DiMarzio Ultra Jazz vs. Seymour Duncan 1/4 Pounders

Slackerprince · #1 05-17-2010, 09:13 AM

I have a MIM Jazz with DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pickups and a MIM P bass with Seymour's 1/4 Pounders.
The P just has more thump and volume and the Jazz with Ultras just sounds weak. I know the Ultras are lower output and single-coil, etc., but the difference is huge. I find myself playing the P just because it gets that full, low sound, but I love the feel of the Jazz. The Ultras have nice tone and articulation, but just sound thin, to me.
Do you think some Seymour 1/4 Pound Jazz pickups would give me the full thump that I crave?
I'm playing mostly Blues/Rock.
Let me know what you think about Jazz 1/4 Pounders.
I'm open to other pickups, but the Seymours are a great value at around $110 or so for the pair. Open to other suggestions under $200.
Thanks.

S.

guroove · #2 05-17-2010, 09:22 AM

SD Antiquity II if you want single coils, or Dimarzio Model J if you want hum canceling.

Slackerprince · #3 05-17-2010, 09:54 AM

Looking for power, thump and tone.

S.

Arvin · #4 05-17-2010, 10:11 AM

I have a P/J bass with a Duncan SPB-1 Vintage for P-Bass in the neck position, and a Duncan SJB-3 Quarter Pounder for J-Bass in the bridge position.

I would describe the QP as throaty and rich, with some of the growl of a vintage-voiced J pickup, but thicker, fuller, and chunkier. I normally don't like the sound of a bridge position J-pickup all by itself, but this one sounds great with the P pickup dialed all the way down.

I like it, and it's a great combination with the SPB-1. I have no experience with the QP in the neck position, however.

The one caveat I would offer regards noise. Before I shielded the cavities on my bass, the QP J pickup was very noisy; as a high-output single-coil, it's going to be susceptible to picking up lots of hum. After shielding, though, it's dead quiet. I would highly recommend you shield your bass if you're going to go with that pickup.

There are lots of people on TB that will tell you that shielding won't make any difference, since it's a single-coil pickup. That is not my experience, however; shielding has made all the difference.

Slackerprince · #5 05-17-2010, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pseudocat

I have a P/J bass with a Duncan SPB-1 Vintage for P-Bass in the neck position, and a Duncan SJB-3 Quarter Pounder for J-Bass in the bridge position.

I would describe the QP as throaty and rich, with some of the growl of a vintage-voiced J pickup, but thicker, fuller, and chunkier. I normally don't like the sound of a bridge position J-pickup all by itself, but this one sounds great with the P pickup dialed all the way down.

I like it, and it's a great combination with the SPB-1. I have no experience with the QP in the neck position, however.

The one caveat I would offer regards noise. Before I shielded the cavities on my bass, the QP J pickup was very noisy; as a high-output single-coil, it's going to be susceptible to picking up lots of hum. After shielding, though, it's dead quiet. I would highly recommend you shield your bass if you're going to go with that pickup.

There are lots of people on TB that will tell you that shielding won't make any difference, since it's a single-coil pickup. That is not my experience, however; shielding has made all the difference.

Good review. Very helpful.
Thanks!

S.

MysticMichael · #6 05-17-2010, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slackerprince

I have a MIM Jazz with DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pickups and a MIM P bass with Seymour's 1/4 Pounders.
The P just has more thump and volume and the Jazz with Ultras just sounds weak. I know the Ultras are lower output and single-coil, etc., but the difference is huge.

The Ultra Jazz are NOT single coil. They are humbucking.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slackerprince

I find myself playing the P just because it gets that full, low sound, but I love the feel of the Jazz. The Ultras have nice tone and articulation, but just sound thin, to me.

If you're not using the DiMarzios with a good onboard preamp, you should. That could be your problem right there.

MM

#7 05-17-2010, 01:21 PM

I have Ultra J's on my Warwick Corvette Passive and they sound HUGE.

FunkMetalBass · #8 05-17-2010, 03:12 PM

Ultra J's are weak and terribly mid-scooped. I hated mine with a passion. Add to that the pickup locations on a jazz bass vs. a P-bass and you're SOL.

Go Nordstrand or SDs. They make hum-cancelling/humbucking pickups that are miles ahead of the not-so-Ultra J's.

#9 05-17-2010, 03:17 PM

Both the Nordstrands and the SD's are awesome pickups, but a lot depends upon the instrument as a whole. I feel that the Ultra J's add a nice fullness and character to my Corvette's sound and keep the low-mid bite intact. They were a good fit for that particular instrument. They might sound not-so-good on another instrument, but the only way to tell, IMO, is in a band/live setting.

JustOpenYourMind · #10 05-17-2010, 03:23 PM

Could it maybe be that your P-bass just has a sound that fits your band more?

It's pretty normal that J-bass sound thinner and less punchy than P's it's in their nature.

I don't play jazz basses anymore for that reason.

Don't try to make your jazz into a P, use it for what it is the sounds a J-bass makes have their place just maybe not in your band...

Rano Bass · #11 05-17-2010, 03:28 PM

If you like your P bass punchines get some model J pickups from Dimarzio for your jazz bass.
Tey are louder and punchier than Ultrajazz pups.

Slackerprince · #12 05-17-2010, 03:39 PM

The Model J's have 100 less output than the Ultra's. I don't see how they would sound fatter. Maybe I'm dense.
http://www.dimarzio.com/site/#/pickups/
I raised the Ultra's as high as I could before they started farting, but they have so much less volume and fullness than the Seymour 1/4 Pounders. I realize that the P bass is a whole different animal, but the difference is stark.

S.

eff-clef · #13 05-17-2010, 03:50 PM

I put Dimarzio "Ultra Jazz" pups in my MIM Jazz bass and I couldn't stand the uneven output string to string. The E and G strings were quite a bit louder than the A and D strings were. I know that this is sort of the nature of Jazz basses but I took them out. I liked the tone of them but they had to go. I put the original Mex. pups back in and they were a bit better balance wise. I should have spent the money on the Dimarzio "model J's" because the have ajustable pole pieces that you can radius to the finger board. If you want more output(and even output) get the "model J's". My 2 cents

eff-clef · #14 05-17-2010, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slackerprince

The Model J's have 100 less output than the Ultra's. I don't see how they would sound fatter. Maybe I'm dense.
http://www.dimarzio.com/site/#/pickups/
I raised the Ultra's as high as I could before they started farting, but they have so much less volume and fullness than the Seymour 1/4 Pounders. I realize that the P bass is a whole different animal, but the difference is stark.

S.

That's because the resistance is twice as much. Sell the Ultra J's and buy The Model J's or something else. By the way, don't bother with the Duncan quarter pound J's. I've had them and they they were muddy!

MysticMichael · #15 05-17-2010, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eff-clef

I put Dimarzio "Ultra Jazz" pups in my MIM Jazz bass and I couldn't stand the uneven output string to string. The E and G strings were quite a bit louder than the A and D strings were. I know that this is sort of the nature of Jazz basses but I took them out. I liked the tone of them but they had to go. I put the original Mex. pups back in and they were a bit better balance wise. I should have spent the money on the Dimarzio "model J's" because the have adjustable pole pieces that you can radius to the finger board. If you want more output(and even output) get the "model J's". My 2 cents

This is the first I've ever heard of problems with string-to-string balance with the Ultra Jazz. I've got a Carvin LB70 with a 12-inch radius fretboard, and am wondering if I might also experience this problem when I do the upgrade.

Is it possible that DiMarzio would "pre-radius" a pair of Ultra Jazz from the factory?

Anyone else ever have this same problem?

MM

Slackerprince · #16 05-17-2010, 04:56 PM

My G string doesn't line up with the pole pieces in my Ultras. It's the only string that doesn't line up. Kind of odd.

S.

georgestrings · #17 05-17-2010, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slackerprince

Looking for power, thump and tone.

S.

Wire those UJ pups in series, and you'll have all that and then some...

- georgestrings

Slackerprince · #18 05-17-2010, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgestrings

Wire those UJ pups in series, and you'll have all that and then some...

- georgestrings

So, you think they're wired wrong??
Could be.
Maybe I'll have my NEW tech look at it.
Thanks.

S.

Beefbass · #19 05-17-2010, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FunkMetalBass

Ultra J's are weak and terribly mid-scooped. I hated mine with a passion. Add to that the pickup locations on a jazz bass vs. a P-bass and you're SOL.

Go Nordstrand or SDs. They make hum-cancelling/humbucking pickups that are miles ahead of the not-so-Ultra J's.

I came to this same conclusion about the Ultra jazz pickups I put in a MIM jazz I had. For DiMarzio, I like the Model J's better myself. If I was gonna do it all over again though, I think I'd go SD, or perhaps Lindy Fralin.

georgestrings · #20 05-18-2010, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slackerprince

So, you think they're wired wrong??
Could be.
Maybe I'll have my NEW tech look at it.
Thanks.

S.

No, I wasn't saying that - standard wiring for jazz pups is parallel... Switching that to series wiring will generally increase low end and volume, and give a P bass thump to jazz basses - it only takes a couple of minutes to do, and is easily reversable if you don't like it... In the past, I've installed a series/parallel switch - but mostly just wire 'em in series anymore...

- georgestrings