I put Nordstrand/Dingwall pickups in my Sandberg bass

I changed the pickups in my Sandberg Classic Booster from the stock pickups into Nordstrand Dingstrand Nordwall. I now have a Sandberg that sounds like a Dingwall.
Old pickups: Sandberg Classic Booster stock pickups
New pickups: Nordstrand Dingstrand Nordwall
Gear used:
Sandberg Classic Booster
Darkglass Tone Capsule
Darkglass Hyper Luminal
Mooer Noise Killer
Neural DSP Parallax
Neural DSP Darkglass Ultra
Sections:
Distortion played with finger: 0:04
Clean sound played with finger: 2:53
Distortion played with pick: 5:42
Clean sound played with pick: 8:32
Check out my band LOST IN RUIN:
• LOST IN RUIN - Emperor...
Check out my presets for the Neural DSP Quad Cortex:
neuraldsp.com/...
#nordstrand #sandberg #dingwall

[@eskilseter]

Oh wow, I was not aware that so much of that Dingwall tone was in the pickup. I figured there was a lot of EQ and usually Darkglass mojo that went into it as well.

[@eloann]

That's a huge difference - much more dramatic than I was expecting. I went the opposite way and had Nordstrand big rails made in Dingwall shells for my fretless Super J.

[@paularrr]

How did it work? :)

[@eloann]

@@paularrr I used to have to battle the harshness out with compression and EQ - now I can just plug it in, play and listen to bandmates rave about my tone. I still have FD3 in another (fretted) Dingwall in which they work perfectly fine though.

[@CheloRomanini]

I got my FD3 pickups, to change them into my Ibanez bass. Sadly, the preamp started malfunctioning and the Bartolini pickups are great, but have very low output. So, I sent it to install a new preamp, plus these "Dingstrand Nordwall" pickups. I plan to make a video when it's ready. Thanks for your demo, is really good for comparison 😉

[@paularrr]

Glad my video helped! Feel free to drop your video here when it's done :)

[@drphalanges1520]

Did you ever get that done? I have an Ibanez SRMS800 and I hate the way it sounds and want to upgrade the pickups to these.

[@steffomca762]

@@drphalanges1520 The problem is also the preamp. Ibanez electronics tend to sound boring Btw you could upgrade those pickups easily: You just have to buy the BArtolini P2 version of them, so that they can fit into your bass as a direct replacement

[@Liminal.Headspace]

​@@steffomca762That would actually be a pretty bad idea. If you don't like the stock Asia made Bartolinis , you will most likely not like the American ones either. Bartolinis have their own sound and it's not the most popular. Nordstrand offers all of their soap bars in P2 size, including the Dingwalls. There's also Delano that has a wide selection. Also, yes, the preamp in most Ibanez basses is flat and lifeless, it's the first thing you should upgrade, whether it's a cheap or expensive bass. Artec preamps sound better than the ones on $1000 Ibanez's.

[@brazenhead262]

Wow these make a huge difference, especially on the B string. This just made my decision on which pickups to put in my Ibanez BTB way easier, thank you!

[@paularrr]

Yeah! Still love those - glad I could help with your decision :)

[@liamjenkins82]

Hey mate. Was it an easy swap. I have a btb 676. Doesn't get much love so I've been looking at new pickups. Came across the dingstrand nordwall 6.

[@MadDjentah]

It's all about pickups, as usual. Many think that Dingwall basses all around extended scale, but no, they are simple chinese basses with nice designed electronics.

[@daleonov]

To be fair, this sandberg isn't exactly a $100 bass with upgraded pickups, so I reckon quality still matters

[@Kevdak]

Dingwall basses are made in canada 🤦

[@chrismcauley-rj4wh]

As a Canadian, I am offended. We are not Chinese, and Dingwall is our pride

[@liamjenkins82]

I think only a couple of models are made in china. With American produce. Then set back for setups

[@nathanmccook133]

Also the scale of a dingwall is a factor for tension and note clearity but also depends on tuning and string gauges how much that'll factor in. Its the same reason LOTS of quality 5 strings are at least 35" scale, it makes the low note crisper and chime through more

[@geekguitars]

Nice demo 👍. Definitely more high mids and top end bite with the nordstrands. I'm hopefully going to be ordering a Classic Booster myself later this year, this is definitely something to consider.

[@777666hxc]

Great Demo! Thinking of putting these pickups in a 35inch 6 string Baritone guitar!

[@ghitamihai4447]

Great comparison! Won a sub

[@paularrr]

Glad you like it! Thanks for the sub ❤️

[@domagojoinky8262]

I like Sandberg pickups more, they sound like a more modern and fatter version of Fender jazz bass pickups and maybe, I hear more of the fundamental on E and low B strings. Dingwall pickups have more presence and bite, but, they sound too harsh for my taste. They scream when played with distortion

[@ryoshamo]

Great demo. Plan on putting one in my BTB. Hopefully it fits.

[@paularrr]

Thanks! Did you already switched pickups? If yes, how did it turn out?

[@liamjenkins82]

Did they fit. I'm considering the same idea

[@joaoneto_official]

Thank you for the tips!

[@paularrr]

Happy to help!

[@markusm108]

both sound good to me, although my guess would be that the sandberg stock pickups might sound better in a mix with guitars.. mostly because they are much more low-midrange sounding

[@leonardobustamante759]

Im planning to get these for my jackson CBXNT V and they would basically double the price of my bass lol why metal is so expensive?

[@paularrr]

When they give you the sound and feeling you're looking for it's alright! I agree on everything being super expensive, but there's also sick stuff out there for a budget :)

[@RobMoutrey]

Thanks for the Demo!! I'm looking forward into getting a set of these Dingstrand Nordwall Pups for my Ibanez SR885 to replace the dead sounding Ibanez ADX5 pups!! I'm wondering how they'll sound with the Vari-Mid EQ III that came stock in the Ibanez :D subbed!!

[@paularrr]

Let me know when you changed them! Would like to know too, what they sound with an ibanez! :D

[@RobMoutrey]

@@paularrr will do :D

[@IguanoTwix6942]

Any updates?@@RobMoutrey

[@PM-oq6ku]

Der Booster gefällt mir echt gut. Spiele selber einen VS4. Bin riesiger Sandberg- Fan. Dein Lick gefällt mir ehrlich gesagt richtig gut. Aus welchem Song ist der?

[@paularrr]

Bin auch super Sandberg Fan geworden, da stimmt einfach alles. Das Riff ist aus einem selbst geschriebenen Song. Ich fand es passend für diesen Test - freut mich, wenn es dir gefällt :)

[@ymsbro9351]

how did you deal with the string spacing issues?

[@geekguitars]

Did you have to do any routing to get the nordstrands to fit? Or did they just drop right in?

[@paularrr]

They were a perfekt fit :) You can buy them in emg or bartolini shape so it's pretty easy to get the right ones

[@alexanderhemming9148]

Hey just wondering if you happened to know of any differences between the neck and bridge pickups other than just the difference in position. Kind of hoping the bridge pickup is more aggressive just in terms of how it's actually wired (looking for maximum crunch lol)

[@antoniobiancaniello7047]

What volume pots did you use for these pickups?

[@paularrr]

I use the Darkglass tone capsule. It's a preamp set that comes with the pots.

[@anotakudetective1546]

Any ideas for pickups or preamps to put in a btb625ex?

[@paularrr]

Depends on what sound you want to get out of it :) best you can do is try, try and try as many things as possible. I did this by going to the local music store and play some bass models with the electronics I was interested in, but also asking friends to try out their stuff :) Not to mention the hours spent on youtube looking for test videos. For your bass I would probably look for some aguilar or nordstrand pickups, but that's just personal preference!

[@AugustThor438]

Same strings? They sound old with the stock pickups but fresh with the nordwalls

[@paularrr]

I used fresh D'addario Pro Steels on both of them

[@zday9940]

Are the nordwalls wired in series or parallel?

[@paularrr]

Didn't install them myself, but according to the wiring inside it should be parallel.