Delano pickups, do they work ok with non Delano pickups?

[shoulderpet]

Am curious about Delano pickups and would like to try one of their p pickups with the massive pole pieces in a p/j bass but the thing that has stopped me from trying them is that on their webpage it says "Due to technical reasons always combine pickups with identical icons
(f.e. •+•or ∆+∆)"

 

I assume Delano pickups can be combined with other passive pickups just like other pickups can?  Thanks

[NancyJohnson]

I'd always maintain that pickups are just one small facit in the entire signal chain and to be honest, for me, it doesn't seem to matter what pickups are in, the main thing is that you learn to adapt your gear so you dial in more or less the same tone irrespective of the bass used. 

 

On to the pickups.  I've got a Delano (with the bug pole pieces) in an old beater/project P-bass...not that it matters, but it's not a Fender. I was actually more drawn to the visual aesthetic rather than any claims laid about it tonally.

 

I'll admit I was a tad confused about the claims Delano make about the pickup matching thing; the standalone P-pickup not being matched to the equivalent P-unit in the P/J sets.  Pickups are pickups.  One man's meat etc.

 

From a direct to the desk/recording perspective, tonally it's OK, nothing to write home about (any more than any other pickup).  It sounds as good as anything else when you add VSTs to it (go to Spotify and listen to 'Lutz' - Light 'em All Up' that's definitely the same bass).

 

Live, again, depends on what you're running it through (I'd use a variety of Sansamps to get to where I wanted to be tonally); it was easily to dial in something gnarly.

 

In closing, it's neither good or bad; it does what it's supposed to do.  Don't expect it to revolutionise anything in particular, it likely does as much as a £20 Warman unit.

[itu]

Many, many years ago I tried to blend a Status and a bartolini J together. I got good sounds from G and D but very funny sounding E and A. Out-of-phase? No worries, I will just change the wires and a minute... Now, it's there! I have very sturdy E and A! But what happened to G and D?

Status was a parallel coil humbucker.

This is not common, but possible.

[bloke_zero]

I’ve a Delano mm blade type with a dimarzio split p in a bass and they work really well together - the Delano is bright modern and full range, the split p thick like molasses. In this bass part of the equation is that there are two buffered preamps in there allowing me to set the relative volumes. 
 

I think it’s more of a suggestion - they are indicating complimentary pickups. Which seems fair as they do everything from alnico to blade. If you know what you want then no reason not to try it out.

 

I think it’s fair to say that the pickups are a significant part of the sound - a modern neodymium really doesn’t sound much like a 70’s wind alnico which in turn doesn’t sound much like a mudbucker. Though of course placement has a big part too.