MEC pickups question?

[NKS]

Does anyone know where they are manufactured?

 

[maddrakkett]

Does anyone know where they are manufactured?

In Wernitzgrün, Germany, near the Warwick factory in Markneukirchen, if I'm not mistaken.

Their webpage is here:



Just click on the flag in the lower right corner for the language you want the site displayed in.

 

[Doog]

Best sounding pickups I've heard too.

 

[Mr Rabble]

Best sounding pickups I've heard too.

To each his own!
MEC pickups (and electronics) are the things I don't like on Warwick basses

 

[Stroud]

Best sounding pickups I've heard too.

To each his own!
MEC pickups (and electronics) are the things I don't like on Warwick basses

do you not like them becase you think the quality isnt great, or because they just arnt voiced the way you'd like?

 

[Mr Rabble]

Pickups have a decent sound, but there are many others that sound way better.
I've heard many Warwick with pickups replaced, and they almost always sound better than the ones with stock MEC's.
My Thumb has stock EMG's on it, and i have yet to find a MEC equipped Thumb that sounds equally impressive

I'm neither a fan of MEC electronics, because i don't like much the way (frequencies) they're centered around.
On the other hand I think that MEC electronics have improved since the beginning. To my ears MEC electronics made in the last 10/15 years sounds better than MEC electronics found on early Warwicks.
Mostly they now have a flatter response when you set controls flat

 

[azzyrazzy]

Maybe Warwick switched to mostly MEC all over because of the convenience of a local manufacturer. That would also keep the cost down for them.

If you then proceed to market "cheap" "available" and "ok-sounding" as "exclusive" "Gold-line" and "Warwick-tailored", then newcomers will believe that MEC is the best you can get for your Warwick. (I am begging to differ as I have Bartolinis)

Edit: All speculation of course.

 

[PaulStansfield]

Out of sheer curiosity, I swapped the entire electronic circuitry (preamps, pickups, controls etc.) from my EMG-equipped 87 Streamer and my MEC-equipped 91 and while there are differences, I couldn't say whether I preferred one brand over the other.

The MECs are in no way a poor relation to the EMG's - they sound a little smoother and more polite and refined than the EMG's which is a quality I like on the maple SS1 as it's that sort of bass anyway.

I would imagine those requiring a more aggressive sound and style might prefer something other than MEC.

 

[azzyrazzy]

Did you switch pickups too?

 

[PaulStansfield]

Yes - sorry, that's what I meant with entire electronics. I'll edit my post.

 

[Mr Rabble]

Out of sheer curiosity, I swapped the entire electronic circuitry (preamps, pickups, controls etc.) from my EMG-equipped 87 Streamer and ...

If you wanna hear the real sound of your EMG's, take off the preamp :wink:

 

[PaulStansfield]

If you wanna hear the real sound of your EMG's, take off the preamp :wink:

That's interesting, I'm not loving the 87 as much as I'd hoped and I wondered if it was the pickups - but it wasn't doing it for me with the MEC's installed either so it's probably not the electronics.

I might put the EMG's in the 91 and swap / remove the preamps if I'm at a loose end though, might be interesting.

Ciao.

 

[azzyrazzy]

It's funny how picky we can get over minor sound differences. :roll:

 

[Mr Rabble]

It's funny how picky we can get over minor sound differences. :roll:

That's the reason we're all there after all. 8)


We convince each other to buy new and better gear, while 99,99% of the people coming to see us onstage can't hear the difference between a '62 Precision with flats and an all graphite piezo equipped bass

 

[flipper_gv]

It's funny how picky we can get over minor sound differences. :roll:

That's the reason we're all there after all. 8)


We convince each other to buy new and better gear, while 99,99% of the people coming to see us onstage can't hear the difference between a '62 Precision with flats and an all graphite piezo equipped bass

amen,

but we play bass for our own fun and it shouldn't be for no other reasons. So, you'll have much more fun playing with a bass you like the sound and aesthetics of it. So, get what you want and start having some fun.

 

[Son of Bovril]

I'm completely at the opposite end of the spectrum to Mr Rabble... I don't like the sound of my warwicks in passive mode at all and only like basses with active electronics