Swapping out MEC pickups and preamp in Corvette $$

[3bc]

Recently picked up my first Warwick and love it. Plays great and sounds very good, but not quite the sound I want, but this bass was too good of a deal to pass on. Anyhow, has anyone done this before (swapping out stock pickups)? Specifically I'm looking at picking up a pair of Bartolini pickups and preamp. My goal really is to have a slightly broader, more useful range of tones without as much aggression the low mids. Would anyone recommend this or recommend against it? Thanks, all!

 

[Florin]

Hi 3bc, welcome to the forum.

It is a matter of taste after all, and changing the pickups to Bartolini will be very easy, since they are both passive. You can expect a tighter sound, with less lows and highs, but with more mids.

 

[EVOLVEBASS]

I can't comment about switching to a Bartolini preamp, the $$ LTD 2009 already comes with the 3-band EQ so I didn't mess with it (I might have if it had been the standard 2-band EQ), but the Bartolini MM pickups were a major improvement over the MEC's, particularly in the 'clarity' category. Just my opinion of course, but it's definitely worth considering... 8:

I almost forgot, welcome aboard!

 

[3bc]

Thanks for the solid feedback. After this and talking to the guy at bestbassgear.com I'm going with a pair of Bart MM4CBC's and a Bart pre. I plan to do before and after comparisons for anyone that's interested. A more refined sound would turn this bass into one of my all time faves.

 

[EVOLVEBASS]

After this and talking to the guy at bestbassgear.com I'm going with a pair of Bart MM4CBC's...

Cool! I bought my Barts from bestbassgear.com as well... 8:

EDIT: By the way, I went with the MMC.

 

[NewGuy711]

I swapped out the preamp in my $$NT to a bartolni and I love the sounds. I'm still learning what combinations I like for different types of songs. Honestly sometimes I'm just playing with knobs and switches and I find something awesome. I also bought my preamp from bestbassgear.com!

 

[EVOLVEBASS]

NewGuy711! What's up, man? Last time I saw you, you were thinking about selling your $$ NT - I take it you are much happier with the electronics swap, eh?

 

[NewGuy711]

EVOLVE!! Man I've gone through some financial difficulties and I have sold it twice...only to go back and get 2 weeks later both times. I can't find anything that sounds or feels better. After I swapped the preamp I started trying a bunch of different strings. Seems like I can't go wrong, its just a great bass.