I ordered and installed the Aguilar DCB-M5 5 String Music Man Bass Pickup to replace another Aguilar brand of MM Style pickup where the pole pieces were visible/exposed. Quite honestly, I was simply going for the ‘cleaner’ look of the DCB since it didn’t have any visible/exposed pole pieces; I wasn’t really prioritizing a change in sound/tone. But, looks like I got a two-in-one deal as I found that I liked the sound/tone better of the DCB-M5 as well. I’m not a pro critic when it comes to reviewing the things I try out however, to the best of my ability, I will describe the Aguilar DCB-M5 as a cleaner and more even sounding pickup than what I had prior to; which was also an Aguilar MM style p-up. And to be clear, I enjoyed the previous very much as it was very growly-which I don’t mind. It did have some harshness in the upper-mids but, it was easy to EQ out. The DCB-M5 seems to be more ‘predictable’ in that it gives me the tone I’m expecting whenever I boost/cut whatever frequency I choose. And it doesn’t have any harshness throughout its frequency range; at least none that I’ve ran into so far. Hope this review makes sense and helps others out..?

Loving the Low-End,
Chris Niño

Imagine a musicman sound with extra bottom end and smoother treble. Don't get me wrong the treble is still there just not as harsh. I went with this pickup to eliminate noise my open pole pieces were picking up and it was successful at that. I see no down side other than you can't split the coils or do series/parallel. But the one tone is the best tone.

It made my entry level bass sound professional!
I am very pleased with it.