Humcancelling J pickups with lots of detail in the sound

[fourstringbliss]

I'm looking to replace the stock pickups in my MIM fretless Jazz. The stock pickups are a bit hot and one dimensional in their sound - not as detailed as the pups I hear in USA Jazz basses. I don't need powerful or thick or anything like that, I'm just looking for Jazz Bass sound with lots of detail. I'm also looking for the pups to be humcancelling. I only have about $130 to spend.

Thanks!

P.S. I did do a search and couldn't find what I was looking for.

[Tim C.]

Lindy Fralins?

You won't know what a pickup sounds like just from reading internet reviews...

[capnsandwich]

Nordstrand and Sadowsky single coils are my 2 favorite J Bass pups.

[Kwesi]

Why not just get the pickups from the MIA Jazz basses? Look into Delanos too. I've got a set in my 5 string and they're very articulate

[fourstringbliss]

Originally Posted by Kwesi

Why not just get the pickups from the MIA Jazz basses? Look into Delanos too. I've got a set in my 5 string and they're very articulate

I need humcancelling and the Delanos are too expensive (though I'm sure they sound great).

[maturanesa]

Originally Posted by fourstringbliss

I'm looking to replace the stock pickups in my MIM fretless Jazz. The stock pickups are a bit hot and one dimensional in their sound - not as detailed as the pups I hear in USA Jazz basses. I don't need powerful or thick or anything like that, I'm just looking for Jazz Bass sound with lots of detail. I'm also looking for the pups to be humcancelling. I only have about $130 to spend.

Thanks!

P.S. I did do a search and couldn't find what I was looking for.

Bartolini 9CBJS S1/L1 deep pair $146USD

http://www.bartolini.net/information...bass_pu_s4.htm

[pickles]

DiMarzio Area J.

[fourstringbliss]

Originally Posted by pickles

DiMarzio Area J.

I've been thinking about these since I heard about them. Have you tried them?

[pickles]

Yep, I replaced my sadowsky 5's hum canceling pickups with Areas and thought they sound more like single coils than the stock pickups. I ultimately like true single coils better, but as HCs go, I think the Areas are the best I've heard.

[jbrew73]

have you checked out these?

http://www.sgd-lutherie.com/pages/pickups.html

[fourstringbliss]

Originally Posted by pickles

Yep, I replaced my sadowsky 5's hum canceling pickups with Areas and thought they sound more like single coils than the stock pickups. I ultimately like true single coils better, but as HCs go, I think the Areas are the best I've heard.

Great! Thanks!

[fourstringbliss]

Originally Posted by jbrew73

have you checked out these?

http://www.sgd-lutherie.com/pages/pickups.html

Very interesting! Thanks!

[m.oreilly]

i am pleased with the dimarzio ultra jazz's (stacked coils, very 'jazz' tones) accentuated definition in the upper mids/highs, though a tighter bottom would be nice. the 'area' does sound interesting, and these also go for a decent price.

[fourstringbliss]

Originally Posted by m.oreilly

i am pleased with the dimarzio ultra jazz's (stacked coils, very 'jazz' tones) accentuated definition in the upper mids/highs, though a tighter bottom would be nice. the 'area' does sound interesting, and these also go for a decent price.

I'm thinking I'm going to go with the Area J's. I've been looking at Nordstrands and those SGD's, but they're twice as expensive as Dimarzio pickups and I can't imagine they sound that much better - not enough to notice in the mix, anyway.

Here are the tone guides from Dimarzio:

Area J


Model J


Ultra J


I think I'd rather EQ in bass to a set of Area J's than EQ out bass from Ultra J's.

[fourstringbliss]

Anybody else?

[GeoffByrne]

I used a Model J in the neck which, wired in stock series mode was much louder than my Ultrajazz in the bridge.

Experimentally I wired it in parallel and found a completely different animal. It balanced very nicely with the Ultrajazz, with maybe a little bit of scoop, but very good highs & lows and plenty of output without the overbearing low-mids present in the series wiring whilst retaining the hum-cancelling effect.

If you have one, I'd say it's well worth a shot, but everything's subjective.

Alternatively, I have a pair of Joe Barden Jazz pups on my backup bass(!) which are incredibly detailed and quiet and are probably, active or passive, as good as it's likely to get, but you probably won't like the price.

[Derek Kiernan]

Bill Lawrence's J45s are amazingly clear and detailed sounding, with a bit less of an upper midrange spike and a stronger fundamental response than traditional jazz bass pickups. They're my favorite pickups at any price. It's 128 for the set plus around 8 shipping

[fourstringbliss]

Anybody else?

[darkstorm]

Dimarzio area J neck, Dimarzio model J bridge.

[fourstringbliss]

Originally Posted by darkstorm

Dimarzio area J neck, Dimarzio model J bridge.

Interesting! Why those picks?