Delano Pickups. A line of pickups tends to have an overall
character: the warmth and transparency of Bartolini, the growl and cut
of EMG. The Delano brand has a powerful voice of high-fidelity
definition and presence, retaining this personality across a deep,
diverse line. Standard fare includes six variations on the Jazz bass
pickup—most of which are hum-canceling—and soap bars for four- through
seven-string basses. Delano also has many flavors of MusicMan-style
pickups, including seven 5-string MusicMan models with more than one
string spacing. For this month's review, I will highlight two models:
the
JMVC FE/PMVC FE series, and the Hybrid system. The JMVC FE
and PMVC FE series are hum-canceling J- and P-pickups with 9.5mm pole
pieces similar to a MusicMan. These pickups are drop-in replacements
for standard routs. They have a stronger attack, rounder bottom-end,
and glassier high-end than stock pickups. Many players felt these
pickups sounded as if they were being played through a high-quality
preamp with a judicious amount of treble and bass boost, even when the
pickups were installed as a passive load. The JMVC FE/PMVC FE work very
well with active electronics, too. As with the rest of the Delano line,
this series is available as either matched sets or as singles designed
to function with other Delanos for custom configurations. The most
exciting part of the Delano line is the Hybrid system. Delano has
attacked the current favorite MusicMan/Jazz combination and the age-old
problem of getting more than one usable voice out of an instrument, and
come out a winner. The Hybrid system is a remarkable new MusicMan
replacement with a matching Jazz neck pickup. The Hybrid MM pickup has
one exposed set of large MM-style Alnico 5 pole pieces, and one set of
smaller Jazz-style Alnico 5 pole pieces. Under the cover, a second MM
coil nests within the Jazz coil. The Hybrid system reproduces the
classic voice of both pickup sets more convincingly than other
available products because of the proper coil design and pole piece
arrangement. The other neat trick in the Hybrid's bag is a switch that
controls the mode. In the dual Jazz mode, the preamp is bypassed, the
proprietary treble pot becomes a roll-off, and you get volume, pickup
blend, and tone like a classic J-bass. In the MM mode, the preamp is
active and you have the ability to blend the neck pickup into the tone.
Delano also offers several fine-sounding preamps to mate with this
system, including a new preamp dubbed "The Sonar," which unfortunately
didn't arrive in time for this review. With excellent customer service,
a full custom shop, and many more pickups than I mentioned here, Delano
is just starting to be a force in the U.S. market and is certain to
become one of the top players.
Available online at Delano.de
