ead Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Just having quite a severe attack of GAS looking at the Overwater Aspiration basses in BGM (tempered by what I could afford), but I'm not sure what a combination of MM/J bass might sound like. Any thoughts/experiences out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 There's a few out there to try for a rough idea, Sandberg California? , Warwick jazzman $ , and the obvious one being Lakland 55-02 is it? Oh nearly forgot the EBMM HS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorick Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 I've owned a Sandberg JM4 for about five years. The MM/J arrangement is very versatile, especially when you have a coiltap on the MM (like mine). You can get a very good approximation of a jazz bass, plus the Stingray sound, or a good ballsy sound with both on An active/passive option might be worth thinking about as well(like mine). Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon1964 Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 [quote name='yorick' post='1111959' date='Feb 2 2011, 07:17 AM']I've owned a Sandberg JM4 for about five years. The MM/J arrangement is very versatile, especially when you have a coiltap on the MM (like mine). You can get a very good approximation of a jazz bass, plus the Stingray sound, or a good ballsy sound with both on An active/passive option might be worth thinking about as well(like mine). Nige[/quote] +1. My Shuker has MM/J with a coil tap on the MM. Just about the most versatile pickup combination you can go for IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 The musicman pickup on my Lakland has 2 pickups under the cover and a switch which lets you choose between neck and R/H MM, which I believe is a 70's Jazz tone, neck and L/H MM, which is a 60's Jazz tone and just the MM pickup. That's looking down when you're playing it. There is a pan control to move the volume balance between the two pickups. I don't know what you can do to get more flexible tone controls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ead Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 [quote name='yorick' post='1111959' date='Feb 2 2011, 07:17 AM'].......The MM/J arrangement is very versatile, especially when you have a coiltap on the MM (like mine)............... ..............An active/passive option might be worth thinking about as well(like mine). Nige[/quote] Thanks people. I'm not clear about what a coil tap is and does so would welcome some help there. Also what do you gain from an active/passive option? I have a couple of passive instruments and one active (Spector PJ) bass, but as they all have different pickup combinations it's not easy to make a direct comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 [quote name='ead' post='1114888' date='Feb 4 2011, 08:01 AM']Thanks people. I'm not clear about what a coil tap is and does so would welcome some help there. Also what do you gain from an active/passive option? I have a couple of passive instruments and one active (Spector PJ) bass, but as they all have different pickup combinations it's not easy to make a direct comparison.[/quote] Coil tap is when one of the coils of a humbucker is taken out of the circuit, meaning you're left with a "single coil" pickup. Usually done via a switch or push/pull potentiometer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balcro Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 (edited) If you want the lower end of the market, try my bass, the Cort GB74. Not the last word in sonic excellence but has a real variety of sounds available because of the 3-way switchable coils and a low-mid boost switch. Add to that the volume switch also acts as an active/passive push-pull. For sound samples, check out youtube for GB74/75/94 and there are a few more examples on wikizic.org Balcro. Edited February 4, 2011 by Balcro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I've got the same set-up in my MTD Kingston Heir 5, which also have the Active/Passive option. You get a good range of tons from it. I tend to play finger work over the neck J for the bluesy moments, yet get a reasonable approximation of an MM from picking at the bridge. I'm wondering if anyone is close enough for you to try? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ead Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 Thanks guys. I've got a number of basses to look for in local emporiums, time for a few phone calls I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 ead, this Ibanez RD605 in For Sale looks cheap enough: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=121558"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=121558[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ead Posted February 8, 2011 Author Share Posted February 8, 2011 Is there a material difference between an MM and a Humbucker? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 [quote name='ead' post='1119753' date='Feb 8 2011, 09:37 AM']Is there a material difference between an MM and a Humbucker?[/quote] Well, a MM pickup [i]is[/i] a humbucker but so are the soap bars you see fitted to allot of basses and also pickups like the double Jazz and the G&L. A precision split coil pickup is technically a humbucker too. Even forgetting the Precision pickup, they all sound fairly different so if you want a MM sound you'd best go for a MM humbucker or one specifically designed to imitate it. You can still mess around with coil switching but be sure of that classic Ray sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickH Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 I have this pickup setup in my custom Status, and in a couple of my workshop one-off bases previously. Sexyful indeed when coupled with a good preamp and some switching options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ead Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Thanks for the guidance people and for putting up with the daft questions. One last question if I may; what effect does a series/parallel switch for the pickup have on this setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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