Choosing between 3 jazz bass replacement pickups. Need opinions, please.

[Killens84]

I just got a brand new Fender American Standard Jazz Bass this week. I'm looking into replacing the pickups, and I've narrowed it to three. I would just like your opinion and advice in choosing between the three.

#1 - Nordstrand NJ4. I've heard great things about them. They're around $155, which isn't too bad. Only negative thing about them is that they're not noise-cancelling since they're regular single coils. It would just be nice to not have to deal with that single coil buzz. But I've heard these pickups have an amazing tone.

#2 - Nordstrand NJ4SV. I've also heard great things about these, and the fact that they're noise cancelling is great. But they're around $230, which is pretty expensive. I've also heard people say that these don't quite have the mid range clarity that the regulard NJ4's have. It's a plus that they're noise-cancelling, but it's a con that they're expensive and that some people have noticed a lack of clarity that the NJ4's have.

#3 - DiMarzio Area Jazz. I've seen a lot of people on here say they like these pickups. They're noise-cancelling, and they're the cheapest of my three choices, being that they're around $110. So those are two great things. I hear that these pickups get a nice vintage tone, which is great. I just don't know if they're as good of quality pickups as Nordstrands. I also wouldn't want them if they're going to have less low-end than my stock pickups.

These are definitely the three pickups I'm deciding between, so please offer your advice and opinions on these. If you have first-hand experience with these pickups, I would love to hear how they compare to each other.

I also want to say that I think it's a great thing to be able to come onto these forums and get such great advice from some bass players who know their stuff. You guys have helped me tremendously in my efforts to learn more about bass and to become a better player.

[recnsci]

Originally Posted by Killens84

I just got a brand new Fender American Standard Jazz Bass this week. I'm looking into replacing the pickups.

Why?

[FunkMetalBass]

I have the NJSV4 and I love it. Truth be told, I don't think anyone could hear a noticeable difference between them and the NJ4's, other than the absence of the 60-cycle hum (that drives me absolutely insane).

If you're going to upgrade bass, ignore the price. Get the pickups that you think are truly better (do you solo the bridge pickup all the time like I do? then go for the NJ4SV).

[Nedmundo]

I think the stock MIA Fender pickups sound fantastic, so I wouldn't recommend a change unless you go noiseless. At least that was my view with my 2008 Am. Std. Jazz V. Eventually, I did go noiseless with Nordstrand's NJ5FS, which I think are voiced like the NJ4SV. They have a slightly modern slant, and will thus sound different from your stock singles. They're great, but different. I know you didn't want other suggestions, but if you want something noiseless and closer to your stock pickups' tone, the Lindy Fralin Split-Jazz would work. I've read good things about the Area J also, but haven't heard them other than a YouTube clip, on which they sounded darned good to me, FWIW.

[hdracer]

I put a set of Area J's in mine and love them, Great tone & dead silent. Can't beat the price ether.

[narud]

Originally Posted by FunkMetalBass

I have the NJSV4 and I love it. Truth be told, I don't think anyone could hear a noticeable difference between them and the NJ4's, other than the absence of the 60-cycle hum (that drives me absolutely insane).

theres quite a few people that can hear a noticeable difference between an nj4 and a njsv4.

[FunkMetalBass]

Originally Posted by narud

theres quite a few people that can hear a noticeable difference between an nj4 and a njsv4.

The same people also argue that the headstock veneer and abalone fret markers are the secret to their exact tone.

Arguably, there are differences (they're two different pickups, of course!), but Carey has done a wonderful job making them as subtle as possible.

[seungkoo]

I would stay with single coil if you are gonna remain passive. If you plan on adding an active preamp I would go dual coils.

[steve_rolfeca]

This probably isn't the answer you want to hear, but:

Buy used.

What I'm trying to get at, is that different basses seem to like different pickups. Plus, at the price point you're considering, the differences are not all that drastic. Its not like choosing between chicken and ribs, it's more like choosing a flavour of ice cream.

So this question is like asking 50 different people which kind of ice cream you should choose. You'll get at least a dozen different answers, but you'll still be no closer to knowing what flavour is going to float YOUR boat.

I like to work pickup swaps like running eliminations at the drag strip:

Buy one set, and see if it scratches your itch. You won't know until you try, so don't be picky about models- grab the best bargain you can find, as long as it's on your shortlist. Makes depreciation less painful, if you decide to dump them for something else.

If the first set doesn't seem to hit the spot, hang on to them just in case, and buy the next set on your list. Now do a back-to-back comparison, and see which one you prefer. Swap back and forth until you're sure, and then sell the loser. If you're still not completely satisfied, buy the next set on your list, and settle in for another round of eliminations.

If you're still not completely happy, there's nothing to stop you adding some new names to your list, and trying again. By the end of this process, you'll be absolutely certain that you've got the best match for your your bass and your ears.

And if you're careful enough about the prices you pay, you should be able to do at least two or three rounds of this for the same cost as a single set, bought brand new.

Best of all, by always keeping the best out of two, you reduce the likelihood of "seller's remorse", where you suddenly realize you should have kept the Brand XYZ's...

[BigOldHarry]

Originally Posted by recnsci

Why?

Beat me to it!

[SteveC]

Originally Posted by BigOldHarry

Beat me to it!

Me too. You have had it for a week. How do you know they won't work just fine? Don't be taken in by all the stuff on TB. Play it for a while and see what - if anything - you don't like about the stock pups. Maybe you'll love them.

That said, I have used DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pups in many a jazz project bass. I also had some Sadowsky's that were very nice. Never tried Nordstrands so I can't say from experience but many people seem to love them.

[FunkMetalBass]

Originally Posted by seungkoo

I would stay with single coil if you are gonna remain passive. If you plan on adding an active preamp I would go dual coils.

Your reasoning being?

[FunkMetalBass]

Originally Posted by steve_rolfeca

This probably isn't the answer you want to hear, but:

Buy used.

What I'm trying to get at, is that different basses seem to like different pickups. Plus, at the price point you're considering, the differences are not all that drastic. Its not like choosing between chicken and ribs, it's more like choosing a flavour of ice cream.

So this question is like asking 50 different people which kind of ice cream you should choose. You'll get at least a dozen different answers, but you'll still be no closer to knowing what flavour is going to float YOUR boat.

I like to work pickup swaps like running eliminations at the drag strip:

Buy one set, and see if it scratches your itch. You won't know until you try, so don't be picky about models- grab the best bargain you can find, as long as it's on your shortlist. Makes depreciation less painful, if you decide to dump them for something else.

If the first set doesn't seem to hit the spot, hang on to them just in case, and buy the next set on your list. Now do a back-to-back comparison, and see which one you prefer. Swap back and forth until you're sure, and then sell the loser. If you're still not completely satisfied, buy the next set on your list, and settle in for another round of eliminations.

If you're still not completely happy, there's nothing to stop you adding some new names to your list, and trying again. By the end of this process, you'll be absolutely certain that you've got the best match for your your bass and your ears.

And if you're careful enough about the prices you pay, you should be able to do at least two or three rounds of this for the same cost as a single set, bought brand new.

Best of all, by always keeping the best out of two, you reduce the likelihood of "seller's remorse", where you suddenly realize you should have kept the Brand XYZ's...

This makes too much sense.

We're bass players, not rational, logical beings who take the scientific approach.


/is math & physics major

[seungkoo]

Originally Posted by FunkMetalBass

Your reasoning being?

Just personal experience. I like the sound of single coils solo'd and trying it out with an audere preamp it created a lot of hiss. With the passive knobs I just roll off the tone all the way when I solo the pickups.

[steve_rolfeca]

Originally Posted by seungkoo

Just personal experience. I like the sound of single coils solo'd and trying it out with an audere preamp it created a lot of hiss. With the passive knobs I just roll off the tone all the way when I solo the pickups.

Hmmm.

If the top end on your rig is so sensitive that you need to roll off the tone all the way whenever you solo a passive pickup, and you get excessive hiss with an Audere, then maybe an amplication issue is clouding the picture.

The coils in SC pickups are certainly susceptible to hum and buzz from electrical interference, but hissing tends to originate in active electronics. I suspect that your signal chain has enough of a peak in the upper mids or the treble, that it overemphasizes the high frequencies coming off your bass.

You might be happier with a less-hyped EQ curve on a pedal, your amp, or the L-pads on your cabs, so that you can open the tone control up a little. After all, what's the point of running single coils, if you've got to choke them off all the time?

[joeyl]

in my MIA Jazz, I tried every pickup brand under the sun for about 3 years, I went from EMG J, to JVs to Dimarzio Model Js, to 1/4 pounders, to Nordstrands to Aeros Type 1. Guess what I have in it right now? the stock MIA pickups: they are great!!!

[Fretlessboy]

Ditto

Originally Posted by BigOldHarry

Beat me to it!

[Fretlessboy]

I do love Fender's "Custom Shop 60's"

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by FunkMetalBass

The same people also argue that the headstock veneer and abalone fret markers are the secret to their exact tone.

You forgot paint. These same people think poly finishes ruin the tone...

(head stock veneers can make the headstock stiffer, which is a good thing)

Arguably, there are differences (they're two different pickups, of course!), but Carey has done a wonderful job making them as subtle as possible.

They might sound slightly different, but that's not to say one is right and the other is wrong. Does every Jazz bass have to sound exactly the same?

And I'm sure you wont hear the difference on stage with a band.

[FunkMetalBass]

Originally Posted by SGD Lutherie

They might sound slightly different, but that's not to say one is right and the other is wrong. Does every Jazz bass have to sound exactly the same?

And I'm sure you wont hear the difference on stage with a band.

That's because the average sound guy runs the bass through a crossover: everything below 250Hz goes to the FOH, everything above goes to ground.


EDIT: You also forgot the part where my pickup choice is definitely right and everyone else is wrong.