I think every Musician reaches a point in their career where they are not satisfied with their sound. For me this started at the beginning of my musical life, and didn’t end until recently, some 30 years later.

I have often wondered why my Bass could not sound like it does when I put my ear to it. When I was young I couldn’t have an amp, as my folks were not well off. I would spend long sleepless nights with my ear to my instrument, plucking out the tunes of the day. You know that rich full even sound that just sustains forever and is reminiscent of hitting a note on a grand piano? That’s what I heard, and this made Smoke On The Water sound pretty good. When I got my first amp at around 15 years old, those beautiful sounds were gone. I had entered the world of electric guitars with those awful tones, and accepted this as normal because, hey, it was the 70’s and it was loud, and loud was cool.

As time progressed, I worked on my chops, and that wonderful sound took up residence somewhere in the back of my mind. I tried all the popular gear over the next 30 years, and still no grand piano sound. Somewhere in my 40’s, I found myself a Solo Instrumentalist, completely dissatisfied with the tone of my gear. Having saved some considerable funds, it was time to finally do it right. It was time to capture the sound of wood and strings and have more than a lone child in the dark hear it.

As an active pickup man myself, I had heard in music stores and recordings just about everything out there. I considered all the high-end electronics with dual batteries; the pre-amps with all those push-pull, twisty-turney knobs that, in my opinion, take me further away from my goal by further filtering the signal. I have always found the best sound I could get was by removing the tone controls from my instruments, and in some cases the volume controls as well.

Realizing my search for the ultimate sound was not to be fulfilled in my local music stores, I took my quest to the Internet. It was there that I found a custom Luthier at www.KRGuitars.com, named Kevin Robertson, who was willing to work with me on some modifications to one of his very sweet designs. From the beginning, this bass was intended to have full, rich, even sound with wide resolution and exceptional resonate properties. I wanted a 4 string fretless grand piano, and this would take some exceptional pickups to capture. I was beginning to think that I would have to have these pickups handmade specifically for this project.

Further Online research led me to www.Q-Tuner.com. After reading the literature, and hearing the demos, I was convinced the pickups I found there could do the job and give me the sound I was seeking. I contacted Erno Zwaan, the man behind these ingenious pickups, and had several emails with him about the sound I wanted to capture. Erno, a Luthier and Musician himself, made several recommendations for this project.

We decided on a pair of his Q2.0 bass 4 string pickups. These are a high output, high-performance neodymium, dual coil, and passive humbuckers. Available for any playing style you are interested in and they come protected with black or transparent covers. I have both pickups in the transparent casing.

Finally, after 6 months of only seeing this bass in process photos, and dreaming of the possible sound, the Big Day had arrived. It was time to plug her in and give a listen…………

I gotta be honest here, I was so in awe, and I couldn’t play…. Pure tones and brilliant resonance. This sound just could not be! I was hearing harmonics in order and magnitude I have not yet heard from any other pickup ever. These pickups kick MAJOR BOOTY! The output is incredible for a passive setup. They are quieter and seemingly more powerful than my active stuff. The sound is just awesome with an exceptional bottom end definition that can only be described as hitting the pedal notes on a grand piano; and bright highs that are not harsh or unpleasant at all. The frequency response seems very even across the spectrum. I can pluck a crystal clear harmonic anywhere on any string effortlessly, this is also true for artificial harmonics. Octaves, intervals and chords play true with incredible intonation. The notes do not crash into each other canceling each other out or becoming dissonant, the sound sustains as long as the strings are still moving. These pickups are so alive you can just blow across the strings and it sounds like wind chimes.

These pickups are definitely high-end gear for the aural connoisseur. I am using them without any tone controls to clog the signal. I have them wired separate with one 500k audio taper pot for each. They each have their own output jack. This setup isn’t for everybody; some guys just want their bass to sound like a bass. So I did some EQ tests to tone them down a bit, and still, I could only hear improvement. I honestly think these pickups would make any instrument sound better.

I would like to say I have that grand piano sound or the sound I had as a child with my ear to the bass…..but I really think it is better than that…. My quest is finally over.

Jamal Hurse