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Souping up my Bart MK1s with my VMT


horrorshowbass
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Hi guys, 

In your experience can a great pedal outdo weak/sterile etc pickups?

Was thinking about replacing pickups in my Ibanez SR600 (bart mk1s to nordstrand/aguilars) but also was thinking about the cheap option. Use my Darkglass pedal to beef up my sound? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated, pickups vs eq pedals battle😄

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I've an SR600, The Mk1 Barts in the SR are Reverse P Split Coils in a Soap Bar... There is a pic on TB where someone has broken one apart.

https://www.google.com/search?q=talkbass+mk1+bartolini&client=ms-android-samsung&prmd=isnvmb&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjBsv28n9jtAhWQRRUIHbMGCBAQ_AUoAXoECAUQAQ&biw=412&bih=652#imgrc=cifvl8AT_ZyhPM

Repacements in the same 'Form Factor' and size maybe available in a full Width Humbucker or Quad Coils...

'Spose it depends on what sound ya after...

Most of the time i only get to have a quick noodle unplugged, or with the EHX heaphone amp. Dont even get the time to plug in and mess about with the Zoom B1xFour...!

Some SR600 replacement pickup chat in the Ibanez Owners Thread.

Edited by PaulThePlug
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Considering pickups are the source of the sound of an electric bass I'd rather change them if I were unsatisfied with the sound of the bass rather than trying to shape a sonic spectrum that is 'flawed' from the source.  Of course it all depends on whteher the culprit really is the pickup or something else. 

I assume you already have the DG pedal so you can experiment first w/o changing anything and see if you can come to find the sound that fits your requirements. 

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Can't really comment on the pickups, but I have the original Barts on a Warwick Streamer built around 1991. The overall sound was nice on its own but felt weedy in a band situation, so I kept the Barts but upgraded to an Aguilar preamp. Definitely made a big improvement! I suppose if you want to experiment, its far easier to play with a pedal than to get the soldering iron out.

 

  

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18 hours ago, PaulThePlug said:

I've an SR600, The Mk1 Barts in the SR are Reverse P Split Coils in a Soap Bar... There is a pic on TB where someone has broken one apart.

https://www.google.com/search?q=talkbass+mk1+bartolini&client=ms-android-samsung&prmd=isnvmb&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjBsv28n9jtAhWQRRUIHbMGCBAQ_AUoAXoECAUQAQ&biw=412&bih=652#imgrc=cifvl8AT_ZyhPM

Repacements in the same 'Form Factor' and size maybe available in a full Width Humbucker or Quad Coils...

'Spose it depends on what sound ya after...

Most of the time i only get to have a quick noodle unplugged, or with the EHX heaphone amp. Dont even get the time to plug in and mess about with the Zoom B1xFour...!

Some SR600 replacement pickup chat in the Ibanez Owners Thread.

Thanks man, very useful

May hold out for a pair of super singles next year, need to sell some basses first :)

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If you think it might be the Mk1 pickups at fault take my advice and don’t drop in the US Bartolini equivalent. I did, and although it cured the overly loud low B string issue on the Ibanez BTB I had at the time, the Mk1s actually sounded better. I think that American bass forum has a thread comparing the two with sound clips - to my ears the US one sounds scooped and more compressed, whereas the Mk1 (or maybe Mk2, can’t quite remember) was richer and a touch fuller and more aggressive. The problem with swapping out electronics is that you can spent a fortune with little or no difference, so it can be expensive and  frustrating.

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Info if not seen...

http://contact.bartolini.net/support/solutions/articles/5000587194-ibanez-basses-pickups-and-electronics

SR800, SR700, SR500, - MK-1-4 can be upgraded to MK4CBC with HR-5.4AP

MK4 form factor http://www.bartolini.net/?s=mk4&submit=Search

Humbuckers, Splits, Singles, Dual, Quad...

Edited by PaulThePlug
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On 18/12/2020 at 21:45, Paulhauser said:

Considering pickups are the source of the sound of an electric bass I'd rather change them if I were unsatisfied with the sound of the bass rather than trying to shape a sonic spectrum that is 'flawed' from the source.  Of course it all depends on whteher the culprit really is the pickup or something else. 

I assume you already have the DG pedal so you can experiment first w/o changing anything and see if you can come to find the sound that fits your requirements. 

This. "Garbage in, Garbage out". Clichéd,  but accurate and succinct.

Besides which,  it's "always" easier to reduce something that's a bit excessive than artificially add something that's a bit weak. 

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