Dimarzio Tour bass - Area J or Ultra Jazz - which would you use?

[Sparkdog]

Don't beat me with the SEARCH stick...I tried it and couldn't find what I need

Here's my sitch: I walked into a cool gig - old school original blues act. We'll be doing an album with a major producer next year and we have a little tour coming up in February and again this summer.

I need to put together a "road" bass that looks and sounds the part. It has to be a Fender and it has to let me dial my tones FAST through provided backline amps. You never know what you will get in these situations (talking about clubs mostly) but it's very common for them to suck. I've looked at active basses but the only ones I like are the American deluxe models and I'm not ready to spend $1500+ on another bass.

I've been using an old Fender Precision with D'Addario Chromes. I play mostly with a pick for these songs to get the Nashville tic-tac sound, but there's a fair amount of material that's better suited to fingerstyle. I normally set the amp up for my pick tone, then run back and decrease bass and increase upper mids for the finger tone. That works pretty well, but a lot depends on the amp I get that night.

I also have an American Standard Jazz, and I'm thinking that might be a better bet cuz I can tweak tone somewhat with the pickup blend. I would also rather haul that out on the road than the P bass, which I love to death and would be worried about. However, single coils and sketchy club wiring don't mix well. I use only the front pickup for pick work and I've been in plenty of rooms where the buzz was unbearable. Pedals are just not an option, I've tried them and it's more trouble than it's worth.

SO, finally I get to my question! I've decided to put hum canceling pups in the Jazz, I think that's the easiest solution and lets me use the bass I already own. I've narrowed down the choices to DiMarzio Area J's or Ultra Jazz. I'm looking for "vintage" tone which leads me to believe the Area J is probably the ticket. I have some in a Lakland DJ and I love them, but that bass is a very modern take on a Jazz.

Some time ago I had another Jazz with Ultra Jazz pups and I really liked those too. I think they are louder and have more low end than the Area J's, but I like a lot of top end too. I'm going to call DiMarzio and get their input, but I would love to know what you Jazz savvy TB'ers would do.

FYI, I've tried Nordstrand and Fralin humbucking J's and I like them, but honestly I think the DiMarzio's sound just as good for way less $

Thanks!

[walterw]

if you want "vintage" J, then the areas are the obvious choice.

frankly, the fact that the areas have staggered magnets while the ultras don't make the areas the no-brainer choice for me regardless. i can get them closer to the strings for more juice without losing string balance.

[LowBC]

whatever you install, consider having a series/parallel switch installed (can be done with a push/pull pot). This will fatten out the sound and move the bass more towards "P" territory.

[newbold]

Don't count out the Fender noiseless pickups. I haven't gigged any but I sure loved the tone from them on a Deluze Jazz I had my hands all over awhile back.

[walterw]

yeah, the fender versions are dependent on a preamp with a significant treble and volume boost, and sound pretty dull without it.

[IntrepidCellist]

As for the pickups, I would go for the Area Js with a push/pull series/parallel switch.

If you're worried about crappy backlines and switching between fingerstyle and pick with different settings, you need one of these:

Tech 21 SansAmp Character Series VT Bass Deluxe Distortion Effects Pedal: Shop Bass & Other Musical Instruments | Musician's Friend

Three footswitchable presets of SVT-ish/B-15ish goodness, a solid DI that can be pre or post, and the ability to make most backlines at least sound somewhat familiar.

[rojo412]

Area Js.
Classic tone meets functional features (noiseless, 4 wire options).

Ultras are good if you wanted to play funk, jazz, or nu metal. They are edgier and have a snap.
But if you are playing the blues, classic rock, reggae even... AREA J!

[Sparkdog]

Well, it seems to be unanimous for the Area J's. Cool! I was leaning that direction anyway. I've been really impressed with them in my Lakland.

Pedals are not a workable option for me, I've tried them and it's just one more thing to drag around, plus you then need to tweak the amp first to get a usable starting tone, and THEN tweak the pedal too...way too much farting around.

Thanks for the input guys.

[rojo412]

Just hope our input works to improve your output

[groove pump]

I've had great luck with a set of Ultra-J's in a parts Jazz, but I'll admit that I need to cut my lows and boost my mids on my rack preamp for a sound that's most useful. For passive pickups though, they're certainly not shy. Those Area J's look like an interesting alternative and I'd love to hear about your findings if you go in that direction.

I definitely agree that there seems to be some huge bang for yer buck included in those DiMarzio products. I doubt that I'll ever be afraid to sample any of their gear in the near future... maybe I'll even have to snag some of those Areas for "personal consumption" sooner than later.

Best of luck!!!

[fhm555]

Not trying to derail, but why not put an onboard preamp in along with those Area J's?

I've got an old US j plus and it's hands down the most versatile bass I own in terms of tone. With the onboard knobs I can go from a perfect P rendition to a twangy walking tone with a quick twist of a couple knobs. I've used this bass with plenty of house backline amps, some very good, but most iffy at best, and it always came through for me.

It's a simple 2 band (treb/bass) pre with the ability to tune the midrange through a pot on the circuit board.

Something like that with some good pups should cover all but the crappiest of amps.

If I was in your shoes I'd be putting a good preamp in my little all weather MIM j bass which is already loaded with Model J's. As is it brings the thunder with my amp/cab rig, but having used it with a more than a few house bass amps, it's somewhat less than I'd like without a (very good) good tone section on the amp.

I love the J plus, but wouldn't want to risk it on the road, so fixing up my little mexi j would be my first choice if I found myself in your shoes.

FWIW, the bulk of what I was playing with the J plus was blues. Everything from (semi) faithful renditions of early electric stuff to full blown, more modern blues rock style. There was some country and straight ahead R&R, but mostly the blues in one form or another.

Oh and congrats and good luck on the job, sounds like a real adventure in the making.

[bendy]

Here's another vote for the Area-Js.

I picked up an old MIM, sunburst Jazz for cheap off of CL in June. Somehow, I got lucky and found a good one - super straight neck, good fretwork, good truss rod, clean electronics, etc. I swapped the parchment pickguard for a tort, and the silly strat knobs for some proper bakelites. I put some 9050s on it and got it set up by an esteemed luthier at my local vintage guitar shop. I played it for a couple of months and then decided the cheap stock pickups had to go. I went with Area-Js and couldn't be happier. (Since you have a pair already, I won't describe their tone). IMO, I've now got a solid instrument that feels and plays great, with a classic vintage sound and look I really like, but with no hum (as you know, the Area J's are dead quiet).

Maybe he was just engaging in a little marketing, but even the luthier that did the set up and installed the Area-Js for me was highly complimentary about the finished product.

[tech21nyc]

I have a set of the Jazz Ultras in an old Ibanez Jazz Bass copy and really like them. They replaced the active electronics that the bass used to have. You probably wouldn't go wrong either way.

Full disclaimer, we have a relationship with DiMarzio. I have the Area's in a couple of my Strats and we have them in a guitar here as well. They are great sounding noiseless pickups and really nail the vintage sound without the noise. I'm sure the bass versions sound great.

[dudamir]

Sparkdog, may I ask if had too much trouble fitting the Dimarzio into the Lakland DJ? I have a DJ5 and I would love to install a Ultra jazz on it, but I'm afraid the won't fit.

[Sparkdog]

I had no trouble at all installing the Area J's in my DJ4...just took it to my tech and it was a snap

Seriously though, what I know is this: All the DiMarzio Jazz style pups are supposed to be direct replacements for Fender US basses, which means the bridge pup is slightly longer than the neck pup. The same is true for newer MIM Fenders, but not for older ones...I don't know what years we're talking about, but I understand MIM's used to have 2 pups the same size.

All the Laklands I've owned seem to have similar pickup dimensions to US Fenders, and in fact the pickup slots in the bodies are routed a little oversize so most pickups will ft without a problem. I've never done this on a 5'er though so you might want to verify with DiMarzio that their pickups will fit.

Call them, they're very helpful and knowledgeable.

BTW, after reading through this thread I decided to take my DJ4 with Area J's to rehearsal last night. Man alive, that bass sounds sweet! Mine is wired with a master volume and a blend pot, makes it so easy to adjust the pickup blend and I can still fade in/out or adjust overall volume without a friend to help me twist the knobs!

My Fender will be getting the same setup.

[dudamir]

Unfortunately it doesn't hold true for the 5 string pickups. From the Dimarzio website:

"Important Note: The cover dimensions of the Ultra Jazz 5 are not the same as 5-string Fender Jazz Bass®. The Ultra Jazz 5 can therefore NOT be installed as direct replacements on these basses without modification. "

[walterw]

Originally Posted by tech21nyc

Full disclaimer, we have a relationship with DiMarzio. I have the Area's in a couple of my Strats and we have them in a guitar here as well.

are you guys located close to each other in NY?

big +1 to the area strat pickups, the only thing better at sounding like the real thing is real single coils with the ilitch backplate system.

[Sparkdog]

I found a set of the Area J's (was REALLY hard, they are out of stock at all the major retailers...apparently they are very popular)

Being possibly the least techy guy on TB when it comes to stuff like wiring pickups I would really like some info on what can be done with the 4 conductor wiring these have.

Here's what I think is the dealio: Each pickup has 2 coils and 2 leads, and so each one can be wired with a push/pull pot to be series or parallel.

With a mini switch installed each pup can be series, parallel, or single coil.

If you wire them like a conventional Jazz bass the 2 pups are in parallel only.

Do I have this right?

I like the mini switch scenario so I can have 3 different tonalities per pickup and then combine them as I wish. The knob layout will be Master Volume, Blend, Master Tone (the only way I can get along with a Jazz bass

Thanks.

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by walterw

are you guys located close to each other in NY?

Tech 21 is located in Clifton NJ, which is closer to me than NYC.

[svtb15]

Personally I don't like any Nordy Pups.. Just my taste..
If you want Old School look on a budget that doesnt matter what happens to it.. I would get a Fender Road Worn Jazz or P... Leave it stock of put some Single Coil Duncan Antiquity 2 or maybe Lolars and be done with it... The rest is in your fingers... No pickups are goig to be so drastically different that you will notice anything on a live gig anyway.

I like to run it as simple as i can with the least amount of switches etc.. that way i play the bass and the bass does not play me for a sucka...
My good friend is out with two different alternating huge arena gigs right now.. and he is using the Fender RW basses and loves them...