Danelectro pickup options

[slinkp]

I brought my circa-1999 dano DC bass to rehearsal the other night. I'd forgotten how much I love playing it! It has a feel I really like.

And I remembered the reason I don't: way too anemic in the mids for my taste. I cranked up everything from about 500hz to 2k and eventually felt like I could hear myself okay.  But I've never been especially thrilled with the lipstick pickup sound.

Has anybody tried the replacements on the market?
GFS has 6k and 8k models. Duncan has some too but not sure if they sound different than the originals.

[exiledarchangel]

I have put a pair of the GFS lipstick humbuckers on my epiphone les paul guitar. They have a very clear sound, even on humbucker mode. 
If you want some gnarly mids you must look elsewhere. Its a very nice and useable sound, but you need a cranked booster in front of them definately.

I have never tried Duncans, but they must sound more middish, they use alnico 5 instead of alnico 2 that GFS use. There are also Artecs on ebay, they use Alnico 5 magnets.

[Granny Gremlin]

I brought my circa-1999 dano DC bass to rehearsal the other night. I'd forgotten how much I love playing it! It has a feel I really like.

And I remembered the reason I don't: way too anemic in the mids for my taste. I cranked up everything from about 500hz to 2k and eventually felt like I could hear myself okay.  But I've never been especially thrilled with the lipstick pickup sound.

LOL, this explains why I like lipsticks (and am not so hot on modern SS Ampeg heads).  Sorry can't help.

[Dave W]

Duncans sound very much like the originals.

IMHO you'd be better off buying a separate preamp pedal than chasing mids that aren't there in the pickup design.

[Denis]

Every now and then Jerry Jones lipstick pickups appear on the 'Bay, but they are few and far between.

[slinkp]

Hmm. I suppose onboard preamp would be another option. There is no shortage of room in there

[Dave W]

Why not an outboard pre?

[slinkp]

No reason really. I've never looked into the outboard options. Just seems like one more thing to carry around though. And I'm not especially attached to the dual concentric pots on the bass, so not averse to changing them out.

[Dave W]

It is one more thing to carry around, but you can use it on any bass.

I have an MXR (Dunlop) M81 preamp with direct out, it packs a lot into a small package.