Mine hasn't arrived yet.

A few weeks ago I ordered Mach IIs for my Super J and my 5-string ABII. Two days later they were at my door and I installed them right away.

Sheldon's description of the sound is accurate: "It has a hotter output with punchier, more present lower-mids."

At first I was wondering if I had made a mistake because I was satisfied with the sound I had before. The "more present lower-mids" sounded like boxy upper-mids on my cheap little 50-watt practice amp with a single 10-inch speaker. I was able to reduce the boxiness (I call it the cardboard sound) with EQ and get a really good barking sound out of both basses.

The other day I took the basses down to a music store and plugged them into a Mark Bass 450 with a 4X10 cabinet. I know that amp can make anything sound good, so I did A/B comparisons with another ABII with all the EQs set to flat.

This was where Sheldon's description really rang true. What was boxiness on the cheap amp was a really solid, punchy sound with lots of bark on the serious amp. I'd love to hear this pickup on a fretless. The original pickup still sounds good - just mellower in comparison.

The higher output of the Mach IIs make them a little more susceptible to RF noise, which was much more noticeable than I remember before. That's at home, though, in a room with a computer, TV and compact fluorescent lighting. In the store, which was pretty quiet a the time, I didn't hear any RF noise at all. Sheldon said he might add a some kind of simple mod to the circuit to help with the noise.

While I like both the new and the old bridge pickups on the Afterburner (I think I'll leave the original in my 6-string AB1), the Super J version is a must-have for me. It is a much better match for the P-style pickup than the previous version. I never like to combine P and J pickups on any kind of bass - I like both styles individually. The Mach II J blends with the P better than I have heard anywhere else before. I'd like to hear comments from somebody who has a Super JJ about the those two pickups combined.

On a side note about the debate between JJ and PJ basses: PJs give a variety of sounds from two classic basses but what they can't give you is the neck sound of a J (not too bad) but more important, they can't give you the Marcus Miller JJ in parallel sound, which is my favourite slap sound - even though it doesn't cut through as well as others.

Also a little off-topic. The store didn't have another Super J to compare with but they did have a Korean-made Lakland P-Bass (a Glaub, I think) with a Fralin pickup. This was the first Lakland and Fralin I have ever played and I really liked its sound. A good solid classic P-bass sound that modern-style Fenders just don't have. Well, as good as that big bass sounded, my little Super J with the Dingwall P blew it away. It has all the tone of the Lakland/Fralin but with better clarity and definition - and it still sounds "vintage" when you want it to.

I'm going to have to try one in my fretless ABII-5.

The one thing I miss on both my ABII-5's is the ability to dial in more mids. The hybrid treble pot is perfect for warming up the sound.

Sheldon, how would 2 mach II's sound in an ABII-5?

My Pimp Voodoo with the Mach pup should be here late next week, so I'll have my two cents then.

Mark

I installed th Mach II last Friday in my ABII-5. My first impression was that it is one HOT pickup that barks like crazy. Hot in regards to gain, that is. It pretty much overwhelmed the FD-3 in the bridge position as the tone of the bass-boosted bridge pup alone was very similar to series/passive/flat. Then I realized why that might be: I had put the Mach II at the same height above the body as the FD-3 had been, which had been raised up to get a bit more punch and grind. I then lowered the Mach II one full turn and raised the neck pup one full turn and that brought things into balance much better.

So far, I like it in bridge pup alone and in series. In parallel, the bass sounds a bit hollow to me (I've not been able to get a great, cut through the mix sound out of parellel, anyway, so don't use it when playing with the band).

So far I've only used it with the Bergantino IP112 at home, but will give it a more full runthrough with the Eden rig this week.

[quote="John H.":f3bsr5yh]So far, I like it in bridge pup alone and in series. In parallel, the bass sounds a bit hollow to me (I've not been able to get a great, cut through the mix sound out of parellel, anyway, so don't use it when playing with the band).[/quote:f3bsr5yh]

My AB-II with FD-3's cuts plenty really well through the on-stage mix with my Eden rig (and I'm told everything is heard out front). It might just be that Eden d210xst cab that gives me that bark or grind. I've found series mode to be too "present" for me...very hot. I'm really sticking with parallel for 90% of the time - the rest I like to go bridge only for a little more burp. I wonder how much difference a MachII bridge & a hybrid treble knob would make in my current (and satisfied) sound.

I've only done one gig with the MachII through my big rig, so the jury is still out as far the amout of fart I'll be able to get. I didn't have time to experiment that much because I was running a bit late. However, the new FD3/MachII/four-way selector set up in my Voodoo has given it a totally new sound, very strong, up-front, and present, along with amazing clarity, qualities the Barts never really had.

I was not able to get the Mach to burp as much as the bridge pup in my PJ basses through my practice amp when I compared the two, though. I'll have to tinker with things a bit more before I have an answer.

Mark

I'm considering trying the Mach II as a replacement for my FD1 bridge PUP so I would be pairing it with an FD1 in the neck posiiton.

Anyone have any thoughts as to how that would work?

[quote="BuffaloBob":1frew4qh]I'm considering trying the Mach II as a replacement for my FD1 bridge PUP so I would be pairing it with an FD1 in the neck posiiton.

Anyone have any thoughts as to how that would work? [/quote:1frew4qh]



NOOOOOOO!!!!!

Don't do it!



Seriously though, I can't imagine giving up my FD1 in the bridge for anything. The bridge has the most amazing growl, especially combined with a slight bass boost and a touch of tube overdrive. Oh, yeah. I wish Sheldon would bring them back.

I Love the growl of the low end. It is truly the best I have ever heard, bar none.

BUT. the string noise bothers me. I hve tried to alter my tehnique, and have now tried the D'Add nickels and the string noise is still very strong. Perhaps adding the Hybrid Treble Control would be the better option?

Love the growl, do not like the string noise. If I could afford two ABIIs, I would buy an new version with all the bells and whistles and leave my FD1 equipped ABII alone. But alas, I cannot. So I am looking for a compromise.

Buffalo the hybrid treble control is essential to getting a warmer less clacky more forgiving tone. You should definitely mod. It's not your strings or your PUs, it's the lack of ability to passively roll off highs IMO.

It probly comes from all my years of playing electric guitar, but string noise is not usually a problem for me, and I tend to use a little more high end in my sound than most. However I can relate, because i think certain basses bring out certain technique issues for different players.

The biggest gripe I used to have with my last Stingray was that I would get this really annoying string click while playing. In time I figured that it was from the way I attack the strings and how that bass registered the sound. Didn't happen with my other basses, but I noticed it on any 'ray that I played and I had to modify my technique a little when playng one.

The question is whether getting a fatter sounding pickup will actually solve your problem. If the pup still has similar high frequency response, you may still be in the same boat. Changing strings may reduce some of the noise but often at a trade-off. I think funkshwey is right. EQ is probably help you more than anything. Have you tried cutting trebble on your amp to see if it helps.

There is one gig I play where the house amp is an SWR with a 210 +piezo tweeter that just doesn't sit well with me. It's way too trebly even for me. I can't necessarily mess with the tone controls, because another guy uses it regularly, and the cab sits under a drum riser where I can't get to the tweeter control. In this case the onboard OBP3 really comes in handy. I actually cut the treble all the way and give a slight bass boost which gives me a usable sound.

I love my highs A LOT, too. The click sound discussed above, I use it in a sense of a snare drum being used by a drummer. I consider the bass being 50% a percussive instrument (harmonic and melodic being the rest 50% of the function), that joins the mother of the composition (the drummer) with the rest of the music. With the click I can augment the accents of the drummer or give a sub-division accent to allow for "space management" in music. I use the click as the antipode of the Thump in slapping, yet functioning the same (works for me). It takes a bit of open-minded musicians around to realize the use of "muted" and click notes IMHO. Plus,if the drummer does not know the song, I can drive him through

I hear you Full. On a few occasions, at church, we've started a song that the bass part doesn't start for a verse or two. I'll unintentionally start mute tapping the strings with my right hand like a 2 & 4 snare hit - people starting clapping along! That was cool.

Thank you Brim for validating the application of the "clicking" technique with your approach

Because the Dingwalls are really full range basses (hence my username) I hear certain guitar players complaining that I invade their territory (esp with the Transparent one)!!! When I started using the clicks, first time with this new drummer, the drummer turns around and says " after eliminating the guitar player am I the next in line? You are playing the snare with your bass " so I replied " No, you are not to be eliminated, yet, cause I still have a use for you ".

[quote="fullrangebass":w08t8izu]Thank you Brim for validating the application of the "clicking" technique with your approach

You are playing the snare with your bass " so I replied " No, you are not to be eliminated, yet, cause I still have a use for you ".[/quote:w08t8izu]

Yeah to load your bass rig in and out.

I'm a drummer too. I sometimes do the same thing, kinda upswing and slap/click the strings when I feel the drummer isn't driving it strong enough. I try to stay away from it though.

I do a ghost note muted before the kick alot to. I'm being more cognizant of that too.

When I played live w/a UA 6176 and no amp it was like having the kick play every note with you w/the compressor on. Pure heaven for me.

I just realized my post have some serious grammatical errors...fixed them. Anyhow, yeah I love well placed ghost notes and muted notes. Listen to Jaco, Marcus, Manring, and others....they all employ the technique very well.

[quote="Brim":v2l70mne]I just realized my post have some serious grammatical errors...fixed them. Anyhow, yeah I love well placed ghost notes and muted notes. Listen to Jaco, Marcus, Manring, and others....they all employ the technique very well.[/quote:v2l70mne]

Well since you mentioned it Brim...

It should be: I just realized my post [i:v2l70mne]has[/i:v2l70mne] some serious...

or: I just realized my [i:v2l70mne]posts[/i:v2l70mne] have some serious...

[quote="Funkshwey":2nhynqjl]Well since you mentioned it Brim...

It should be: I just realized my post [i:2nhynqjl]has[/i:2nhynqjl] some serious...

or: I just realized my [i:2nhynqjl]posts[/i:2nhynqjl] have some serious...[/quote:2nhynqjl]

Don't ask me!!! I am just a bass player

By the way, for string noise try cutting at around 1khz. It helped me a lot back when I had (even) worse technique than today.