My Weekend Project

maddrakkett

maddrakkett

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Well, my MEC pots never came in from Banzai Music. I ordered them back in October and after some mix ups, they shipped December 12. Last check (February 3) Banzai informs me the package made it from Germany to France. It's now the end of February and still nothing. :evil:

I've decided I'm going to put my original active MECs back into the Thumb NT. Since I'm using the original MEC 25K pots, I'll have the full impedance matching and volume/control range. The preamp is a Bartolini 3-band, with a switchable mid frequency. I love the results I got when I added a Bartolini pre to the MEC pups in my Streamer Std. and since the MEC J pups are quite perfect for that aggressive Thumb tone, I think I will be happier in the end with the MEC pup/Bartolini pre combo.

This also means I will have the set of dual in-line, noise-canceling Bartolinis I'll remove from the Thumb that I can use to upgrade my other Corvette Std. fretless. My "Tigerboard" fretless has Bartolini Dual in-lines pups that are a version 1 (more vintage, standard tone), but the Barts from my Thumb are version 3 (emphasized highs and boosted volume), so I will have two different but awesome sounding noiseless Bartolini Corvette Std. fretless basses!

Don't know why I never thought of this before, but now I realize I will have improved the sound quality of TWO basses in one weekend! :D

That should take some pressure off the GAS... :lol:
 
juzzo71 said:
wicked man! sounds confusing :?
Click to expand...

HaHa!

To simplify,

I'm going from this:

-Thumb NT with Bartolini passive noisefree bright-version J pups and Bartolini 3-band EQ
-Corvette Std. fretless with passive single-coil MEC J pups

To this:

-Thumb NT with MEC active J pups and Bartolini 3-band EQ
-Corvette Std. fretless with Bartolini passive noisefree bright-version J pups

This means my Thumb NT will be aggressive again and my basic Corvette fretless will be as noisefree as my other Corvette Std. fretless, but brighter-sounding.

And the pots on both basses will properly match the impedance of the pups.

Hope that makes more sense.

As for the delay of parts from Banzai Music, or Deutsche Post, that does not make sense...
:(
 
Nice, you have your toys for this weekend. Tell us how it works :-)
 
Greg said:
Did Banzai refund you money Mark?
Click to expand...

No. They still claim it has been shipped and is still in transit. I do realize economy mail from Europe to the USA can take a long time, and maybe it will arrive in the next month or two, but that's really poor delivery time!
 
I did finish my project tonight. I now remember why I put Barts in my Thumb - they are passive and my plan was to wire them to bypass the batteries.

I now realize that I do prefer the active MECs in the Thumb NT bass. They really do compliment that unique Thumb character! The Bartolini 3-band EQ is dead quiet (my old MEC EQ had circuit noise like Niagra falls) and works wonderfully with the MEC pups and 18 Volts.

The Bartolini pups sound great in my '03 Corvette fretless - nice Jaco tone from the bridge pup.

So in the end, the project turned out as I had hoped. I also learned that I prefer MEC active pups and Bartolini for passive pups. I also prefer Bartolini preamps with MEC pots (only MEC makes a Volume/Blend/Active-Passive Switch in a single stacked pot), and I prefer the MEC active pups in Warwick NT type basses...
 
maddrakkett said:
Greg said:
Did Banzai refund you money Mark?
Click to expand...

No. They still claim it has been shipped and is still in transit. I do realize economy mail from Europe to the USA can take a long time, and maybe it will arrive in the next month or two, but that's really poor delivery time!
Click to expand...

WTF??
Well I'll know not to reccomend them to anyone.
I hope they do turn up,eventually.
 
Hi maddrakkett

You had Bartolini PUs & pre on your Thumb NT before, how it sounds like ? is it funky? good for Slapping ? do you have a sound clip?

I know MEC sounds bright and modern than the Bartolini, do you think it is better than EMG also? EMG is more powerful than MEC!

I am thinking the same thing like you did, but I would like to try all Bartolini, the Thumb bass is mid/high type bass, the Bartolini can go low and bottom, would it be a good choice? I had try Bartolini + MEC 2 bnad preamp before, 100% for fingerstyle, 0% for slapping........too dark! maybe MEC 2 band preamp just doesn't work good on other brands.

I have EMG now but it is not Q enough, I should go all Bartolini or MEC, can you give more detail on the tone different .

Thanks

Joe
 
joekickass said:
Hi maddrakkett

You had Bartolini PUs & pre on your Thumb NT before, how it sounds like ? is it funky? good for Slapping ? do you have a sound clip?

I know MEC sounds bright and modern than the Bartolini, do you think it is better than EMG also? EMG is more powerful than MEC!

I am thinking the same thing like you did, but I would like to try all Bartolini, the Thumb bass is mid/high type bass, the Bartolini can go low and bottom, would it be a good choice? I had try Bartolini + MEC 2 bnad preamp before, 100% for fingerstyle, 0% for slapping........too dark! maybe MEC 2 band preamp just doesn't work good on other brands.

I have EMG now but it is not Q enough, I should go all Bartolini or MEC, can you give more detail on the tone different .

Thanks

Joe
Click to expand...

EMG have a "hifi" type sound that accentuates the highs and brightness. To me, they sound a little more "crisp" than other pups. It's personal taste, but I prefer the MECs over the EMGs. It just seems the MECs are a little warmer and tuned better to let the wood "sing."

The Bartolini are not quite as loud and because I got dual in-line J pups in order to kill the 60-cycle buzz, they aren't quite as bright as most single-coil Js, but they are "dialed in" to come very close. They are a bit warmer and darker than the MECs, but not by much.

IMO, the Bartolini 9CBJD-3 (3 means they are the brighter, louder set) are a nice set for the Thumb NT but they will take a slight edge off the Thumb's distinct tone. The growl is still there, but not quite as much "snap." I'm guessing the Bartolini 9CBJD-1 would lose a bit more of the "snap" and make the Thumb start to sound a little more "average." There are some players who might want to tame the Thumb's tone and the version 1 pups might just be the ticket.

However, while the Bartolini will definitely tame the top end a bit, I wouldn't say they will give you more bottom. I found the bottom to be about equal with both the Bartolini and the MEC. I think the MEC have a slight extended range of frequency in the high end, and EMG will even have a higher range than that. But I personally find the EMG to have a bit too much top end, which begins to sound a bit sterile...

As for slapping, I thought the Bartolini did fine, but again, it was a version 3 which is a bit brighter than most other Barts. You may have had a more traditional, vintage tuned Bartolini set that killed your slap tone... If the Bartolinis sound too dark to you for slapping, then I would stay with MEC.

As for preamps, I have had great results with both MEC and Bartolini. The MEC pre on my Thumb was the only bad one I've had. I do like the 3-band Bart because it has the added ability to switch between two mid tones, but it's also overkill for me since I don't use the onboard EQ all that much. However, I did notice a significant help when I put a 2-band Bartolini EQ in my Streamer Std., so if you have any dull-sounding pups you want to bring to new life, Bartolini EQs do a fantastic job! As for the 2-band vs. 3-band, honestly, I really don't depend on the pre much, so I personally don't think switching from a 2-band to a 3-band is justified unless you are doing all your EQ from the bass or you want to shape for a room or dial in some extreme sonics on occasion.
 
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