Which pre for a MM Stingray copy? SD, East or SGD?

[grizzlyjay]

Hi folks!
So, before anyone asks i just spent the last few hours reading the various MM megathreads for advice, but can't find anything that answers my question specifically, so here goes...

I got my Maestro mega cheapy MM SR copy back from the luthier last week - he sorted the fret ends, general setup, installed a Warman pickup (cheap but recommended by a fellow TBer) and a super cheap Chinese pre.

His thoughts were that it was a really nice bass, and he thought the Warman pup was really nice and suggested that the weak link was the pre i had bought for it (i expected at least 1 weak link as initially only wanted to spend a small amount on it until it was set up and i had lived with it for a while).

He recommended the Duncan STC3 pre for it, he has one in one of his custom built jobs that he swears by. Anyway, i've been looking around and it seems to boil down to a choice between the following 3 pre's and i wondered specifically if anyone has had experience with all 3 or even any of them just to give me an idea of their inherant tonal properties:

- Seymour Duncan STC-3M3
- John East MMSR 3 band 3 knob
- SGD 2 band pre

Once i got the bass back i was almost literally knocked over when i plugged it into my Trace stack and it clipped the pre (made a scary sound out of the 18" cab!!). The pre was set for my Yammy TRB1005 - which is a prime piece of kit with a monster preamp in itself, but this beast seems so much louder!!! The luthier wired the Warman pup in parallel cos he tried it in series and was too powerful and kept breaking up!?!

Anyway he still reckons the pup is great!

I have a Vintage MMSR copy with a Duncan alnico pup in it which i REALLY like the sound of, the Warman in my new bass is a bit more aggressive sounding, and because the pre is not great i can't really dial in any more bass that's useable.

So i guess what i'm looking for is a pre that will "tame" the pup somewhat and impart a bit more warmth whilst giving me the flexibility that i'm used to from the Yammy. I'm not looking for the same sound as the Yammy (that's why i wanted a Stingray-type bass!), but the ability to boost and cut treb and bass is something i've gotten used to!

BTW i think the Warman is a ceramic magnet, well, it has that 'harshness' to it to some degree...

Any advice on these 3 pre's would be awesome, as would and alternatives if you think they are appropriate!

Cheers peoples!

J

[Rodent]

a suggestion that is not one of your three pre's above:

Nordstrand MM 2-band pre. A 'clone' of the original B00 2-band like in the original Stingrays. Carey did a wonderful job bringing a classic preamp back into existence. in-house testing here at the RGW ranch has us of the opinion that matching a Nordy MM4.2 with their MM 2-band pre yields a result that is near impossible to tell apart from the original unless you have the most astutely discerning ears (even then, you will only hear the difference when the bass is solo, not when in a mix or played in context within a band setting)

scroll down near the bottom of this page for more info: http://nordstrandpickups.com/preamp/




lefty players who were at NAMM 2012 got to give this Pre/pickup combo a test run




disclosure for those who are newer here and don't already know: I am a Nordy OEM builder. I do not re-sell preamps without them installed in an instrument. I chose to be a Nordy OEM by first having been a player who utilized their preamps - I chose to use Nordy pickups and preamps in my builds because I believe that every build I send out the door should cause me to hesitate in selling it due to me wanting to keep it for myself. I play what I build and build what I play

all the best,

R

[Matt R.]

Rod, that^^ is a lovely bass.

[NoXX]

Rod, that^^ is a lovely bass.

seconded! ...i may need a lie down now..

[velalv]

I had a chance to play this bass. I don't care for Stingray style basses (don't care for the tone), but this one was really nice to play. Just an absolute joy! When I heard the take home price, I was very tempted to take it even despite my dislike for the tone.

[grizzlyjay]

thanks everyone for your advice on this. looks like i'm gonna go for the SD or the Nordy pre then. I've had a chance to use the new bass in anger at serious volumes and i think i'm gonna have to swap the warman pup out for something a little higher end. it's almost too powerful, causes some clipping and speaker flapping, although tonally it sounds good. also starts to feedback like a guitar in some of the higher end frequencies!!

think i'm gonna go for the Nordy pup, the vintage voiced one, i would get a SD alnico MM pup but looks like the 5 string model is soapbar style only, doesn't have the 'ears' of the 4-string MM pup, so won't fit in my pickguard...

btw that is a lovely bass in the post above - thanks for sharing!!!