Are the Fender 75RI pickups any good?

[rabid_granny]

Just trying to gather some opinions. The pickups in my MIA 1995 American Standard Jazz was mediocre compared to the Nordstrand NJ4's that I installed. I'm replacing that bass because it was stolen and I'm considering a Fender 75RI. Are the pickups as good as aftermarket or are they worth replacing?

[Valerus]

I can't vouch for the stock pups because I got the bass with pre-installed dimarzio ultra jazzes.

I doubt they're bad though!

BTW, the '75 is KILLER. Like...possibly my last bass ever.

[joelb79]

I love the 75' RI Factory pickups. Much better than any standard Jazz. MUCH better.

[SFjonstarr]

Originally Posted by joelb79

I love the 75' RI Factory pickups. Much better than any standard Jazz. MUCH better.

I would have to agree with this. A friend of mine uses a '75 RI as his main bass and his pickups sound incredible. You'd be better served swapping the tuners or the bridge out.

[joeyl]

Originally Posted by SFjonstarr

You'd be better served swapping the tuners or the bridge out.

tuners maybe if they are heavy, that bridge is probably just fine.....

[kasbrey]

My 75RI is quite lightweight and I've tried other 75's that had a meatier sound so I embarked on a quest for better pickups.

1st I tried DiMarzio Ultra J ( too Sadowsky-ish for my liking) DiMarzio Model J (thick but not vintage enough )

I then tried some custom Wizard "74's" which turned out to be so good I ordered a set of 64's for my Tokai Jazz and a PJ set for my Precision. All sound fantastic.

There's something wonderful about quality hand wound pickups. They have made all of the stock pickups and machine wound replacements sound flat and lacking in dynamics.

The Wizards are superb value this side of the pond (about half the price of a Nordstrand set due to the exchange rate). As many others will testify Andy is great to deal with and his craftsmanship is second to none.

My basses now sound exactly how I'd expect a top quality Jazz and Precision to sound.

PS IMO the bridge and tuners are more than adequate on my 75

[SFjonstarr]

I wasn't trying to say that the '75's hardware was bad or needs to be replaced neccesarily. I was just saying that I would put my money into upgrading the tuners and bridge before a pickup swap personally. My friend had great results with the Hipshot Ultralight tuners and their "A" style aluminum bridge. If it were mine I would put on a Badass bridge (others may perfer the stock bridge). And Fender's pickups (as with the rest of their stuff) can vary in quality. It might have been the weight difference that required a different voicing to make your bass come alive. I'm probably going to be swapping out the tuners on my Modulus for Ultralights even though the ones that came stock are perfectly fine. I also prefer roller string trees and strap locks where many probably wouldn't care. It all comes down to personal preferance in the end.

[rabid_granny]

Great feedback, thanks.