Best aftermarket J (bridge) pickup for ultramodern tone?
 

I'm thinking of adding a J pickup to my Pbass in the bridge position and I was wanting a super grindy modern tone. Who makes a good passive option for this?

Dimarzio model J. Thick and gritty!

Dimarzio Ultra Jazz!

The Fender Super 55 is good also.

Thanks for the responses!

+1 on the ultra jazz, it has more balls than the rest and thus will hang with the P pickup better.

I bought a Dimarzio Ultra jazz for my PJ project. I'm expecting big things people...big things. After all the reviews on this site I'm convinced even without hearing it yet that it'll give me that thick ballsy attack.

well, it is still a jazz pickup in the bridge position, it ain't gonna sound like a mudbucker!

"thick and ballsy" is gonna require the P pickup to be in the game too.

I'm thinking of wiring it to a simple on/off switch so that it's the same volume as the P pickup and the tone is always full up. Anybody got a wiring diagram for something like that. My current setup is a simple two-knob VT with split coil.

I want to do the same thing....but how do you locate where the new pickup will go?....what's the actual dimension from some known point on the bass, like the 12th fret?

I want to use 70's position, closer to the bridge, to get a bit more separation from the P.

I already have an Area J pickup.

Seymour Duncan Hot stack

Moving it closer to the bridge will make it sound weaker. They only did that to hide it under the chrome cover. In either position you will get a different tone from the P.

Otherwise you can put it anywhere you like.

Where would one find the actual dimension of 60's or 70's position?

Just measured. From heel of neck, (between A & D string at truss rod adjust) to front edge of bridge pup is 7-5/16" for 1960.

70's i think was moved back 1/2"? Maybe someone with a 70 will chime in.

Thanks, but it needs to be measured from something set in stone for the 34" scale, like the nut or the 12th fret.

60's: 31 1/2" from the nut to the pickup centerline.
70's: 31 7/8" from the nut to the pickup centerline.

If you're having to rout for a new pickup anyway, what about considering another type of pickup shape?

Something like the Nordstrand Big Split would be the fattest, angriest J tone pickup you could get. It's also the same size cover as a few other pickups, so you could change it out easily enough.

Just a thought...

If you're staying with the J shape, I'd vote for the UltraJazz. AWESOME pickups.

The Nordys look good but they're a little out of my price range. Plus I'm trying to maintain a little bit of traditional aesthetics.

Understood!
The UJs can be wired with a series/parallel (push pull) and you can get 2 distinct tones out of that pickup. Both have balls, too!

There's so many different pickups in that size, you're sure to eventually find something that fits every bit of your needs.

Id suggest a duncan quarter pounder P and skip the routing and J pickup. Or an EMG P.