Non-MEC pickups?

Dragonlord

Dragonlord

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Hello! I have a Corvette Std 5 bubinga and I was wondering this: Has any of you changed their original MEC pickups? What brand did you put? What are the differences in sound? Overall, did you think it was worth it/would you do it again?
cheers
 
Can't answer your question directly, but I think once this forum get's some attention there'll be a lot of people around with swapped pickups and preamps.

I'm planning on swapping the MEC preamp in my SSII for a Noll 4-band pre, and then later on changing the MEC J-pickups for a set of Bartolini CBs. And I'll be sure to post comparison soundclips and lots of good stuff like that :D
 
Yes, I'll check back on this topic later enough.. I asked a guitar tech at a shop about barts and he told me that they will give me a more 'dead' tone. He suggested emgs for a more lively sound.
 
I palyed a little while those MEC micks but wasn´t pleased the sound quality so change them to EMG-J SET 3.0 micks. The sound is awesome now :P
 
Bartolini is very good for Warwicks...But you should also try Rough Crystals,they are from the Le Fay Basses.An other possibility is to get a custom Pickup(from harry häusel for exampel).

My Warwick still works with the MEC'S and sounds pretty good.
 
Are you guys kidding?! i love my MEC's! No other pickup sounds so good.
 
Anonymous said:
Are you guys kidding?! i love my MEC's! No other pickup sounds so good.
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Have you tried other pickups in your Warwick? Just about everyone I've talked to who replaced the MEC pickups with something else have thought it sounded better afterwards. It's not that the MEC pickups don't sound great, it's just that other pickups can better enhance that Warwick tone :twisted:

At least that's what I've been hearing. I'll be doing my own tests in the near future :D
 
MEC pickups rule! well... I swapped the ones in my Streamer LX with EMGs (not Hz :P) believing it was going to sound better and it sounded... different but not better really.

It all depends on what type of sound you want.
 
It all happened three years ago (I have even sold the streamer) so I can not make a fresh description of the tone but I remembered that the EMGs sounded a bit more agressive and a bit more brighter. It seemed that they scooped the sound a bit, boosting highs with the preamp could result in the bass sounding harsh.

It was a good tone for me as I favour modern sound over vintage. But I found MECs to be... more neutral just reproducing the tone coming from the instrument.
 
I've heard that EMG aren't the best match for Warwicks. Seems like people generally like Duncan Basslines and Bartolini best.

But like you said, it all depends on the sound that you're looking for.
 
I'm generally happy with the MEC's but occasionally think about experimenting to see if the tone can be improved. With so many different opinions about the tonal changes, it seems to be a gamble on which way to go.
 
is there any way to "test" pickups first. like going to a shop and say "í´d like to test those barolini, duncan and emg pickups with my bass" and they say "okay"? therefore, how do you know, what sound really comes from the pickups? the sound i hear when i play is based upon so many factors... pickups, body, weight, wood, strings. therefore i don´t know how MEC pickups sound.
 
I've heard of alot of people talking about replacing the MEC's in warwicks, but i'm pretty sure warwick wouldn't use them if they didn't think they were upto warwick users expectations
 
I have a Warwick SSII 6 with Barts (very rare, will post a piccy soon), and used to have one with SD basslines. The barts have a little more growl, but have darker less transparent highs. I've found this to be the case with a few basses that use barts. All good stuff though. Nowt wrong with MECs either, good balanced sound and quiet too.
 
MEC pickups work perfectly for me, they give a really good sound on my bass, i don't complain at all. I have a friend that has bartolini pickups on his bass, and even though i like the sound of them, i wouldn't change the MEC pickups on my warwick, but then again, as it has been said before, it's all a matter of opinion, it's what sounds best to you and the music you're trying to make with your instrument.
 
I own a 1997 Corvette std with the Bubinga body and all Wenge neck and ended up replacing the MECs with EMGs and a U-retro. Soon after I took the U-retro out simply because I grew to love the natural sound of the bass and just fitted the V/V/T pots which came with the EMGs.

I play a mixture of Funk, Jazz, Blues, Reggae, Rock and Metal and in my opinion this bass suited all with a simple turn of the V/V/T pots.

I also own a 1997 Streamer LX with the all Wenge neck and the MEC pickups sound completly amazing in this bass, so IMO it depends on the setup of the bass really.
 
jonotron said:
I have a Warwick SSII 6 with Barts (very rare, will post a piccy soon), and used to have one with SD basslines. The barts have a little more growl, but have darker less transparent highs. I've found this to be the case with a few basses that use barts. All good stuff though. Nowt wrong with MECs either, good balanced sound and quiet too.
Click to expand...

As far as I know, there were no SSII 6-strings made :?
 
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