SimS Super Quads

Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
edited June 2016 in Bass
Hi

I thought I'd post a few words here to cover in a bit more detail the SimS Super Quads I recently fitted in an alembic-like 1970s bass, covered in the build thread here.  

They are pricey pickups (around £430 for the pair) which, for passive pickups is eye-watering and, as such, many of us would not normally come across them.  Certainly, if Mick - the owner of the bass - hadn't sent a pair to me to fit in the project, I wouldn't have!

The pickups were fitted as part of the refurbishment of this:
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...which became this:

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They are sizeable pickups as you can see here and contain four coils, in two rows of two:

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They are passive, but have bright LEDs - indicating the setting of each - which themselves are powered by a standard on-board 9v battery.

They are connected to a pair of tri-logic switches which give three options for each pickup:

Full Humbuck                     Single Coil                              'P' type split coil


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The three-way switches and p/ups are connected by a multi-cable connector, with the - otherwise standard - wiring hot leads solder to the appropriate switch, along with a solder joint for ground and for the 9v LED feed:

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Everything else is standard wiring.  For this one, I opted for a blend, a master volume and a master tone.

Installation is straightforward...ish :
  • The p/up rout is fairly standard with the exception that you need to rout a deeper channel in the middle for clearance of the connector pcb  (you can also see the four coils clearly here):
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  • The connectors are quite large and somehow have to feed to the control chamber.  For a new build this can be incorporated in the control runs. For a retro fit, you need to be sure you are going to be able to expand the existing runs sufficiently or cut new ones - with so many wires, cutting off, feeding through and re-soldering really isn't a good option!


The difference between the 'P' bass setting and single coil is subtle but clearly audible (on the video, you hear it more on Mick's rebuild bass than on Nick Smith's demonstrator).
The difference between the humbucker settings and either of the single coil settings or 'P' settings are like chalk and cheese!

The other thing which is worth noting (and there is discussion on this on the video) is that there seems to be very little volume drop between the humbuck and single coil settings - very useful in practice and quite technically impressive.

Hope this has been of interest to any of you :)

Andy 

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Comments

  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23937
    Very interesting!

    But the price! Smeg. If I was patient I could almost find a US P bass for that!
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    Very interesting!

    But the price! Smeg. If I was patient I could almost find a US P bass for that!

    Certainly out of my league.....
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  • FelineGuitarsFelineGuitars Frets: 11496
    tFB Trader
    I have been planning on using them on a build at some point 
    Does it give you an option of which way round you have the P bass (Split) pair?

    Price wise here are two P bass pickups in each quad unit, so if you get 2 quads for £430 with all the connected circuitry and switch then it doesn't seem that terrifying for a unit that must take a bit of building 
    Do Sims include a router template with the kit?

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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    edited June 2016
    FelineGuitars;1121118" said:
    I have been planning on using them on a build at some point Does it give you an option of which way round you have the P bass (Split) pair?

    Price wise here are two P bass pickups in each quad unit, so if you get 2 quads for £430 with all the connected circuitry and switch then it doesn't seem that terrifying for a unit that must take a bit of building Do Sims include a router template with the kit?
    As supplied there isn't an option for switching the P config. SimS supply the dimensions for the rout and I believe will hire out a template but don't supply one with the p/ups. Cost-wise it is easy to see why things double (there are, as you say, twice as many wound coils as normal) but price wise, it is high by most comparisons....but as Nick says in the video, there's nothing else quite like them on the market.
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