Cobalt Samarium Noiseless vs Ultra Jazz Pickups

gimmeagig · #1 12-27-2011, 11:17 PM

My 74 Jazz Bass currently has Fender SCN Pickups and a Sadowsky preamp.
I was just going through my bin of various bass parts and I found a set of Ultra Jazz pickups that I had on a different bass many years ago. It's been so long that I forgot what they sounded like.
I'm pretty happy with the CSNs but I'm not 100% sure if I couldn't do better with the DiMarzios.
The sound I'm going for is along the lines of Marcus Miller,Alex Al and John Pena...... Funk,Slapping, Jaco and some Latin....
So before I spend the money to get them swapped out (and maybe have to change them out again).
Is anyone here is familiar with both pickups.Is it worth a try or are the CSNs the better ones for what I want?

RBrownBass · #2 12-27-2011, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gimmeagig

My 74 Jazz Bass currently has Fender SCN Pickups and a Sadowsky preamp.
I was just going through my bin of various bass parts and I found a set of Ultra Jazz pickups that I had on a different bass many years ago. It's been so long that I forgot what they sounded like.
I'm pretty happy with the CSNs but I'm not 100% sure if I couldn't do better with the DiMarzios.
The sound I'm going for is along the lines of Marcus Miller,Alex Al and John Pena...... Funk,Slapping, Jaco and some Latin....
So before I spend the money to get them swapped out (and maybe have to change them out again).
Is anyone here is familiar with both pickups.Is it worth a try or are the CSNs the better ones for what I want?

One of these guys is known for fingerstyling an alder/rosewood 60s jazz and the other is known for slapping an ash/maple 70s jazz. IMO, Jaco's sound is full of mids and Marcus' is lows and highs with some mids sprinkled in. I've owned the SCNs and they have plenty of lows and low mids IMO. Great pups. Can't comment on the UJs.

gimmeagig · #3 12-27-2011, 11:31 PM

I'm more interested in the slap sound with both pickups on full, but of course most of the time I'm rolled off towards the bridge pickup and that's what I mean by more of the Jaco type of sound.I'm not trying to get the Jaco fretless tone just a hint of it maybe, but I'm definitely going for the Marcus,Alex Al vibe....Maybe I'm already close enough where I would just be wasting my time and money If I made a change. I wish my solder skills were better, then it would be a breeze to swap them.

narud · #4 12-29-2011, 12:07 PM

i had scn's and ultrajazzes in my old 75 ri. its been along time but they struck me as similarish. if youre happy with the scn's id suspect you wont be blown away by the ultrajazzes. is there anything frequency wise you are wanting more or less of right now with the current set up?

gimmeagig · #5 12-29-2011, 12:44 PM

Hey Narud,
Thanks for getting back to me.I'm actually quite happy with the scn's. If I could have a little bit more punch in the lower mids without losing clarity on the top end, that would be my only thing about the scn's.
I was just wondering if I'm missing out by not trying the ultra's in the bass. but I also don't want to waste money needlessly either.
Looking at your profile it seems that we have a lot in common as far as our musical taste is concerned. So I respect your opinion. I got the SCNs because at the time they seemed to be the best solution to get the Marcus type single oil sound with a humbucking pickup. I don't know what other nice options have come onto the market lately.
What little I remember about the Ultras was that they might have been kind of "ballsy and in your face" vs the sublety of a single coil setup. Does that seem right? It's been so long since I used the Ultras and they were in a different bass too, not my 74 Fender.
I know, it can be an obsession, that endless quest for the perfect tone.
I'd probably be better off practicing than swapping the pickups

Phendyr_Loon · #6 12-29-2011, 02:50 PM

I'd take any traditional single coil jazz over an SCN. The SCN'S are very low mid and bass heavy in tone, great for dark tones but do little to bring out a strong high end range. The dimarzios are a well rounded pickup in terms of their voicing range.

It wasn't until I tried the Fender/Surh jazz pickups that I really heard an active jazz sparkle.

Gord_oh · #7 12-29-2011, 02:54 PM

i traded my SCN pickups for Ultra Jazz.
both good, both different.

i know that doesnt help, but im sure someone will have a more intellectual response.

VanillaThundah · #8 12-29-2011, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gimmeagig

My 74 Jazz Bass currently has Fender SCN Pickups and a Sadowsky preamp.
I was just going through my bin of various bass parts and I found a set of Ultra Jazz pickups that I had on a different bass many years ago. It's been so long that I forgot what they sounded like.
I'm pretty happy with the CSNs but I'm not 100% sure if I couldn't do better with the DiMarzios.
The sound I'm going for is along the lines of Marcus Miller,Alex Al and John Pena...... Funk,Slapping, Jaco and some Latin....
So before I spend the money to get them swapped out (and maybe have to change them out again).
Is anyone here is familiar with both pickups.Is it worth a try or are the CSNs the better ones for what I want?

Yeah Jaco and MM have very different techniques and tones...very different lol.

The UJ's have more scoop to the midrange, making them sound pretty similar to your traditional J-bass and ideal for slap or other techniques that benefit from a mid-scoop. I haven't used the SCN before, but if the other guys are saying it's a mid-bump in them then you will probably find the UJ's a bit less punchy compared to the SCNs. I have model J's (they are humbucking single coils) in a 70's RI J-bass and since I got them each wired in series, they are VERY chunky and heavy sounding. They can still get some rich highs but the low notes are like a brass knuckle to the face with the amp EQ'd right lol.

If you decide to try those, make sure you get them each wired in series individually for that kind of sound.

Derek Kiernan · #9 12-29-2011, 03:10 PM

If you want the SCNs to be more punchy, you can adjust them closer to the strings, but that will simultaneously bring out a more articulate/aggressive top end and a stronger fundamental, which some here clearly wouldn't want.

walterw · #10 12-30-2011, 11:37 AM

i'd take the ultras over the SCNs in a heartbeat. louder and livelier, and don't need the preamp like the SCNs seem to do.

gimmeagig · #11 12-30-2011, 12:48 PM

I found this link on youtube ( the only one I could find with a guy who can play)
MLP Modern J5 Bass 70's Test - YouTube
He's playing a 5er but I love his tone on the clip so I'm going to make the swap.
I also have a set of 5 string ultras that came out of my Moon.
If I like the sound I might even put that set into my Atelier Z which currently has Nordies in it.
The Nordies are nice but I'll A/B them against the Nordies with the preamps switched off and that should tell me something.

walterw · #12 12-30-2011, 06:41 PM

which nordies? that's probably more of a fair fight.

gimmeagig · #13 12-30-2011, 07:46 PM

They are NJ5FS.But I thought I might be able to swap them, but it would not work. The 5 string ultras are a lot narrower.I thought I might be be able to stick the ultras into a wider cover but the magnet spacing is different so the holes don't match. I like the Nordies anyway so that's OK.Still it will be interesting to compare. Does Di Marzio make any wide 5 string jazz bass pickups?

narud · #14 12-30-2011, 09:56 PM

fwiw, i didnt have walterw's experience at all with the scn's. i didnt think they needed a preamp at all. if anything, they had that buffered/activeish kind of sound right out of the box. heres a clip a found on my harddrive of my old 75ri passive with the scn's
scn (2).mp3 - 4shared.com - online file sharing and storage - download

gimmeagig · #15 12-31-2011, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by narud

fwiw, i didnt have walterw's experience at all with the scn's. i didnt think they needed a preamp at all. if anything, they had that buffered/activeish kind of sound right out of the box. heres a clip a found on my harddrive of my old 75ri passive with the scn's
scn (2).mp3 - 4shared.com - online file sharing and storage - download

That sounds nice.Amazing it's passive!

walterw · #16 12-31-2011, 01:08 AM

the SCNs are definitely stronger and livelier than the old "noiseless" versions, i'll grant that.

to be fair, i shouldn't have said that they "need" a preamp (i think the "noiseless" really did), but they usually come in basses that have one.

AHDBassist · #17 12-31-2011, 07:46 AM

I love my ultra jazzes in my mim. Very loud great sounding pickups.

randysmojo · #18 01-02-2012, 11:22 AM

I'm another one that hasn't tried the SCN's, but I love my Ultra Jazz's in my MIM bass. Getting ready to buy an Audere three band to put in same bass. I think the UJ's with the Audere will be a great match.

georgestrings · #19 01-02-2012, 04:46 PM

I've had both, and IMO the UJ's have a little less mids, but a fair amount more highs - both pups have plenty of lows, IMO... The UJ's are also a bit more aggressive, and have more growl to them... I have SCN's in my MIA Hot Rod Jazz, and they sound good, but in all honesty, I prefer the stock pups in my '08 American Standard Jazz over the SCNs - they have more mids than the UJ's, but are brighter than the SCNs...

I don't know if this helps any, but there it is...

- georgestrings

gimmeagig · #20 01-02-2012, 08:08 PM

I'll definitely swap my SCNs out for the Ultras. My 5string Atelier Z has Nordies and I did someones advice and raised the bridge pickup much closer to the strings and lowered the neck pickup a little.I also raised the action and put a little more relief in.
Seems to work better. less buzz on longer notes ( maybe less magnetic pull?) I don't know. I like the sound better now even though it's a little harder to play.I'm thinking I might leave the Nordies in . But I can't wait for my bass tech to come back from his vacation so I can do the swap on the Jazz Bass/