Fraktal Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Hello fellow bassists, I am a bit tired of the tone of my Ibanez SR505. Those Bartolini pickups have a very "dry" sound. They define extremely well and cut thorugh the mix like butter, but my old bass has MEC soapbars and has a tone that suits my playing style and the music I play much better. In general, the MEC soapbars have a more open sound, the bass frequencies are warmer and the highs are less aggressive. Its a matter of tone, not output or volume. When I play the bartolinis I get a "too much in your face" kind of tone with aggressive mids and harsh highs, when I play the MECs I dont miss any mids or highs, in fact I would say the MECs have as much highs as the bartolinis or even more, but those mid and high frequencies are much more pleasant to my ears. I dont have the tools neither the skills to reroute the body wood to fit different size pickups. Do you know of any pickups that would fit the original pickup sockets in my Ibanez SR505? I know there are 2 different models by Seymour Duncan, one active and one passive, but I would like to have several choices, preferably passive. Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 More than one way to skin a cat! Is it really the pick-ups? Could it be the EQ? Or could it be the strings? (Try a different brand? Try Nickels rather than steels?) I'm not suggesting that you're wrong, per se, but do consider the other variables that can contribute to the tone before you commit time, effort and money to changing something like pick-ups. If the EQ is the one I [i]think[/i] it is, it's plenty powerful/flexible enough to have the potential to EQ out your difficulties. Give it a go before you consign the Barts to the bin... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fraktal Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 Already tried nickels and it didnt work. The eq isnt the issue either, as I stated before, its not about output, volume or frequency boost/cut, its just a matter of character. Those bartolinis have harsh mids and highs, and no eq will solve that, really. Its not like they have too many mids/highs and you should cut them, they are well balanced across the spectrum. I simply dont like their sound, I guess. Thank you very much, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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