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SG Bass neck pickup getting rewound.

Lungimsam

By Lungimsam
in Gibson USA

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Lungimsam

Lungimsam

Posted
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Too quiet. The low E just vanishes onstage no matter how close I get it or pole pieces to the string.

 

My pbass pups are way more punchy and powerful. I cannot believe I am saying this about a Gibson Humbucker.

 

Don't get me wrong:

The wood and finish craftsmanship are awesome on the SG bass. It's just the neck pup has no power on the E string, and all the other strings are too quiet.

The bridge pup is plenty powerful. So that is great.

 

I'll ask my tech to double check the pup to make sure it is not defective before sending it out for rewinding.

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Goingdownslow

Goingdownslow

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Have you tried a different amp?

 

Some years ago with an amp I had, I could not get the thunderous bass that the EB3 is known for but other basses sounded no different. It turned out that it was the way the input jacks were configured for active and passive. Plugged into the passive input, the low frequencies were filtered out thought the resistor that was used to reduce the gain on the active input, to ground. putting a spare jack plug in the active socket "cured" this, as it opened the path.

I contacted the makers of this amp, British made MacGreggor, and they saw it as no problem really because no other bass could put out a signal like the EB3 so it did not affect them. Got shut of it.

Dunno about the TB pickups on SG basses tho' as they are a far cry from the original pickup.

 

By the way, has the forum been off for a few days, I have had trouble accessing.

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Kelvinator

Kelvinator

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The neck pup on my '05 SG-RI is very responsive across all the strings. I barely have the pole screws above the cover, and I've raised the G & D poles slightly; low-end is no problem. TB-Plus humbuckers are great sounding pups, but can pick up a a horrible hum in certain rooms. I had this problem with the TB+s in my SG, Double-Cut, and both Les Paul Stds. Are the new humbuckers called "TB" or "TB-Plus"? Perhaps they changed the specs on them because of the hum problem.

 

For grins, I just ran my SG through my GT-6B into the computer and thru headphones. I raised the screw 2 or 3 turns under the E string, and could hear no difference in volume - this could be because of the headphones, but there was also no dB difference showing on my EQ analyzer. The bridge pup was about 2dB hotter than the neck pup; not a good comparison though, because my SG has a full size TB-Plus at the bridge which is hotter than a mini humbucker.

 

Can you take your bass to a store that has an SG in stock and A-B it with another?? That low E should be booming!

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Grog

Grog

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If you don't like the tone of the pickup that came with the bass, I wonder if an origonal mudbucker from the 60's or 70's would fit in the cavity. They come up all the time on ebay. Use the pickup cover that came with the bass and nobody would be the wiser untill you turned up the balls! I have no experience at all with the new pickups but I've blown a lot of speakers with the origonals.

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Lungimsam

Lungimsam

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Fralin doesn't do rewinds anymore.

 

Oh well.

 

Thanks for the ideas everyone. I'll futz with the amp try switching the active/passive button and see what happens.

 

I think my only option at this point for replacement are:

1. Curtis Novak mudbucker $190 ouch!

2. Original mudbucker -?????

3. Find and buy a real '60''s EB bass.

# 3 is my fav option. But I have no clue how to go about buying a vintage piece. You know to be sure it is in great shape and really playable. Also, there were like, less than 2K made in the '60's- so what are the odds. GC has some online. Maybe that's a start.

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8trackdude

8trackdude

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You can find vintage mudbuckers from time to time on e-bay. They usually run from $150 and up. Last I checked, there were several on there currently.

 

I really hate to do this, since the pickup is made in China and your beautiful Gibson is made here in the good ole USA, but... There is a pickup made by Artec that is the closest thing to the original mudbucker that I've been able to find. I bought one for my Epi EB-3, and its sound is practically identical to my former '61 EB-0 (don't ask why I got rid of it and now have an Epi). And what's better is the fact it only cost $35 plus shipping. Mine puts out 29.9 kOhm, while the original mudbucker puts out 30 kOhm, plus or minus 10%. They even leave you enough wire between the coils that you can change it from 2 conductor to 5 conductor wiring, if you feel adventurous. Again, it pains me to say this about a Chinese product, but it was the best $35 I have spent on my EB-3 project. If you're interested, guitarpartsresource.com sells it as "CHROME COVERED EB STYLE BASS PICKUP".

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Lungimsam

Lungimsam

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Thanks for the tip. Even if it doesnt work out. $35 aint bad for an experiment! I might just try it sibce my options are so few.

 

I am not afraid of Chinese made stuff. My wife was made in China. Probably all the electronics on my SG Bass were made in China too!

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Kelvinator

Kelvinator

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Let us know if you go the $35.00 China route. I was thinking of going with a Dimarzio Model 1 for my SG because the TB-Plus picks up a huge hum in about half the rooms I play regularly. The Model 1 only comes in black though, and I hate to loose that chrome.

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Lungimsam

Lungimsam

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This pup problem is with the new SG Std.?

Yes, but before I do anything I am going to check pup to be sure it isn't a warranty issue. I don't think it is though, as this happened on my flower pbass. Difference is, you can raise the pbass pup to 6/64 height and that gives you plenty of blasting power on the low E.

 

I couldn't get any better on the SG despite raising the pup and the pole piece.

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Lungimsam

Lungimsam

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Let us know if you go the $35.00 China route. I was thinking of going with a Dimarzio Model 1 for my SG because the TB-Plus picks up a huge hum in about half the rooms I play regularly. The Model 1 only comes in black though, and I hate to loose that chrome.

The original EB3 basses were black pup covers.

I would say that you could just put the Gibson pup cover over the Dimarzio, but I think the Dimarzio has 8 polepieces?

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Kelvinator

Kelvinator

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I don't know about changing the covers, and although the black pup would give it a vintage look, I just like chrome (and whitewalls too!). But like you said - for $35.00, why not give the Chinese pup a try? That's not much more than a set of strings.............

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Grog

Grog

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Others went for over 300$, so I don't think my chances are good.

 

Here is one with a "BUY IT NOW" of $199.............

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-GIBSON-1960s-70s-EB-0-EB3-EB0-EB3-BASS-PICKUP-/250811347517?_trksid=p4340.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D10%26pmod%3D270737864455%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D8832232484789727850

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  • 6 months later...
herb nice

herb nice

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Yes, but before I do anything I am going to check pup to be sure it isn't a warranty issue. I don't think it is though, as this happened on my flower pbass. Difference is, you can raise the pbass pup to 6/64 height and that gives you plenty of blasting power on the low E.

 

I couldn't get any better on the SG despite raising the pup and the pole piece.

 

I don't think the pole screws on the sg bass neck pickup do anything other than look cool. This is a quote from a guy who hand winds custom pickups. I was talking to him about my bridge pickup woes, but we got a little off topic. I tend to believe him:

 

The Epi and Gibson basses actually use very different neck pickups. The

Epi is made more like the original, but they wound it with very heavy

gauge wire, so it's low impedance (1.4k). The SG uses some really weird

neck pickup design. They took a couple of mini humbucker bobbins and made

a regular humbucker, but then stuck a piece of aluminum between the coils

with fake pole screws. They also have the blades installed upside down on

the bobbins, so there's a big space between the pickup and the cover.

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herb nice

herb nice

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Me too, it's seriously great. I plan on playing mine for 20 years. Which means, it's going to go through some changes as my tastes change.

 

I definitely don't hate the neck pickup on mine. That crazy position is not ever going to sound like a fender, and that's ok with me. I can get a very warm dark sound out of mine and I've really grown to love how it sits with the band. It's what makes the bass sound unique. I wish I could easily adjust the pickup height, but I'm a tweakaholic.

 

I think a ballsier pickup in the bridge position would really add a new, clearer dimension for when I want a punchier tone. The SG bass bridge pickup is closer to the J than the P on a PJ, but still between them. Theoretically, that should sound bright and full and wonderful, even on it's own.

 

So, I found a pickup with a character that I really like, should just drop in, and it's now on order. It will be the holidays by the time it gets wound and delivered and I install it, but it will be a nice Christmas present for myself. I'll let you know how it goes.

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herb nice

herb nice

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I went with sgd lutherie, the neo3 wide aperture bridge humbucker. They don't list the mini humbuckers on their website, but they do make them, chrome covers and all- and it should drop right in. All the sound samples and reviews I found on talkbass were great. Chocolate tone reminiscent of the sweet bartolini classic p i have in another shortscale, but clearer and ballsier. Nothing like my current sg bass sound. I can't say how it will turn out until I have it hooked up- but I predict awesomeness.

 

Villex was a slightly pricier custom option I considered- they do sound amazing, but I don't know if they do the nice chrome cover and all that. There's a 10kohm clone of the original eb bridge pickup on ebay, but it would be a gamble without hearing it. I also considered an offer from a friend to rewind my current one, but that also seems like a gamble.

 

None of the big guys seem to do a drop in replacement for the bridge pickup. If I am going to carve up this bass, it will be to put a pickup in the middle position. It actually wasn't very expensive to get David at sgd to make me one that I know will be top notch. He's really passionate and knowledgeable about his craft- I'm sure he'll create something great for me. I'll know for certain in a few weeks. :D

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