I have a very early Bartolini Bridge and Neck pickup set that I believe is one of the early offerings by Bill Bartolini. They each measure 2.48K and sound completely different than today's Barts; not having the muted tone that I think today's Bart units have. They are un-marked and were made for a custom German bass maker back in the day. The bass is great, but I think the pickups are the amazing part of the build. I'm thinking of parting out the bass, so these special pickups will be available in the bass or taken out and sold. These pickups sound very good. Here's the bass... https://www.ebay.com/itm/267679697499

Bill Bartolini started Hi-A in '73; Alembic was already going by then (he put his own name on them in '78).  I have never heard of either a Hi-A or a Bartolini pick-up that didn't say so right on the front.

The only other time I've heard someone say that Alembics used Bartolini was Ed Roman, and we all know he was full of it.

I suppose I may be mistaken, but I'm sure Mica or someone else knowledgeable will set the record straight directly.

Peter (who loves Barts, and would put in any bass other than an Alembic)

I've never heard of anyone saying Bartolini made pickups for Alembic. AI says Bill provided some pickup shells for them back in the day. I don't know where AI mined that from.

I put a set of guitar Hi-A pickups on a double neck, neck thru guitar, I was working on and for a clean tone they sounded great.

I have three basses with Barts. To me they have a finished and even response, and they don't seem to have the prominent resonant peak that a Fender type has and this makes them polite in the highs. My Tyler has Bart quad coils and I also have a P Bass with Barts, too.

Quote from: KR on June 02, 2026, 08:30:11 AMI've never heard of anyone saying Bartolini made pickups for Alembic. AI says Bill provided some pickup shells for them back in the day. I don't know where AI mined that from.

One must always remember, AI is 100% artificial and 0% intelligent.

Peter

No Bartolini connection. Early Alembic pickups were not in shells, they were cast directly in silicone molds, which we do for many models still. 

Any shells that we use (now or historically), are ABS injection molded plastic from our own injection molds that were specifically made for us. These are the AXY4, P, JZ, STR, and HB shapes. 

There you go. AI isn't always correct; I wonder who was the source? AI isn't all that accurate. I modded my post

Years ago I bought an 8 string Kramer that someone had put Hi-A pickups on. They were pretty underwhelming. They would have benefited from an onboard preamp, but I took them out and sold them. Barts in general don't do anything for me, with the exception of their P pickups. 

I wonder if Keith's pickups aren't a set of the unmarked Bartolinis Trevor posted about a while back in this thread; 

https://club.alembicguitars.com/miscellaneous/bruce-becvar-explained/msg292656/#msg292656

The late Steve Helgeson who ran Moonstone guitars most often used Barts as his pick-ups. Luckily, I found an M-80 (see below) with Alembic electronics.  Having played a Moonstone with Barts previously I was impressed, but the sound wasn't Alembic by a long shot. 

Quote from: edwardofhuncote on June 04, 2026, 05:51:31 AMI wonder if Keith's pickups aren't a set of the unmarked Bartolinis Trevor posted about a while back in this thread;

https://club.alembicguitars.com/miscellaneous/bruce-becvar-explained/msg292656/#msg292656

Thanks Greg. That post mentions possibly the same, early no logo Barts. My set is full passive 2.48K with Bart solder connectors posts on the bottom, and have no model number; definitely pre-Washburn replacement era for my set. They are nice, organic sounding units.

Quote from: hammer on June 04, 2026, 11:00:45 AMThe late Steve Helgeson who ran Moonstone guitars most often used Barts as his pick-ups. Luckily, I found an M-80 (see below) with Alembic electronics.  Having played a Moonstone with Barts previously I was impressed, but the sound wasn't Alembic by a long shot.

I agree. Interestingly, even though they are state of the art and considered high technology pickups, I find Alembic pickups to be one of the most natural and real-sounding ever made. The variable resonant peak is an organic way of altering the response; just brilliant.