dolphindasheryoshi

I'm looking to get a Musicman preamp toward the end of next month and I've heard great things about the Nordstrand.

If this hasn't gone by then I might be interested! 

I don't have a battery cavity routed, do you think this preamp (+battery) would fit in a typical stingray cavity? 

On 11/09/2020 at 09:08, simon88wilson said:

If you're after a Stingray Clone preamp try the Retrovibe Stinger. https://retrovibe.co.uk/product/retrovibe-stinger-77-classic-mm-stingray-bass-eq-pre-amp-2-band-pre-eb-circuit/

Thanks for suggesting this, I've never heard of it before but after having a Google it seems to be pretty positively reviewed. Definitely a strong option! Have you tried it yourself? I've heard some preamps sound nicer with some pickups than others (similar frequency responses or something, I'm not 100% sure on the technical details), so do you have any recommendations for pickups specific to this preamp? If I were to go for e.g. the Seymour Duncan pickup, would it be safer to go for the Duncan preamp than this one? Thanks!

On 11/09/2020 at 12:34, bloke_zero said:

John East Pre is really nice and drop in.  Sounds great - very expensive.

Or this - super cheap if you solder: https://www.musikding.de/Classic-Bass-Preamp-Preamp-kit

The gy that designed it gives an interesting rundown of the process: here is a weird google translation! https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fandyszeugs.wordpress.com%2Fmusicman-stingray-classic-preamp%2F

Pickups are legion! I got a Nordstrand MM 4.4 - sounds really good to me.  I planned to have a lot of switching options but in the end am just running it parallel - old school style. It's worth checking that if you're going for a sound-a-like the impedence is right as otherwise the interaction between the pickup and the preamp might not work well (if you check the german article I linked there are some remarks in the comments)

I'd upgrade the pickup first as it's really good to know what the passive sound is first.

Thanks for the response! Yes, my googling has turned up lots of recommendations for the John East and if I were upgrading a higher end bass I think that would be the one I would go for! However it costs as much as the bass itself, so it's probably a bit overkill here!

The cheaper preamp is definitely an interesting budget option. That Google translate link was really quite helpful and interesting. 

The Nordstrand definitely seems like a solid option for a pickup, of the ones I've read about it seems to be mainly between the Seymour Duncan (a bit cheaper) or the Nordstrand (a bit more expensive but also higher quality).

On 11/09/2020 at 15:24, paul_5 said:

I’ve been really impressed with the Wilkinson Musicman/Jazz combo - switch either pickup on individually or run in parallel for the standard ‘stingray’ tone. Not expensive either:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wilkinson-Platinum-WJM-Bass-System/dp/B01M0RSO1M

 

Interesting, I knew Wilkinson makes some really nice hardware but haven't come across their pickups! I'd likely go for their standard Musicman as opposed to their Musicman/jazz combo (I'm not a huge fan of a jazz bridge pickup by itself so I don't think I've ever use the single coil mode - if I had two MM pickups at bridge+neck the combo would definitely be the way to go!). Have you tried this pickup at all? 

Sorry for being naive, but I noticed on Wilkinson's website they also have an active musicman pickup. What is the difference between an active pickup and a passive pickup+ active preamp? (in practice I mean, I understand that one has a battery in the pickup and one has a preamp, but how does this difference alter the tone?)

Thanks for the responses everyone, it is much appreciated!

Hi everyone,

I recently bought and assembled a Pitbull Guitars MMB4 kit bass as a fun COVID lockdown project (happy to post pictures if anyone is interested!). The quality is surprisingly good (it's definitely one of the better quality 'kit guitars' I've ever seen), and after a decent set up it plays really nicely. The tone is fine, but definitely could be improved. Right now it's a stock (passive) pickup which does the job but is nothing too exciting, and no onboard preamp. I've got a birthday coming up and I'm interested in replacing either the pickup or adding an active preamp (eventually I plan to do both, but right now it'll probably be one or the other because they're not cheap).

I have two questions:

1) Would you recommend replacing the pickup or adding a preamp first?

2) Does anyone have any recommendations for either? I'd like a Stingray-ish tone, but it doesn't have to be an exact replication of that tone if there are other options out there (on my Google search I've seen several posts from people asking which after market pickups give the closest possible recreation of the Stringray tone, and e.g. seen people complaining the EMG pickup isn't very similar to the classic Stingray pickup - I'd of course be thrilled with a perfect Stingray tone but I'm also happy with something a bit different if it sounds good). The main limiting factor is cost; as it is a relatively cheap bass kit I don't want to spend too much money. I've heard great things about Nordstrand, Aguilar, and Seymour Duncan. I use Seymour Duncan P-bass pickups in two of my basses and one of my guitars, so I know they're good pickups for a reasonable price. 

I'm also aware when it comes to Musicman pickups there are no standard sizes, so whatever is recommended I will have to check whether it will fit before buying.

Like I said above, I'm pretty open to any suggestions and it is just a fun project bass, so if you have other options/ideas with what to do with it, just let me know!

Thanks for the help