not be much more expensive than making an awful one.

[ern500evo]

Ordered. For that price, well worth a go for that price! 

[Guest]

HB and Warman were made for one another, like Scott and the Antarctic or Richard Harris and cigarettes.

[thisisswanbon]

I may very well go the the Warman route myself pick up wise, are they difficult to fit?

 

took my bass out to a gig on Saturday - straight to FOH via my Two Notes Le Bass Pre with bass boosted a touch and cab sim on.  Guy comes up and first words are "Muddy that, mate".  I did have the tone rolled back around 3/4" to be fair, and he did say it was better after a bit of adjustment (he did ask if it was an EBMM which surprised me).  After having a conversation with him, turns out he plays bass and had 3 Bongo basses.  If that's what he was comparing it to then I think "a bit muddy" is more than acceptable given the price difference!

Edited January 13, 2023 by thisisswanbon

[Stub Mandrel]

I had to enlarge the hole in the pickguard and use some better quality foam behind the pup.

 

Wiring is different but shouldn't be hard to get right.

[mcnach]

25 minutes ago, thisisswanbon said:

I may very well go the the Warman route myself pick up wise, are they difficult to fit?

 

took my bass out to a gig on Saturday - straight to FOH via my Two Notes Le Bass Pre with bass boosted a touch and cab sim on.  Guy comes up and first words are "Muddy that mate".  I did have the tone rolled back around 3/4" to be fair, and he did say it was better after a bit of adjustment (he did ask if it was an EBMM which surprised me).  After having a conversation with him, turns out he plays bass and had 3 Bongo basses.  If that's what he was comparing it to then I think "a bit muddy" is more than acceptable given the price difference!

 

 

I've used (live) my MB-5 SBK stock without any perceived 'muddiness'. I don't get the same sound I get with my Stingray (no surprises there, passive vs active) but it is not muddy. Maybe he just likes a brighter tone.

Edited January 13, 2023 by mcnach

[Guest]

The Warman pickup almost went straight in. I duplicated the original wiring rather than fitting a switch and going 3 way switchable.  I had to file the cutout on the pickguqrd ever so slightly, but otherwise was very easy to install. It turned an amazing bass for the money into a brilliant sounding one at any price, although string choice will have an impact there.

[ern500evo]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175596859591?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=2Kavy7ytQ9W&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=oWU6BdMXQRy&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
 

The body on this bass looks very familiar!

[thisisswanbon]

5 hours ago, ern500evo said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175596859591?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=2Kavy7ytQ9W&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=oWU6BdMXQRy&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
 

The body on this bass looks very familiar!

This hurts my eyes.

[Stub Mandrel]

Aieeee!!!

[Mnw]

Hi Folks. New here and about to attempt my first ever mods. Just got a Mb-4 SBK and would like to upgrade the pick ups and tuners. Has anyone used the Seymour Duncan SMB-4D? would this be the most 'sting ray' pick up? I could do with advice on wiring if it's not just a case of swapping like for like, on this or the warman pickup. Thanks for the help.

 

[mcnach]

1 hour ago, Mnw said:

Hi Folks. New here and about to attempt my first ever mods. Just got a Mb-4 SBK and would like to upgrade the pick ups and tuners. Has anyone used the Seymour Duncan SMB-4D? would this be the most 'sting ray' pick up? I could do with advice on wiring if it's not just a case of swapping like for like, on this or the warman pickup. Thanks for the help.

 

 

It's a very nice pickup (I do prefer slightly the SMB-4A), but it's not trying to replicate the Stingray pickups. If you want to get as close as possible to a classic Stingray sound you'd be better off with the Nordstrand MM4.2 which sounds very much like the original in my Stingray, or the Aguilar (I forget the model) one. If you just want a great sounding pickup, the Seymour Duncan (both D and A versions) is a great option. It'll still sound unmistakeably Stingrayesque, no question about it, it's just that the Nordstrand/Aguilar ones are closer to the originals.

 

I used to play an OLP with the SMB-4A and the Seymour Duncan preamp, as well as the Stingray. They sounded different but they were just different flavours of 'nice'

 

[iconic]

On 13/04/2023 at 10:35, Mnw said:

Hi Folks. New here and about to attempt my first ever mods. Just got a Mb-4 SBK and would like to upgrade the pick ups and tuners. Has anyone used the Seymour Duncan SMB-4D? would this be the most 'sting ray' pick up? I could do with advice on wiring if it's not just a case of swapping like for like, on this or the warman pickup. Thanks for the help.

 

I think, from a personal view the OE pup is very good indeed, but it's sensitive to strings, in much the same way as my 2000 MM-4H was.

 

Be worth slinging a set of new strings on the bass first before heart surgery. 😎

[thisisswanbon]

That's a good shout! Strings made a MASSIVE difference on mine, the set that was on were awful!

[Stub Mandrel]

Warman pickup has that meaty Stingray sound.

[Mnw]

Thanks! I’ll give some new strings a go first!

[Seth Bass]

Heavily customised MB-4. Basically replaced most of the hardware 😛

 

First thing I did was change the strings (before I changed to flats) which made a huge difference to sound and output so would strongly recommend. 

 

Hipshot MB6 Lightweight tuners, barely any neck dive now when sitting.

Brass nut

Brass saddles

Dressed frets

Artec SE-2A Preamp with rear battery

La Bella LTF-4A Flexible Flat wounds

Series / parallel switch 

Rear mounted flush jack input (have always loved this design on Charvels and wanted to try it)

Sanded the neck for a better feel (and kept going because I liked the look. Bit of pink sharpie and I ended up here :p)

 

It now sounds and plays amazing and I have no want for a more expensive bass.

I tried the Warman pickup and thought it sounded way worse than the original, which I never had a problem with tbh

 

Need to fill the old tuner holes but haven't got round to it, will never like the look of the tiny tuners but the weight was worth it to me.

[la bam]

Qhi all, does anyone have a link to these warman pickups? 

 

Also will they just swap straight in? I've the double humbucker Harley benton and that has the 5 way switch and is active? 

[Stub Mandrel]

30 minutes ago, la bam said:

Qhi all, does anyone have a link to these warman pickups? 

 

Also will they just swap straight in? I've the double humbucker Harley benton and that has the 5 way switch and is active? 

 

http://warmanguitars.co.uk/

 

I had to slightly open up the hole in the pickguard.

[Thump]

This thread gives me the itch all over again. Just so happens I've been looking at mm style lately (amongst others) and the Mrs has already been  at me for what I'd like for Xmas. Heavy hints going her way now 😂

 

[la bam]

I have to take my request back..... I tried the bass today as standard and it was fantastic!! 

 

What a great bass this is. Genuinely 5 different sounds, built in eq. Lovely. The setting inbetween neck and middle is genuinely better than my old g&l l2000 USA. 

 

I'm so impressed by this bass. 

[Seth Bass]

12 minutes ago, la bam said:

I have to take my request back..... I tried the bass today as standard and it was fantastic!! 

 

What a great bass this is. Genuinely 5 different sounds, built in eq. Lovely. The setting inbetween neck and middle is genuinely better than my old g&l l2000 USA. 

 

I'm so impressed by this bass. 

Yeah I tried the warman and went back to stock! Only thing I'd definitely recommend is putting some decent strings on. Really took it to the next level. 

[Stub Mandrel]

Gigged the MB5 again yesterday.  Sounded great with the warman pup although only one song. Did have to up the gain a bit.