Yamaha RBX375 pickup upgrade

[HOFX]

Hey, has anyone here changed over pickups in an RBX375?

I've never done pickup change over myself, but I just bought one of these and although I like the feel of it, it sounds like poo and can't get it to as well as my 4 string P bass.

I understand it requires jazz bass style pickups and I'm looking at either these in 5 string (http://www.delano.de) or a pair of EMG DCs. I haven't looked into the actual dimensions of the pickups and the current ones in the guitar, but was hoping I could get someone's previous experience in this?

 

[egan.]

The RBX375's I've seen definitely don't have jazz pups. Talkbass seems to think the DC45 is the right size but I have no experience so take it with a grain of salt. EMG's will sound like EMG's. The delanos sbc's are supposedly (I haven't used them) an ultra hi-fi passive that resembles the frequency response of the EMG but with less agression and compression (some say less brittle). In either case I'd personally be a little reticent to drop $200-300 pickup sets into a $300 bass but if it sounds good then it's probably worth it.
Not to ask the obvious, but have you thrown new strings on yet?

 

[HOFX]

I'll try new strings, but to give you more back ground, I bought the bass from the Allan's music liquidation the other day because I was in the market for a 5 string and it had some good reviews. But, given that the bass is still on the strings it came with, when I set the EQ up for the B/E string to sound good, the D/G string sound as though they're from a completely different guitar.

A nice solid bassy sound on the B/E string make the D/G string sound muffled. A nice treble/rounded sound on the D/G string make the B/E string sound hollow and trebly. My thinking is that the strings have aged the same (as in, the B/E string aren't newer than the D/G) and that, being a lower model guitar where costs are saved on electronics, that improving on the electronics would yield the greatest value.

I will try new string first though.

Thanks for the links too, appreciate it.

 

[Sethis]

I think its pickups are pretty good honestly, especially for its price. If you play around with it I'm sure you will get some usable sounds. Is your battery new? As egan said I'm not sure it's worth changing the pups.

 

[nowherecatastrophe]

I have the same bass and went through exactly the same thing as HOFX, got it for cheap, played nice, but the pickups could've been better. contemplated putting EMGs in it, and from what i recall they would've fit. The neck on it warped beyond adjustment a few months later though, making the action mile high and unplayable, and its been sitting in a corner since.

 

[HOFX]

Righto, I'll try new strings and, depending on that, do some more research to see if new pickups will help.

...to be continued...

 

[Nuno Filipe]

This week I put mine for sale. Even with new strings the bass is honky as hell, the mids are not pleasant at all. To work in a mix, you have to do quite big cuts in the mids. New it costs the same as Squier jazz bass but squier it´s a lot better.

 

[HOFX]

Ok, I'm aware I'm bringing this thread back to life....

I replaced the stock pickups in the RBX375 with EMG 45DC-X on neck and EMG 45-JX on the bridge. I must say the installation was a lot easier than I expected, though there was a bit of work to get things to fit.

One thing I didn't realise is that the 45DC-X is *much* louder than the 45-JX. I thought I did my research on good matches...but alas.

So, how does it sound?

There are 5 samples in the mp3 below (warning, some are louder than others).
1: Original RBX375, my normal recording settings (volume blend and tone knobs for each pick up)
2: DCX and JX blended, each at equal volume, tone knob at full
3: DCX at full volume, tone knob at full
4: JX at full volume, tone knob at full (pre-amp volume same as 3: to give idea of pickup volume difference)
5: A quick blend of the two pick ups, pre-amp volume adjusted to get a full signal

Hopefully that's useful to someone, let me know what you guys think.

2015-BassPickups.mp3

 

[chesterfieldblues]

Hi, nice test, DCX sounds fuller and punchier, it should be a good upgrade on the neck, but I don't understand why there is such a difference in volume with JX one...

-edit- just read this thread, with additional infos about these pickups, didn't know JX was single coil:

http://www.talkbass.com/threads/emg-45jx-pickups.992516/