pnkranger Posted April 22, 2004 Share Posted April 22, 2004 Hey guys... After some deliberation, I'm dead set on getting a Music Man. Having said that, I have never had any pickups in my basses but replacement Bartolinis. The basses were crappy, so it was always an upgrade. To you Music Man fanatics: Have you changed out the pups in a Music Man. If so, what kind did you use, and did it have a big effect on the sound. Though it sounds great in the store, I'm just afraid I'm not going to be happy as I'm used to bartolinis. This is probably a stupid question. Thanks anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted April 22, 2004 Share Posted April 22, 2004 I have a Sterling and I'm very happy with the stock p/u's. I'd highly suggest keeping the stock p/u's in your MusicMan; at the very least for the first bit of time you own it. They sound great and are a quality product, much like the rest of the instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Sweet Willie_ Posted April 22, 2004 Share Posted April 22, 2004 I'm very happy w/ the stock p'up in my 1990 StingRay5. Leave it alone until you've played the instrument for a while. BenLoy put a Bart p'up into his StingRay, but for very specific reasons. Perhaps he'll chime in and explain what he was looking for. He's very happy w/ the Bart, from what I understand. Peace. --SW spreadluv Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars. Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBFLA Posted April 22, 2004 Share Posted April 22, 2004 I've got stock p'ups in my '78 Ray, and I can't imagine ever wanting to switch them out. That (the sound) is why I bought it. But I am a Bart fan also - I've got 'em in my fretless. My vote - keep it stock. If you're "dead set on getting a MM", isn't it (at least - partly) because of the tone? There's plenty of other basses you could use, to upgrade. Jim Jim Confirmed RoscoeHead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Force Posted April 22, 2004 Share Posted April 22, 2004 I have stock pickups on both my MM active 5 string and my MM active 4 string fretless, and like others, can't even imagine swapping them out! As previously mentioned, get the bass and try it out for awhile. Then decide.. Steve Force, Durham, North Carolina -------- My Professional Websites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fonz Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 part of the whole point of getting a mm is the pups. there are a lot of basses out there that PLAY like a mm, but none of them SOUND like a mm. barts are great but replacing your mm pups is throwing money down the drain. if you want something that plays like a mm with bartolini replacement pups get a mim p bass and stick the varts in there. you'll wind up with roughly the same instrument at an overall cost of less then the initial mm price. Eeeeeehhhhhhhhh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 I've been happy with the stock pickup in my Sterling fretless (first year model...about 10 years old already ). That said, Carey Nordstrand is in the process of designing a replacement pickup for MM style bases, and they should be ready shortly. I'm really interested to see how they sound and what the general reaction is to them. blueberryhillbass.com Blueberry Hill Blog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DONUT Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 I used to play a 'ray5 and i was happy with the stock pick up but wanted to try a Bart replacement and the result was that it had all of the fatness of the stock pickup but was a bit darker sounding which was fine with me being more of a classic tone type of guy. I feel more comfortable adding highs and "gank" if I need to than always dialing it out which might seem wierd. I'm super happy with the basses I play now,but sometimes wish I had that one back. Pure power and fatness built into a tank of a bass. Can't go wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonPackard Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 I had a Sterling, and replaced the stock pickup. Big mistake. Don't do it. That said, I had a jazz body routed for a MM pickup and installed a Bart MME model. Smokin pickup! Great for my fretless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcr Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 You've got a lot more cash than I do if you can drop over a thousand clams on a bass & you're not even sure if you like the electronics. Good news is they're excellent. I don't see why you'd ever need to change MM electronics, unless you were looking for something pretty specific. (And how on earth could we tell you that?) Certainly no reason to change them "just 'cause." Why not let your ears decide? If we told you to change them, but you liked them, would you change them anyway? If we told you to leave them, but you disliked them, would you leave them anyway? What difference does it make how anyone answers here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuckLM Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 I've got a '76 Ray and I wouldn't touch a thing. Over the years, we've had the occasional arguement, but I keep coming back. There are times when I'm tempted to replace the pre-amp but in the end, I leave it alone. I have thought about buying an OLP and using it to experiment on. Have you thought of that? L Tucker Nice, nice, very nice. So many people in the same device. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Father Gino Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 I've had a fretless Sterling as my main bass for going on two years. I love the bass though I'm still on a quest to find the perfect "ONE". I've thought changing the pre-amp and/or PU on the thing and also adding a neck PU. After some thought, I decided it would be better to leave well enough alone and continue to search for the "ONE". I'd end up with a frankenstein modified bass that cost me almost as much as buying a whole new axe. I think the best thing about MM basses is their ability to cut through the mix in a live situation. I've had numerous people who's opinions I respect tell me that they hear what I'm playing 100% better since getting the Sterling. I'd hate to screw around with that ability. OTOH, I visited bass luthier Jack Read and played his custom fretless with a single Bart MME. It's closer to the bridge than a MM. It sounded fantastico! I think I'm gonna save up my lunch money and have him make me one of those with a neck PU to boot. I don't think popping a Bart in my Sterling is going to make it sound like this thing and I'll repeat; the Sterling sounds really good right out of the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lug Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 The Bart MMC: http://users3.ev1.net/~woodd/fdvk6.jpg Sounds like: http://users3.ev1.net/~woodd/fdvkARM1.wav definatly sounds NOTHING like a Musicman. I think it would be neat to be able to set it up where you could swap pups/electronics easily on one of these. That way you could have the Musicman grit or the clean bart sound both on one patform. You can stop now -jeremyc STOP QUOTING EVERY THING I SAY!!! -Bass_god_offspring lug, you should add that statement to you signature.-Tenstrum I'm not sure any argument can top lug's. - Sweet Willie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Sweet Willie_ Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 Sidenote: The Duncan MM pickup in Whappo's 5-string Bee bass was pretty phat. That's a sweet bass. Still, I'm with the crowd -- stick with the stock p'up until you can pinpoint any particular critique you have about it. Then consider replacing w/ a Bart or another. BenLoy...where are you? Peace. --Sweet "Puttin' the Funk in FriFunkDay" Willie spreadluv Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars. Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 Originally posted by Sweet Willie: BenLoy...where are you?Last I heard he was being paid to write a dissertation by another bassist... Alex Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Sweet Willie_ Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 Originally posted by C.Alexander Claber: Originally posted by Sweet Willie: BenLoy...where are you?Last I heard he was being paid to write a dissertation by another bassist... AlexOutstanding...why didn't I think of that?! Point taken...just trying to concentrate all my posting to one time of day instead of flying in and out all day long. Thanks for the push o' luv. See y'all tonight or tomorrow. Peace. --Sweet "Fittin' Funk into a DisFUsertaNKtion" Willie spreadluv Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars. Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicklab Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 One option you might want to consider when shopping for a Musicman? The piezo bridge pickup. I had one put in my Stingray fretless 5, and it adds a lot of dimension to the magnetic pickup. It's a somewhat expensive option, but it greatly increased to tonal possibilities with that bass. Obligatory Social Media Link "My concern is, and I have to, uh, check with my accountant, that this might bump me into a higher, uh, tax..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fonz Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 Originally posted by TuckLM: I have thought about buying an OLP and using it to experiment on. Have you thought of that?TOTALLY! olp makes a really nice instruments super cheap. you can get a stingray copy for around $200. and it's good enough that everyone can aford to get a very playable backup on the cheap. Eeeeeehhhhhhhhh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exterminator Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 I don't know about yours but my '97 Stingray had the problem of the G string not being as loud as the other strings. The Bartolini replacement pickup fixed that and sounds just as good if not better than the original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcr Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 Interesting. When faced with a similar problem, I raised the pickup under the G string. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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