Artec Pickups on Ebay?

[Dave W]

Is it? It costs nearly five times as much as an Artec...

And still sounds like an EMG no matter what bass you put it in. Which is fine if you like that sound, but it's not like a T-bird sound.

[gweimer]

Is it? It costs nearly five times as much as an Artec...

And, I think those of us who have done the swap would say that the difference between the pickups was not directly related to the difference in cost.  The Artec that comes with the BaCH is a lot better than I'd expect from a $50 pickup.

[dadagoboi]

 Very true, whatever sound you like is fine.  I gotta ask- what Tbird sound are we talking? Original, Bicentennial, Reissue?  The first Thunderbirds  had a Honduras Mahogany body and neck, even Entwistle's Fenderbirds were mahogany, though w/ a maple neck.  What is a Bach made of?

I think you can get the "Artec" sound with EMGs plus some extra tones.  They do cost a lot more than 5 times the Artec which can be bought in China from Eden's warehouse for less than $10.  Why does a bass that costs this much come with electronics (at least pots and jack) that a lot of people say need upgrading?

I'm a Newbie but I'm not a kid, I understand value and also the Chinese (8 years designing furniture in South China), I'll be looking forward to the comparisons of the two Artecs.

[Basvarken]

Very true, whatever sound you like is fine.  I gotta ask- what Tbird sound are we talking? Original, Bicentennial, Reissue?  The first Thunderbirds  had a Honduras Mahogany body and neck, even Entwistle's Fenderbirds were mahogany, though w/ a maple neck.  What is a Bach made of?

The latest batch of the BaCHbirds is entirely made of sipo.
The first run had a mahogany body sandwiched between two very thin maple veneers. with a maple neck.

I think you can get the "Artec" sound with EMGs plus some extra tones.  They do cost a lot more than 5 times the Artec which can be bought in China from Eden's warehouse for less than $10.  Why does a bass that costs this much come with electronics (at least pots and jack) that a lot of people say need upgrading?

That was the idea from the start. To have BaCH build a good platform to upgrade.
Back in the Dudepit days there were so many different opinions/ ideas about the Non Reverse Thunderbird tribute that BaCH was going to make.
It was impossible to please everybody. So I decided to keep the plan as simple as possible. I asked them to equip the bas with generic hardware and a one generic humbucker.
All those who signed up for the BaCHbird would upgrade their BaCHbirds as much as they desired.
But BaCH did more. Much more. They made an excellent bridge plus tailpiece, especially for this bass. And they really gave it their best to find a humbucker with the right specs (blades, AlNiCo, impedance, etc) They even worked on a nickel casing for the humbucker, but it would weigh too heavy on the total price.
So they opted for the Artec with chromed plastic casing. Which is way bettter than the generic humbucker that we would have gladly accepted at the start of the project.
The first run ended up costing 168 Euro, which is incredibly cheap for a high quality and unique product like the BaCH.

When the first BaCHbirds arrived, everyone was blown away by the quality of the bass and the sound of the Artec. In fact, most BaCHbirds owners kept the Artec because it sounds good as it is. A few nerds - like myself- retrofitted a nickel casing over it for cosmetic reasons.


(The Artec pickup at the start of this thread can be found on Ebay between 20 and 26 dollar. Hence the 5 x times cheaper remark)

[dadagoboi]

Thanks for filling me in on the history, $168 Euro is an excellent price, now I understand the excitement!

[godofthunder]

 I have two Bach NRs, The black one from the second run retains it's Artech pick up. The second from the latest I swapped the pickup to be honest sure there is a difference but I am not so sure it is a $300.00 difference. The Artech is a fine vintage sounding pickup in it's own right. Here are my two (I am always looking for another "thin" one).

[godofthunder]

And yes these are amazing bass for the $ If you can't afford a real NR or your want to save your vintage NR from stage use these are GREAT basses. They have my full endorsement and i have been playing NRs almost exclusivly since '77

[dadagoboi]

Thanks for the input, I've seen your impressive collection of Tbirds.  Had I been aware of the initial Bach run I would have bought one. I agree about the artec pups, they sound good and a lot of bang for the buck.  Or Bach

I built my first Reverse in '82 with a body template traced from my bicentennial. I've been modding it on and off ever since.  I'll be building another as my next project.  May just flip it over.

[uwe]

Pic of the selfmade 82 Reverse or it never existed, pleeze!

[dadagoboi]

This is what it looks like as of this AM.  This is a left handed Charvel Fender neck originally w/reverse left handed Klusons.  First built w/ a Badass, DiMarzio P and painted red metallic.  Next put in an active P/J set of SDs, drilled out the Badass to make it a string thru, cut off the peghead and went Stingray on it.  Doing that allowed better balance and getting rid of the humongous case I'd built.  You can see what the next peghead shape will be from the masking tape.  I like this $20 bridge a lot.  Currently planning to route for those dreaded EMGs but waiting on a Godin Zeta to see what a Piezo might sound like as an option.  The ash body resonates well even with all the butchery.  The shape influences are obvious considering the era.  The next one will be as accurate as possible.

Sorry to come across the way I did in my first posts, I assumed the Bachs were around $500 an unaware of all the effort that went into bringing them to market.

[dadagoboi]

April 2001 w/Duncans, hacked headstock and Klusons before reproportioning body.  Had to slightly grind E string tuner to fit.

[gweimer]

I assumed the Bachs were around $500 an unaware of all the effort that went into bringing them to market.

With the original run, those of us in the States ended up paying close to $400 for the bass.   That was due to the value of the dollar at the time (my bass ended up costing $12 more in the two hours it took between getting my invoice, and getting the wire transfer done), along with the cost of the wire transfer (no other payment option with BaCH at the time), and the $100 shipping fee from the Czech Republic.
Despite the obstacles, the TH-1 is a great bass, even at $400.  And, like I said, it was a nice bass right out of the box. I only dropped the Gibson pickup in because I had bought one a year ahead of the bass arriving.  The difference between the stock Artec and the '60s Gibson wasn't a drastic change.

[Funkster]

Well after experimenting with strings a little bit I found these pup's to be just fine and after I threw on some D'Addario Prosteels, The bass just sings and has become a regular Go-To bass for me.. I'm totally diggin the feel and it plays just wonderful.. The only thing I'm changing out is the pots. The Artec's are staying in...

[TBird1958]

I'll just flog the horse again...............


Lull


A TH-1 with a Lull pup.

[godofthunder]

Mark we would be dissapointed if you didn't.