Mustang bass pickups Ep.2: Nordstrand NM4 - Review and comparison with flatwound strings
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.ค. 2024
- In this unsponsored video, I will be comparing the Nordstrand NM4 with the True Custom Shop Mustang Bass replacement pickup featured in Ep.1 of this series. We will hear these pickups with the tone knob at 25%, 50% and 100% with a drum track, as well as solo'd.
Please see Episode 1 for more background info:
• Mustang bass pickups E...
Thomastik Infeld Jazz flatwound strings, 100-43
The bass was recorded direct through a Line6 Pod Go with my usual GK800RB model settings. Level matched, but no EQ or compression was added in post.
00:00 Intro
00:22 Background
01:23 Comparison setup
01:58 Track with drums
05:10 Track bass solo'd
08:22 Assessment
jonathanwong.bandcamp.com - เพลง
I have the NM4 pickup in my squier CV. I like the detail they give, and I agree about the midrange, I prefer it with with rounds when playing rock music, but I have also used it with flats and it was also very usable. I use a 500k tone pot and roll off the highs a bit.
Right on! Thanks for watching! The Nordys are more P bass tone leaning, which can be a great thing for rock.
Nice comparison. While the NM4 sounds good, I don't particulary like the enhanced midrange and highs. I prefer the vintage sound of the True Custom Shop p'ups for my style of playing. I do like extended midrange and highs for some genres, but I have other basses that do that nicely. Looking forward to the next comparison. Thanks Jonathan.
RIght on! Thanks for watching!
It'll be interesting when I try these out with a roundwound-strung mustang (future episode!). I think the Nordys are starting to drift away from what a 'vintage' mustang pickup sounds like - it's starting to sound more like a mid forward P Bass. From the ones I've tried, the vintage Mustang tone has more of a tubby, narrower freq range.
The beautiful thing with the age we are in, is that one can find different tonal colours with different pieces of gear. Or different pickups that better suit the natural sound of their hands and hopefully find the sound in their head.
Big Nords fan, you can hear both fundamentals and overtones . . . nice! (I have a set of Nords in my MM Sterling bass)
Yeah! The Nordy NM4 is starting to drift a bit from what a 'vintage' Mustang pickup sounds like, but it most definitely has more muscle than what an old Mustang p/u can provide! It will appeal to a broader audience, I think.
Thanks for watching!
Thanks Jonathan, great video. Love the detailed explanation as well as the types of music it could be used for. I ordered them for my Squier cv, because I’m sure it’ll be a worthy upgrade. I’ve only read good things about these pickups.
The vintage NM4 model will fit with the smaller pickups it takes.
I’m looking forward to trying these out myself!
Thanks so much for watching and for your kind words! I hope you like the Nordys when they arrive! Mine came with a set of screws and springs too, so that's a nice touch. I think you'll need to re-use the existing pickup covers, as the vintage/smaller sized Nordys don't come with covers. Sometimes Squier glues or epoxies the covers to their pickups!
@@jonathanwong458music thanks for the heads up!
Best of luck!
@@MC-qe5qb I installed the Nordy in my Mustang CV, new electronics (orange caps, cs pots). You'll need the original Squier covers.
I have to say, Jonathan's Mustang with the N4 and TIs sounds far better than my Squier.
I put the LaBellas for Mustang, but I was not too fond of the results (actually, I hated how the combination sounded) - although they're on the comfortable side to play, they dulled the sound completely, and the E string sounded weak; a "true vintage" tone, but on the bad side, with all the frequency spectrum reduced. Playing live with a DI and with the tone on 100%, the bass sounded (even fingerstyle) as if I was playing with a pick - the Nordy somewhat improved the high frequencies, but the strings couldn't produce the mid-lower and lower frequencies well. The most acceptable sound I got from them live was with the tone at 25% - sounded more Mustang, P-bassy alike, yet still kind of weak.
I tried before Fender flats, but I broke the E right after installing the Nordy and I couldn't try them properly.
I'm trying right now MarkBass flats, they sound quite better, with overall more clarity, but a considerable improvement on the lower frequencies; I can feel again the thumps and the pulse when playing the E and A. They truly gave more life to the Nordys and now I can appreciate them better. On the bad side, they are pretty heavy and high-tension. I'm aiming for Ernie Balls to get close to an all-rounded sound, with the flexibility to go from the vintage to the modern.
@@Asmuk thanks for the info. I have Labellas on mine and I never thought of looking for different strings, simply because everyone praises them so much and I haven’t tried others. I don’t play live, so you see aspects I don’t. You do like the N pickups thought, compared to stock? And I didn’t even know markbass had strings. I’ll know now that there’s other options. Thanks a lot for the insight, very interesting.
I really like all of your mod series. Of the guitars that I own, the only thing I'm thinking about changing are the tuners. That seems to be something you do last if at all. Is that due to not affecting tone as much if at all?
You reviewed the Squier Mini P bass, so I bought one. You reviewed the Sterling Stingray, so I bought one. You reviewed the Ibanez Mezzo, so I bought one. I signed up for Fender Play lessons to learn how to properly play (currently play guitar). Now I have my eye on the new Squier Debut series P bass on Amazon for $126 usd. I know you'll be reviewing one soon. Thanks to your awesome reviews, Bass has consumed me. Keep up the good work. I have so much to learn from you.
Thanks so much for watching my videos!! And for your kind words! Sorry for the credit card bill, though. I hope my videos are representative and also reflective of your experience with those particular basses you mentioned.
Re: tuners. In the late 90s and early 00s, in an effort to prevent neck dive and save weight, I put USA Hipshots on many basses I owned, Fender or not. I never recorded true A-B comparisons back then, but I was playing out lots at the university bar and at churches. If I am to be honest, I never heard a tonal difference. It fiddled with the balance of some basses, but not all. In retrospect, I spent lots of money for little audible gain, if any. But I was 20-something at the time and loved gold hardware! These days, if it stays in tune and holds its tune without slipping, it's probably good enough. The one thing that bothers me, however, is on some of the smaller styled tuners (eg gotoh 7s), where there is a screw that keeps the tuner leaf to the shaft....if those come loose, it changes the resistance of the tuner feel. And on inexpensive tuners, those can fail quickly.
Thanks so much for writing and watching!
@@jonathanwong458music I would say your reviews are spot on for my needs. There is one big difference that I notice though, Tone vs. Comfort. You, as a professional musician, seem to be searching for Tone. Myself, as a casual/student player, am searching for Comfort. For me, Tone can be controlled electronically with the amp/pedals or mechanically with my fingers. Comfort on the other hand has to be built into the instrument. Scale length makes it more user friendly but instrument weight is what makes me buy it. I enjoy standing while I play. A 9 pound/34" guitar will leave me crippled for three days after playing for an hour while standing. 6-8 pound basswood or poplar bodied guitars are enjoyable for me. The 28.6" scale length bass guitars feel more like a standard 25.5" guitar. String tension becomes the issue there. They feel a bit soft for me. Maybe the Labella Flatwound 760FM- P strings may feel better? The 32" scale bass feels great but the there is a bit of a stretch between frets that I haven't overcome yet. I haven't gotten a 30" bass yet. Maybe a Squier Mustang would be in my weight range? My credit card is buzzing just thinking about it...
Thanks for replying! Comfort is king for me too! It was actually medical issues that forced me away from 34-35” scales and into shorties. I’m sitting to play 95% of the time.
For me, 30” is the sweet spot.
PS, I am obsessed with finding tone, but I’m not a pro musician! (Not the primary gig, at least)
Hey Jonathan, i bought the same bass (the orange/gold version) a few weeks ago for about 250$. Its feels really nice to play and i like the sound of it. But now i checked your new video i'm thinking of buying NM4s too. The sound has more of a character and is just closer to what i'm looking for. By the way, I read on several japanese sites that Schecter only produced 20 pieces per color of this model (and there were originally 3 colors) Do you know anything about that? Anyway, thanks for your videos!
WOW! You got a great deal @ $250! I chose this Schecter over the Fender JMJ - I liked the 1.5" nut width and the body contours better. Check out the upcoming videos on the Lollars and the Curtis Novak too! Quite a bit more expensive, unfortunately. As US-made pickups go, these Nordstrands are very reasonably priced!
Info on these Pro-gauge Schecters are hard to come by. There are a few sites in Japanese if you can read it! So I'm not sure about how many were made in what colour. I get the sense that they are pretty rare in general, especially outside of Japan. Great basses!
Thanks for watching!!
Slightly off topic, but, I noticed in another comment you said you chose this bass over the Jmj due to body contours and neck profile.
I myself have been playing jazz bass for almost 20 years and have a highly modified bronco bass, both sharing the slim 1.5 nut width. I’ve never felt comfortable with the wide and deep p bass neck. That said I love the appeal of a Jmj, but there are none in my area for me to get my hands on. The Jmj has the wider 1.65 profile like a p bass and that one factor has me second guessing my desire for the instrument…
What are your thoughts? Am I over thinking things? Thanks, and great video as always.
Thanks for watching and asking!
Yes indeed, when I was looking for a Mustang-shaped bass that actually had a mustang p/u in it (I only had an offset Fender mustang PJ at the time), the JMJ was top of the list. It had just come out....but when I played one in a store (only 1 example), there were a few things that I didn't get on with. Not to say these are bad things, just things where I have preferences for something else.
a) forearm contour/cutaway. My offset 1st gen mustang at this point was my main short scale and I loved the thing. But it was also at the beginning of me getting sick with this crappy autoimmune disease (dermatomyositis), so I was REALLY sensitive to playing comfort. And the uncontoured hard edge of my mustang, at times, dug into my arm muscles the wrong way. Which, in turn, caused my muscles to cramp and hurt etc etc. The JMJ does not have a forearm cutaway. When it was time to design the shape of my custom F Bass, this was a key thing - body width and cutaways/contours.
b) Mustang bridges - the JMJ bridge has the usual string-through only and tighter string spacing. Having played a lot of basses, I have since realized that I much prefer top loads and 19mm string spacing on a 4 string. It's hard to explain, but it's just what I gravitate towards, feel-wise. (My Schecter Japan is top load with a Fender bridge with 'vintage style' threaded saddles at 19mm).
c) Nut width. A tradition Precision is 1.75". It's a baseball bat! But it makes you play a certain way. The more modern P necks have shrunk down to 1.625" (eg Player series), which is more comfortable for many, but not quite a Jazz width. I like the 1.5" nut width. Why make it harder and less comfortable to play, right? In addition to the 1.625" nut width on the JMJ, the neck profile was also slightly chunkier and rounder/deeper than my 1st gen mustang. It's more consistent with the vintage dimensions. I have tiny arthritic fingers. I could get used to the chunkier profile, but again, why fight it?
I otherwise loved the daphne blue colour (there wasn't a black version then). I'm 50/50 on the artificial relic'ing. I prefer to ding up my own basses, but having said that, I also dislike really glossy perfect looking top coats. Overall, the JMJ package is a great bass. I liked the tones, even with the stock Fender flats. It had a vibe and it makes you play a certain way, which is really what I look for in an instrument. For me, the Schecter ticked more boxes and it didn't sound inferior. In fact, I think it sounds better than most of the MIJ reissue Fender mustangs I've tried. I made a comparison video on that!
My bottom line is this: If I go in with hesitation on certain key ingredients/issues, and convince myself that it's going to be great......it almost always turns out that I don't like it and I end up selling it/trading it. I'll end up spending way more time thinking about it, changing it, modding it, spending more $ on it than I'll ever get back and in the end, it still won't be great. And less time spent making and thinking about music!
Hope this reflection is useful to you!
@@jonathanwong458music thank you for the clear and insightful explanation of your stance. Gives me plenty to ponder.
I look forward to the next two videos in this series. Especially the Curtis Novak, as I’ve seen guys swap out the Jmj pickups for Novaks.
I’m looking forward to the Novak too!
how easy are they to fit?
These pickups are directly mounted onto the pickguard, so it is different than installing pickups in a P or J bass, which mount/screw into the body. The only tricky things are making sure the springs are not bunched up between the pickguard and the pickup cover, and that turning the screw clockwise raises the pickup height (the opposite of mounting into the body). Otherwise, soldering is like any other pickup installation.
The other tricky thing with mustang pickups is the 2 different sizes, ~40mm vs ~44mm, so be sure to measure the widest point of your pickup shell. Typically, the vintage models are the smaller shell size whereas the MIJ Re-issues are typically the larger size. But measure to make sure!
The Nordstrands in the video are the larger shell size and they fit perfectly into the Schecter Japan bass pickguard. Everything lined up perfectly!
Thanks for watching!