Overwaters Pickup opinions?

[bassmansam]

After doing some research it seems Overwater pickups have a 'flat response' and are not everyones cup of tea. 

I'm trying to decide whether to go with them or maybe have some Barts installed on my custom Overwater Jazz? 

I know that if I go with the Overwaters I won't be able to swap them out further down the line as they're drilled differently. 

I'm wanting the sound to have some bark to it and wondered everyone's opinions who have owned Overwater Basses? 

Just as a side note the bass will have the Overwater Preamp installed. 

[chris_b]

I know someone who has Barts and a John East Pre in his Overwater Jazz. Don't know which models but the sound of that bass is the best I've heard.

[TheGreek]

I had Overwater soapbar pups on my custom Jazz - superb - everybody said. TBH I can't recall any criticism of the inhouse hardware.

 

Edited November 8, 2020 by TheGreek

[BigRedX]

I've owned two Overwater Originals - one with the Overwater pickups and filter pre-amp and the other where the pre-amp had been replaced with a Ken Smith one. The all Overwater electronics suited what I wanted far better. That's not to say that the Ken Smith pre-amp was bad it just wasn't what I was expecting. 

[fleabag]

Also owned two 80's Overwaters in the past , both  in the classic series.  First was a single pup passive bass and then a deluxe twin pup active.  The active bass had a dual filter preamp.

Both mine had the Kent Armstrong   pups with covers that were designed to look like Ebony, but aren't.  The very early classics  ( IIRC ) had Bill Lawrence pups.  I cant speak for ther BL pups but the  Kent pups in both mine were pretty awesome.  The active twin pup bass had a lot more bark, perhaps due to the active pre. and filters  though the  tone on the passive single pup was equally nice.

Doubt very much that you'd even find the 80's pups second hand though

[White Cloud]

For me, my Overwater Progress had the sound that I'd always had in my head and always been looking for. I only moved it on because the weight was killing my spine! It had Overwater's signature pups and pre but weighed in at 11lbs.

Considering myself more of a player, I've got to admit I find the whole technical aspect of gear boring ... but I couldn't fault any aspect of my OW other than weight. 

[OliverBlackman]

Have you got an example of the sound you’re after?

[4000]

Whilst I wouldn’t say they necessarily provide my dream sound, I’d go with the Overwater pickups. I’ve had several Sei basses with Barts and tbh have found them thoroughly underwhelming (the Barts, not the Seis). 

[4000]

3 hours ago, bassmansam said:

After doing some research it seems Overwater pickups have a 'flat response' and are not everyones cup of tea. 

I'm trying to decide whether to go with them or maybe have some Barts installed on my custom Overwater Jazz? 

I know that if I go with the Overwaters I won't be able to swap them out further down the line as they're drilled differently. 

I'm wanting the sound to have some bark to it and wondered everyone's opinions who have owned Overwater Basses? 

Just as a side note the bass will have the Overwater Preamp installed. 

Have you spoken to Overwater about this? They’re very knowledgeable and should be able to advise. 

[TheGreek]

40 minutes ago, 4000 said:

Barts and tbh have found them thoroughly underwhelming (the Barts, ). 

Totally agree!!

Had them in a Roscoe which I really liked the aesthetics of but was totally ruined by the Barts.

[bassmansam]

3 hours ago, OliverBlackman said:

Have you got an example of the sound you’re after?

I really like the tone from the White TT5 in this video with both pickups on. 

 

[OliverBlackman]

3 hours ago, bassmansam said:

I really like the tone from the White TT5 in this video with both pickups on. 

 

Yeh I’m very confident the overwater pickups will get close to those tones but also with more clarity and definition in the notes. I would record the same riff on mine for you but; mines passive, fretless ebony board, I’m using coated nickel strings and don’t have fret buzz, so it wouldn’t be a good comparison. 

[BigRedX]

If you like the sound of the Sandberg, why not get one of those instead of an Overwater?

[Misdee]

I remember seeing a custom Overwater active Jazz Bass with factory-fitted DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pickups . They would be likely to give you much more bark than the Bartolinis. The Barts tend towards a more hifi sound and can be a bit too  polished and "polite" sounding for some tastes.

It sounds like you want  bit of Fender-style grit and growl. There are loads of pickups on the market offering that , Fender Custom Shop 60's Jazz and Fender 74 Jazz being two prime examples I particularly like . A more guttural ( Fender, DiMarzio, Aero ect ) sounding pickup married to the Overwater preamp might give you more of the overall tone you crave from the finished bass. 

[hubrad]

If you're thinking of the possibility of future experiments, then go for the Bartolini as they'll be a standard size thus swappable. 

My J5 fretless tone monster came with Barts, but currently sports EMG for extra attack. I still have the Barts so I can always put them back in for the rich creaminess.

Tbh, my experience of Overwater's own pickups is also splendid; I think they're very versatile, and you can actually get alot out of them by fingers and amp usage.

Edit: Check out Ian King for Overwater/Bartolini content.. he told me he's a big fan of Barts, so I'm pretty sure if he's playing an Overwater in a vid then that's what the pickups will be.

Edited November 9, 2020 by hubrad

[Chris2112]

'Polite' is one word I've heard used to describe the Overwater tone. That tends to be disparaging, with 'pure' or 'uncorrupted' being the more positive alternative! 

 

[LukeFRC]

On 08/11/2020 at 12:39, bassmansam said:

 

After doing some research it seems Overwater pickups have a 'flat response' and are not everyones cup of tea. 

 

You are buying the bass- what are you after? Then tell overwater and see what they recommend. 
 

If you’ve sat and played half a dozen overwater with different pups then ignore this...

 the problem with research about gear via the Internet is it’s basically a set of contextless opinions where everyone has a different idea in their heads- and also usually don’t talk about the strengths in what they don’t like. there’s also a massive difference between say what you would want if you were in a metal band compared to doing jazz sessions. Overwater to me go into a sub set of makers who are renowned by pro bass players for years - and to my ears make fantastically consistent even sounding instruments that dont have any crazy eq baked in, and because of that will fit in most any mix for whatever is needed. I see the flat sounding uncoloured nature of the overwater I’ve heard as a massive plus point. Sure it might sound boring at first - but the ability to fit in a mix in an unpretentious solid way? Priceless.

go to a DIY store and the drills are all fighting with each other with all the colourful features they have - go to a trade store and they seem almost simple, uncolourful pro tools to consistently deliver day after day....

what would I do? Ild ask what I wanted. And unless I had a positive “I want this sound” i would go with the Overwater. 

[Misdee]

8 minutes ago, Chris2112 said:

'Polite' is one word I've heard used to describe the Overwater tone. That tends to be disparaging, with 'pure' or 'uncorrupted' being the more positive alternative! 

 

One of the chaps  at Overwater once told me that the design of their  Jazz Bass pickups/preamp combination had been inspired/influenced by Celinder active Jazz Basses and his pickup/preamp combination  .  We are going back about twenty years, but I seem to remember they told me  had some electronics boffin help them come up their own version. 

[Lfalex v1.1]

On a slightly philosophical note (I've no experience with Overwater nor Bartolini)

Is it not desirable that a pickup should be as accurate and uncoloured as possible?

This leaves the (internal) pre-amp and EQ to do the tone-control aspect, and any subsequent devices get the potential of a really clean sound to work with when needed. 

[hubrad]

I think some folks want to sound like x player or y bass.. I prefer the approach of sounding like I sound, depending on choice of bass, and it seems to work almost all the time.

I suppose, as a predominantly fretless player, most folks' reference is Pino Palladino, and let's face it I'll never be him(!) so I may as well do me!

The Overwater approach definitely works for me, either their 'standard' version or you can really enjoy talking to them re options and personal taste/requirements.

1 hour ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

On a slightly philosophical note (I've no experience with Overwater nor Bartolini)

Is it not desirable that a pickup should be as accurate and uncoloured as possible?

This leaves the (internal) pre-amp and EQ to do the tone-control aspect, and any subsequent devices get the potential of a really clean sound to work with when needed. 

 

[LukeFRC]

2 hours ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

On a slightly philosophical note (I've no experience with Overwater nor Bartolini)

Is it not desirable that a pickup should be as accurate and uncoloured as possible?

This leaves the (internal) pre-amp and EQ to do the tone-control aspect, and any subsequent devices get the potential of a really clean sound to work with when needed. 

Depends what you want... if you want it to sound like a Precision or Jazz bass or Stingray where the pickup has an inbuilt sound to it - and 60 years of recorded music has taught us that's what a bass sounds like. 
Accruate and uncoloured piezo bassed system or something ... might sound wonderful and really flat clean sound... but fitting it into a mix where we would expect it to go?

[Lfalex v1.1]

That's what onboard EQ and amp EQ are for, plus any effects and the desk itself. The idea of a neutral pickup sound is that it can be manipulated more effectively without necessarily sounding like a "Jazz + EQ" or "Ray + EQ"

 

[BigRedX]

With a decent recording and/or PA engineer they all end sounding like bass guitars in the band mix.

[Owen]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

With a decent recording and/or PA engineer they all end sounding like bass guitars in the band mix.

Aint THAT the truth. And that is what an engineer wants. A sound he can build the track on. So often it will not be the sound we though we have made.

[4000]

6 hours ago, Chris2112 said:

'Polite' is one word I've heard used to describe the Overwater tone. That tends to be disparaging, with 'pure' or 'uncorrupted' being the more positive alternative! 

 

Yes, ‘polite’ is the word I’d use, and one of the reasons they’re not really my ideal choice. I can’t help wondering what you could do with a Sansamp or similar though.😉