MEC VS BARTOLINI | Warwick Corvette basses
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- Hi guys! I found a 2007 Warwick Corvette $$ and decided to make a pickups review. Bass specs you can find in video, hope you'll like it =)
Both basses played in parallel humbucking wiring in passive mode.
(Sorry for some clicks on the red bass, opened magnets - real trouble, hah.)
Bartolini's are Classic series - very bright and open; There is Original series - more vintage and warm, but I took Classics cause MEC are famous of their brightness and clarity. Anyway, use your headphones and watch EQ-graphic.
Gear used: Planet Waves cables, Elixir strings, Focusrite Scarlett 2i4, Reaper DAW, Sony a5100 with kit lens (16-50mm), FinalCut Pro.
Bartolini pickups
bartolini.net/...
My links
- zlatoyarbass@gmail.com
- zlatoyarbass
- zlatoyarbass
- zlatoyarbassworld
The Barts when fully cranked almost sound like a Thumb bass! MEC are warmer, Barts are puncher. I haven't seen such a well done comparison video in a long time. Quick, short and to the point with maximum information and direct like for like, with nothing left out; the playing is very tasteful and perfectly displays the tonal characteristics of both. Awesome work!
I prefer the MEC pickups. Bartolini's have a mid range honk that doesn't suit me quite as well. And I love the Tight low end of the MECs. Great comparison.
appreciate the live frequency response, i have no idea why more people don't do this for gear demos.
MEC wins the humbucker duel for me, but the Barts´ single coil sound is just woah!
My thoughts exactly.
MECs are quite busy visually with their exposed pole pieces, and I prefer the neutral look of the Bartolinis.
bartolini rules!)
hell yeah =)
this video is absolutely terrific! A short section introducing the material and with specs then ACTUAL bass playing! I also really like that you've added the eq too. Thank you so much! This deserves so many more views
Thank you so much! Yeah, I'm trying to make it professional, with all features
MEC + WOOD is the warwick sound 👍
I disagree, I have a Streamer Stage 1(5 string, NT, broadneck. It came fitted with Bartolini soapbars from the factory and sounds more Warwick like than most other Warwicks I've owned - and I've owned close to 30 of them!
Wood makes no difference to the sound
@@Ps3t At least the amount or mass makes a difference. I owned a thin sounding 4-string Corvette WW bass. If I ever again get A WW bass. It preferrably has to be a 5-string with lots of options.
WW has very thin neck profile and really benefits from more mass sound and feel-wise.
@@Dikmyve I believe it if theres evidence.
Both sound great to me. I like the "woodier" tone from the mec's. But the barts are punchier with more clarity.
The Bartolini’s are much brighter and puncher sounding. The MEC’s are more warm and fat sounding. 🤘🏻
Yeah! but if you watch EQ you'll find that Barts have much more information in bass, sub-bass area, while MEC is sounding more "fat" because of muddy low-mid freq.
Great comparison! I actually preferred the more natural/warm sounding MEC pickups but as you mentioned it depends on each person's tone preference.
I am used to watching frequency graphs but not many people use them in their demo videos, it is a very good visual aid to confirm what your ears tell you. Great quality demo!
Of course! This Bartolini model (classic) is very bright but the company also has Original series - those are kinda vintage.
MEC's are not bad but the graphic shows dynamic lacking and the B-string isn't so tight =)
Anyway tastes are tastes...
For the most part i agree with you . only time i dont is for bridge only pup the bart gets a little more defined. How ever if i was gonna get a double buck i dont think that one way of running it would be enough to go with barts over the m.e.c pups as generally i prefer them as they give that classic warwick tone..
Interesting comparison. The Barts have a more punchier low end but the MECs are also really good sounding . I think its a matter of individual preference and style which pickups to have in your Warwick.
I've always hated MECs personally. I've had two Warwick and I immediately yanked the MEC and put in Barts...in retrospect I should have looked around a bit but the MEC had to GO!!! LOL! To each their own...
Barts make every bass sounds better. Your ears and the graphics will prove that.
"Better" is subjective. I liked the MEC here.
Great to see these compared. Love Warwick basses just not the electronics. Swapped my mec's on a streamer to full emg's pj pickups and pre. Best sounding bass I've ever had. Whereas a corvette nt 2010 Ltd I had with mec, would never sit well in the mix with a band. ( but the best looking bass I've ever had.)
nice playing - the Barts are amazing
I did a lower fidelity vs higher fidelity corded headphone comparison. I found that sound heard using the lower fidelity headphones favored the MEC pickups while the higher fidelity headphones favored that Bartolini pickups. The results seem to be in line with your personal comparison opinion at the end of the video.
Love the Barts! Especially since the poles are closed off :) Always get clicks on open pole basses.
Both great pickups but i prefer the bright and punchy sound from the Bartolini's
The Single Coil on the Barts sounds substantially better in the slap department, but I do prefer the more restrained MEC neck pickup for most things fingerstyle - if I had these two basses would have to put the Bartolini bridge pickup and MEC neck pickup on one bass...
... And put some wild pickups in the other one, to get something really different (I like my basses to do different things).
Slapping 5th string on bartolini sounds amazing
MEC is MEC i am sorry, thats the sound of a warwick
Hard to pick a favorite. The MECs have that Warwick growl. The Barts sounds more Spector-ish to me. Just depends what you're going for, but I if I had to choose, I'd probably go MEC.
MEC growl more organics than bart , the ultimate warwick tone
Barts are DRASTICALLY better. They sound "alive" while MECs are dead as a doornail. I had a Quad Coil Bartollini in a Nexus Shining 5 years ago - I still regret selling it. What a great bass that was.
Thanks for the audio comparison. Better than one hundred reviews.
Thank you!
You're a fantastic bass player. Thanks for the great comparison.
These Bartolini is a clinical thing . Not warm and not real punch.
The tones are really different but for me, they both sound amazing and are very situational and subjective. It's always good to have more than 2 basses with different pickups (if one can afford them) or really make sure what one would want.
I guess the Bartolinis would be good if you are going for more of a modern sound. For me, it’s all about the MECs because I’m going for a more traditional sound, which is odd because the early Thumb basses came with bartolini’s, but those bass still sound warm, round, and woody. I guess it varies with the model of bartolini’s.
Aaron Moore of course! These are Classic series: more resonant and open. There is an Original series - kinda vintage tone.
There are alot of aspects to put into the sounds.... the woods. The pickups. The settings. Strings. Even the slightest difference in the height of each pickup makes a huge difference. Soooooo many various settings. In short though,mec for the Warwick. Bartolini for pretty much any other bass and that says alot about the bartolini
Warwick = Mec
Great comparison and orginized!!... MEC with bridge pickup sounds like a Stingray!!... Love it!!!
your pickup reviews are super professional
thank you! trying to do my best =)
Excellent comparison and great playing! I just got a Warwick Corvette with MEC’s and it’s the best bass I’ve played. I’ve had other basses with Bartolinis but loving the growl of this bass!
Nice video comparison, the bartolinis sounds good, but I prefer these basses sounding like the original warwick project, wirh the MEC pickups, it was this distinctive tone that made me appreciate these basses.
Really great demonstration! My bass has Bartolini Quads. Which is what I prefer. But Warwick basses with MEC has their own distinct sound. I'd love to own one but they're too expensive for my pockets. Besides that, they (Warwicks) are some of the most beautiful instruments I've ever seen. Definitely, a prize to be had.
The Chinese Warwick rock basses run the same pickups, the hardware is cheaper and no options but you get that sound for a price that is affordable. I have owned 3 different models in 4,, 5, and 6 string versions all costing me between 5-7 hundred dollars new. Oh, and the finish work can be iffy I had cheese grater fret ends on my Vampyre.
Bartolini wins by far for me
great video, bro! very interesting differences between the two
thank you bro! not as cool as yours but I'm trying =)
perfect... thank you. It couldn't be any better.
Feel inclined to the Bartolini sound, like they have a rounder punch, more akin to a p-bass.
I like the punch, depth and clarity of the Barts. I have an Ibanez 5-string with Bart IIs, but because the neck width was destroying my little finger knuckle, had square edges, and was heavy, I got another Ibanez 5-string with Big Singles and a thinner, faster neck. The new one is much easier on my hands, slimmer, and a lot lighter. The the Barts sounded great. I wish I had them on my new bass.
I vote for MEC's! The Bartolini's sound veiled compared to tye MEC's. The MEC's seem to provide more growl and punch similar to a Sting Ray to my ears.
Barts! Especially when you hit the low C in the 2nd riff
Really impressed with these Bartolini's, I thought pickups that are standard on 3K basses would kill them... Sometimes ears are more imprtant than eyes !
Bartolini has professional pickups, variety of sounds, shapes etc makes them one of the best companies. look at hi-end basses - most of them have Bartolinis
@@ZlatoyarBass They're great for sure, just thought that for the price a warwick retails, the stock pup's would have been a bit superior to Batolini's. Have you ever gave Nordstrand a try btw ? They're stock on Ibanez premium line (prestige use Bartolini's). Haven't tried any high end bass pickup before so I can't compare but I'm pretty happy with it so far.
@@pideuhweuh8459 Warwick just has everything a bit expensive... :)
Nords are nice but I prefer Barts. When I was looking for mec replacing I found that I like all basses with Bartolini (Roskoe, MTD, Modulus, Zon, Ken Smith etc) so I put it in all my basses :)
Seems legit. I might swap the Nordstrand's for Bart's at some point, thanks for great comparaison !
@@pideuhweuh8459 You could ask Bart's to help with our replacement: they'll recommend the right shape and the voice you like (there are pretty the same pups but with different voicing - so learn this moment).
Awesome video! (i did a blind test and listened too it before watching it) - i went with the predetermined notion that i would like the Barts better - apparently, i did not. The MEC's were DEF more my tastes in tone. Nordstrand Big Blades may make a huge difference though. Awesome job. Cheers from Toronto Canada
It's okay, everybody has his own tastes =)
WOW, the Bartolini pickups sound like a Dingwall bass xD. They are more scooped than the MEC pickups to my ear. Nice video !!
That's "ear masking" :) because Bart's have more air (hi-end, presence) they feel scooped comparing to mec - that's why I always put the eq graphic!
MEC sound better
Gran comparación, las pastillas MEC suenan genial pero me quedo con las BARTOLINI para mí gusto
Intersting comparison. The Barts have some mids that would be problematic in my mixes.
MEC 🙏
Is it me, or did the Bartolinis make the bass sound like a Dingwall NG-2 (when both of them were switched on in dual-coil mode)?
Looks like everyone love the bart, what about make the comparison with tracks added so we can hear what's pickups sound blended each other ? Not all pickups sounds good in the mix while they good on solo 😁, btw good video n playing, i make it to 500 likes ! Hahaha
not sure about everyone... =) unfortunately I dont have these basses now, so we have what we have. I should say, both of them sound great. For my taste Barts are more dynamic, has more punch and wider freq range. I played a lot of music on that black bass, from pop to death metal.
Thanks!
Bartolini is more 'Hi Fi' but the MEC sounds more like a Warwick 'should' sound.
MEC all the way! Glad these videos pop up ever so often to remind me not to ever change out my stock pickups!
would the barts sound better on the fretless corvette $$ rockbass? i’m trying to achieve a tone similar to the band beyond creation or obscura
I'm a bigger fan of the brightness and relatively flat response of the Barts, but the MECs don't sound bad.
MECs sound more natural and pleasant to me; Bartolinis have great presence, but are a bit too screamy to my ears.
I'd love to have the mec in the rear and bartolini in the front. That would probably make the best of both worlds.
Mec definitely had a metal sound, if u liike jazz sound then Bartolini would work
Bartoliny
hello!excellent video!congratulations! I have a doubt. Do these bartolini pickups come with the knobs? Or did you use the warwick originals? because I want to install on my warwick covette $$. I liked the tone of the bartolini caps.
Thanks! The switches I’ve bought separately
I am not sure is it because the matter of spacing, but the bartonlini have the feel tend to be a bone than MEC.
Would have loved to hear a combo of bridge single coil and neck humbucker
I like the MECs warm sound. The others are a little too bright for me.
These Bartolinis make it sound so close to a Thumb!
Bartolini.
Mec must have for warwick sound. Imho
Bartolin the best !!! + definition ,+ mid bass ,+ mid high.
warwick with Bartolini is not warwick sound , but is better !!! 👍👏
You guys gonna make me buy a Warwick. Lol
Oddly, i prefer the MEC, as the Bartolinis have a very Stingray tone too them (to my ears anyway)...not that its a bad thing, but a bit thin for my liking. GREAT video
Thanks!
for less bright tone Bartolini has Original series pups - I have such on my MTD bass, watch video on my channel =)
Awesome comparison...Personally, I like the bartolini pickups the most. It's got a beefy punchy sound. I would like to get a set for one of my basses.
yeah man, they are dynamic as hell
Update: I’ve purchased a set of bartolini pickups and a bartolini preamp on my Ibanez bass and it sounds phenomenal. Since the modification, the bass sounds more versatile than before. I’m glad I’ve made this decision to mod my bass with bartolini electronics.
Barts sound better to me, but the MECs sound good to.
dudes! in argentina we have a national luthier. Jose Mazzarino. he build the pickups Mazzarino. just hear the pickups. here in argentina a lot of top bassist change Bartolini with Mazzarinos.
mazzarinopickups.com/
Both sounds good I'll prefer Mec
BARYOLONIs sound beautiful man and your playing btw too!
Thanks 💚💚💚
Bartolini pick ups sound better
Thanks for making this super informative, and helpful video! I just ordered a pair of the DL52CBJD3 for my Warwick $$ 5 to replace the stock MECs, because of your video. The Quad-Coil Barts are superior to my ears in that they were far more punchy, detailed, and full sounding. To use a pixel analogy, the MECs are 1080p, while the Quad-Coil Barts are 4k. At least to my ears.
How were they?
@@Naddoniz They were absolutely massive sounding! But... they did not have the aggressive tone I was really after. So I ended up switching them out for the more forward and aggressive Nordstrand Blade Man MMs. Much happier with them.
Thanks for the video BUT the black Warwick don't look a GPS one, it looks like a modified Rockbass. (No 3 pots in a German $$)
It is a GPS
Thanks a bunch for sharing this comparison!! I’m in the market right now for possibly replacing the Nordstrand MM5.2 + J5 hc pups in my bass with an edgier, more aggressive & modern sounding design. The ones that have continuously been at the top of my list are 2 or even 3 possible Delano models (Sandberg, Mayones, Mayaursik Elrick etc.. But I can never forget, the two longest standing professional makers of this type of pickup (Warwicks; MEC’s) & (Lakland’s; Bartolini’s)!! I mean from the incredible (now sadly out of production) old Pedulla Mvp (shout to Doug Johns!) MTD’s USA line, Warrior’s custom Isabella (Adam Nitti 🔥) I could go on.. Bart’s man they’re such a huge part of electric bass tone, and have been for decades!
Great video, man! It is cool that you have the freq graph on it.
I love the MEC sound, in this particular case. Bartolini sounded too much like... Bartolini, hehe. I mean, all basses with bartos sound similar. Of course, there are as many tastes as people on the planet
I had a bunch of Warwicks and I came to Bartolini's because MEC sounds similar, hah =)
For me Barts are much dynamic, fuller and natural sounding
@@ZlatoyarBass Hah!! As we said, as many tastes are people... Still, I agree partially. I think "cheaper" MEC sound all the same, but higher lines are very nice. However, Bartos are excellent pickups, don't get me wrong ^_^
Yes, good, thank you! I've been looking for a channel that does A to B (to C to D ,,, ) comparisons of gear, components, and even between building materials, and does it in clear and concise formats. I don't need 30 minutes of video and no honest analysis and no actual audio data.
This is my first time watching one of your videos, bur Im' hoping to see more like this. Brief introduction, explanation of what and how, clearly identify any other variables (differences, possible sources of differences), play several short jams, riffs, etc., each the same played on each instrument, show me what you're using, play good technique, keep it concise, then give me your take, your opinion as the guy playing, because you are in the room hearing the differences, and you are the one who can judge the difference in feel between the two pickups or whatever is being tested and compared.
Even though I have been building custom handmade basses and guitars for about 25 years, I've only just recently started a business building these instruments, and finally will be able to not have to put someone else's name on the instrument, I find these kinds of comparisons extremely useful and extremely informative. Whether it's stuff I've already used, already installed on someone else's instrument, or something I've never had any experience with, it is useful to me. Keep it up, can't wait to see and hear more.
Thank you so much! Such feedback is very inspiring! I’m all in studio stuff but soon I gonna put some new reviews :)
Barts hands down!
Bartolini pickup is outshined the mec in this segment.
I had already made this upgrade to my $$, but hearing them side by side, fuck I'm glad I did.
with barts it sounds like a thumb
Came for the comparison, stayed for the Music
oh, thanks!
Thank you so much for the test, very informative! And for your playing, too: you play very musical and clear! I think, I understand why some people find the Barts "thin" sounding, comparing to the MECs. I found that effect when I was testing bass preamps/DI's and (especially) guitar cables. MECs are more low-Mid oriented, and have much more compression. That's why they may seem to give that popular "woody" tone. It's like using compression on bass, while recording. Compressor reduces dynamic range, but, when setting right, it may help to smooth the things out. And Barts, on the other side, have much better dynamics, much wider range, so the mids are not so compressed and the highs are open. For each his own, as it was stated.
P.s. It would be very interesting to listen to both MECs and Barts in full band mix (or with drums loop, at least).
The Bartolini sounds more colored compared to the MEC which sounds more raw. The Bartolini would sound best for Rock, Metal.. whereas the MEC for Jazz, Funk...
Brutal Video. Thank you for this.
Thanks!
I really like them barts
This video is exactly what I was looking for! MEC sound great, but these Bartolini really reached and touched my soul. I like metal and I think Bartolinis are a great fit! Do you have a video of a comparison between DiMarzio PJ set (model P and model J) vs Bartolini PJ set?
Sir how did you post the live frequency response ?
Screen recording from DAW
that bass line at 1:20 tho ....
Je n aime pas le son des Bartolini..
To my surprise, I found MECs sounding better to my taste. Bartolinis have more bottom and cut but that mid range scoop is a bit too much
I doubt you could go wrong with either...but it's Bartolini for me in this case.
I use both and have never had an issue.
MEC Pickup sound character of warwick.
что то захотелось на bartolini перейти
это нормально =)
А я наоборот в очередной раз убедился в том, как же хорошо, что у меня меки.
hola, puedes hacer una comparativa de MEC con Aguilar por favor. gracias.
а, теперь понял почему меки меньше любят))
хотя если не слышать второй бас- звучит довольно таки круто, все в духе варвика, может даже бартолини скорее чужеродный предмет на них, но собака он же намного ярче, чувствительнее, звук дерева тот же, характер тот же, но сколько же нем яркости стало
А верхняя серединка и плотность ушли. У бартов только презенс ярче. Ну и ещё покруглел звук. Имхо, мек идеально подходят варвику.
@@valeryt4977 ну на вкус и цвет, варвиковскую гнусявость потерял конечно, но в целом богаче звук стал, а середины и так навалить наверное можно при желании...
Bartolini is great.