Bridge Pick-Up for 4003s/5

Vintage, Modern, V & C series, Fretless, Signature & Special Editions

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jmh
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Post by jmh »

For those who aren't fond of the scatterwound modern toaster's low output, which would be more desirable? A 12k toaster or a high gain? Lets assume you want more of the Squire sound than the McCartney sound. Are there any Yes songs that have the toaster sound featured? Is it that little walking bass solo in the middle of Yours Is No Disgrace? Any others?
If it ain't broke, break it, then fix it.
cerrem
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Post by cerrem »

Jack...
I have to be totaly honest...
I hear two bass lines going on at once in most of those older YES songs...He either over-dubbed or wired that bass for STEREO.. You will hear the treble pick-up with it's pop, snap and growl, courtesy of the RotoSounds...the you will also hear a deep full sounding dark bass in the backround like a neck pup... Wait a minute..I think I hit on something here... Ric-O-Sound and Roto-O-Sound Image
AT first I did not care for the modern 7.45K toaster pup, because my 1975 treble pup was way stronger... Then I removed those big head screws that hold the toaster cover down so now I was able to raise the pup higher to the strings... Now I like the toaster mucho better...Yes, I grounded the cover... I think the hot toaster from the early 90's which measured in at 12.8K is a bit too dark and murky and lacks the clarity for a good sounding neck pup in a 4001...Same goes with the modern hi-Gain pup ....not enough clarity, just a lot of murky sound.. This is due to the high winding capacitance...
I hear a good option is to get the new modern toaster and have it rewound to 10K.....that seems to be the sweet spot...

Chris
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johnallg
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Post by johnallg »

Chris - I have to agree with your assessment of the tones for the toasters and high gains. I too found the high gain murky sounding (especially F thru A on the E string) and the modern toaster gives much the same characteristics tonally but with clarity of that tone/note. I even unwrapped the high gain neck pup to 7.4K and it just was not the same.

Adjusting height goes a long way to balancing the volume from the two pups. I just like the clarity of my present setup.

While I have everyones attention, where can one get alnico rod magnets in onesy-twosey pricing? I want to get 4 larger diameter rods to replace the magnets on my bridge pup to see how that fares tonally/output wise.
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bobcat
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Post by bobcat »

"I hear two bass lines going on at once in most of those older YES songs...He either over-dubbed or wired that bass for STEREO"

It's not two bass lines; Chris used both a 4001 and his RM1999 . . . the 4001 was on "The Yes Album", and that bass had two output jacks, so basically, you're hearing stereo bass: neck and bridge through two different amps. I believe he played the bridge pickup through a Marshall guitar amp as well, which would contribute even more to the difference in sound. The RM1999 has only one output jack, but he had it rewired for stereo as well. All those basslines are just one bass split left and right.
jwr2

Post by jwr2 »

these days a signal splitter will work as well Geddy splits his signal 3 ways ... one normal, one distorted, and one with boosted bass ...
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revolver323
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Post by revolver323 »

Chris also used Sunn Coliseum guitar amp heads into dual 6 x 12 cabinets for his bass -- not bass heads or cabs. This is what he was using when I saw the "Fragile" era band. On some of "The Yes Album," notably "All Good People," Chris doubled the bass line an octave higher on one of Steve Howe's archtop electric jazz guitars. It wasn't until "Fragile" that his bass got extremely treble-heavy. I prefer the sound of it on "Yes," "Time and A Word," and "The Yes Album," actually. When my band played "Yours is No Disgrace" back then, I always used only the front pickup for the walking part, and it sounded very good.
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