I may change the P.Us on my fretless J bass

[safeshow]

just looking for a little advice,,,I have a fender usa j fretless just a few years old, I dont seem to enjoy playing it, I would say it is just blaa, makes it tought to play (exspecially after I just play a active bass)

I use coated strings elixers which I love on the fret bass I have, I did have flats an hated them,,,Any thouhts on how to get more punch out of this bass?

[hoshbrown41]

There's a sticky about J-bass pickups
Go read that

[Kael]

Nordstrand nj4se's do it for me in my fretless J. I noticed a thicker tone. The stock pickups sounded scooped in comparison. Still have growl, although admittedly not as much as a true single coil. Still, once the band gets going, no one would notice.


That being said, try other strings first. I know you say that you love the coated elixirs, but if you aren't loving the tone now, a string swap is cheaper than a pickup swap. Try some brighter string like nickel rounds perhaps?

[safeshow]

read it, all good stuff, not sure if it applies to the fretless,i would assume so

[safeshow]

looks like the DiMarzio Model J aka DP123 seem to be the way to go, from the read.

[honeyiscool]

A series switch never hurts.

[m.oreilly]

yeah, dimarzios are sweet. after trying several sets/makes, the ultra jazz really fit the bill for me

[kb9wyz]

I say go get some Sadowsky pups. They don't cost anywhere close to as much as you'd think they would given what they want for a bass.

[TN WOODMAN]

I have Di Marzio Js on one of my fretless jazz with an East Retro J preamp and nylon flats and Fender SCNs on the other jazz with Fender stainless steel flats, passive and love both for different reasons. Also the passive has Stew Mac pots and wiring with a push pull phase switch. Both are MIM, sound and play beautifully. Fit and finish top notch. Try before you buy.