EMG Jazz set vs Ultra Jazz

bassarch · #1 12-14-2010, 04:13 AM

I am thinking of modifying my main bass .I have a Warwick Corvette Standart 98 4 strings bubinga body wenge neck with EMG Jazz set. Although I am quite happy with the sound ,sometimes they sound too 'hi-fi or sterile' for me,especially on occasions where I need an organic sound .
What do you guys think about the comparison between Ultra Jazz and EMGs ( in a Warwick Corvette of course ) ?

Thx

blastjv · #2 12-14-2010, 08:04 AM

I don't know how helpful this is, since I can't really compare, but I love my Ultra Jazz set. They have (to my ear) the perfect mix of vintage and modern sounds (whatever those are). They are big on the bottom, but not muddy. A little scooped in the higher mids, but fat in the low mids. A little extended in the high end with a bit extra clarity, but not harsh sounding.

-JV

DaZombieWoof · #3 12-14-2010, 08:17 AM

Ultra Jazz might indeed work for you. You are talking though about having to replace all the pots going to a passive setup. If your bass hadd the EMG tone circuit, they can be used with a passive signal input. Blessing and curse of the EMG Jazz set is the very things that annoy you.

BoomingBass · #4 12-14-2010, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blastjv

I don't know how helpful this is, since I can't really compare, but I love my Ultra Jazz set. They have (to my ear) the perfect mix of vintage and modern sounds (whatever those are). They are big on the bottom, but not muddy. A little scooped in the higher mids, but fat in the low mids. A little extended in the high end with a bit extra clarity, but not harsh sounding.

-JV

I dismissed the Ultra J's quickly when I heard somewhere they have scooped low mids, but you say the high mids are scooped, in which case I would love them.

Advice?

groove pump · #5 12-14-2010, 04:49 PM

I'll give the DiMarzios a nod, too. Here's why:

My current passive J-bass has a maple/rosewood neck from Warmoth, a big heavy slab of a body by ESP (I think from the 80's) though I don't know what the wood is exactly, and it's got a set of Ultra Jazz pickups. The tone I dig with this thing is just BOLD. Wait, there's more...

Recently got rid of a similar Franken-Jazz, but the pickups in that one were Fender Custom Shop models, maybe out of a Geddy Lee bass. Not bad, but not the same boss tone with the mids up or down on my rack's preamp. You guessed it, there's more...

Had a nice Corvette a while back, too! It was a passive 'vette with the wenge and bubinga layout, but I swapped in some Bartolini humbucking J pickups (9J4's?) and a B/T preamp thinking that this would take it up to eleven. The sound was so sterile and lacking mids that I literally couldn't use the bass for gigs. My tone was invisible... super-scooped. Fortunately, it was really easy to sell.

Other basses have come and gone, but my old Jazz with its Ultra J's just keeps on honking like the horn on an 18-wheeler. Don't get me wrong, though. I can roll off the tone and get more smooth and old-school, but I can open it up and growl, or shave some mids and get a really strong slap sound, too. If these pickups are somehow inherently scooped, I'm convinced that it's some of the harsher upper mids that are attenuated in these.

If I got another Corvette like that one today, I'd have no fear about dropping in some DiMarzios. While I love the UJ's and think they'd be rock solid performers in that Warwick, you might get extra mids (which can be cut at your amp if necessary) with their Model J's. There may simply be a relative lack of mid tones from that combo of woods in the Warwick, but my experiments only included their passive stock pickups and the Barts. As far as the DiMarzios are concerned, I think that either option offers some of the strongest bang for your buck in replacement pickups these days, especially with the strong track record they've racked up.

Bassmickeyd · #6 12-15-2010, 01:51 PM

I just picked up a 94 Mex J-bass with EMG JV or even the hotter version of the JV and find them amazing. ..... Now the bass came with a 4-band EQ stacked plus a vol and a blend knob, the latter I've wanted for some time. ..... The bass kicks out really well. I've never been a fan of EMG's but these ones do it for me.

blastjv · #7 12-15-2010, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoomingBass

I dismissed the Ultra J's quickly when I heard somewhere they have scooped low mids, but you say the high mids are scooped, in which case I would love them.

Advice?

It's tough. Best advice is to find a used set here in the classifieds or on ebay and try them in your bass. If you don't dig them you can quickly re-sell them and probably lose no money.

Long story short is, I REALLY like my mids. I would NOT use pickups that cut them. I feel like I get PLENTY of them with the UJ's.

The problem is, "mids" means a lot of different things to different people, so mid-scooped is also a very broad term. As said above, I'd say that if these scoop mids, they scoop the mids I don't like so much and keep the ones I do.

I have a quick clip I recorded a while ago (it's pretty bad), but I think it shows that the UJ's have plenty of the mids I like. Tons of growl if you want it. PM me your email address and I'll send it to you if you want.

-JV