I want a MM sound in a jazz housing

[Bassmingo]

so i'm gonna be starting a project soon that will be ongoing as much as i can spare money on it. i have a geddy jazz body and will be making a frankenbass from it. i would ideally like a musicman/jazz hybrid but i will only rout the body and drop in a mm pickup if i really have to. so are there any jazz style pickups or pickup/eq/preamp combos that will get me close? i own a 3eq stingray but i'd prefer a 2eq stingray type arrangement. i would also prefer not to have any exposed pole pieces (from an aesthetic point of view)

my plans are:

geddy jazz body
all black hardware
70's style maple neck with black blocks or all black neck (aerodyne style)
j/j or mm/j config.
all black pickguard (1 ply)

its nickname will be "stealth bass"

[KJung]

IMO and IME, no, there is no J pickup in J position that will even come close to a MM tone. The only way to do it is get an MM style pickup (the Nordstrand is the best I've heard), and route it in the exact MM position.

The bad news about this is that now, even with the MM pickup in single coil mode, your bass won't sound exactly like a J bass, since the single coil of the MM pickup will not be in J position.

So, in a hybrid instrument like you are describing, you can get an exact MM tone and a 'close but no cigar' J tone by including an MM pickup in exact location.

And, finally, a good, aggressive preamp is key to the MM tone. The Nordstrand/Sadowsky combination is pretty killer for the MM vibe.

[Bassmingo]

Thanks for the reply. just to clarify my idea would be to have my MM sound in the bridge position and jazz sound in the neck. i'm after a best of both worlds...but if needs be i'd prefer a "close" MM tone with 2 x jazz pickups. i suppose i'm after the aggressivness of the MM in a jazz body.....with dropping a MM pickup in the bridge as a last resort. retaining a jazz sound is less important, as i'll be buying a stock geddy anyway.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Bassmingo

Thanks for the reply. just to clarify my idea would be to have my MM sound in the bridge position and jazz sound in the neck. i'm after a best of both worlds...but if needs be i'd prefer a "close" MM tone with 2 x jazz pickups. i suppose i'm after the aggressivness of the MM in a jazz body.....with dropping a MM pickup in the bridge as a last resort. retaining a jazz sound is less important, as i'll be buying a stock geddy anyway.

If you are only interested in the neck solo tone of a jazz bass, of course, that could be done, since the MM pickup does not impact the neck J pickup position at all. However, most don't consider a 'neck only' J pickup tone are really representing a J Bass tone.

The key here is that having that true MM type pickup in EXACT MM position (this is key) is the ONLY way to emulate a true, classic MM tone. If you really want to get it totally legit, then you need to get a pickup (Nordstrand makes several versions) that allow for series and parallel settings (and hum free single coil).

IMO and IME!

[Bassmingo]

noted. damn! i was hoping i wouldnt have to route. i'm scared that if i do and i end up not liking it, i'll be stuck with a MM/J config.

so, this "exact position". any problems doing this on a J? will i cut into the pickguard? or does it just require a body route?

thanks for your input, its much appriciated.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Bassmingo

noted. damn! i was hoping i wouldnt have to route. i'm scared that if i do and i end up not liking it, i'll be stuck with a MM/J config.

so, this "exact position". any problems doing this on a J? will i cut into the pickguard? or does it just require a body route?

thanks for your input, its much appriciated.

Routing with pickguards is a bit over my head. Most of the J/MM basses I've seen don't have a pickguard.

Hopefully, you will get more responses to your thread. Since you are considering a stock J bass, you might want to consider just buying a MM bass... they come up used all the time.

[bassman74]

The closest MM souding pups in jazz shape i've heard are the Kent Armstrong SS american.

They have to top end of the musicman, the lows can't be as strong but they are really close...

they can also be wired with a parallel,series, singlecoil switch for more versatility.

For the musicman pup, nordstrand is awesome¸but Delano has some very interesting MM pup. From vintage sounding, the hi-fi sounding mm pup

[Bassmingo]

I already own a MM, the reason i'm doing this is i want MM style tone and agression in a jazz body. i just checked out the nordstrand site and i like the look of the MM 4.4. i'm just worried that if i drop in as MM in a jazz body i'll have to route the body and cut the pickguard too, which i really would rather not do, body yes if i must, but pickguard, no

[Darkstrike]

What about the Delano, "The Hybrid"? Could work.

[hands5]

Originally Posted by Bassmingo

so i'm gonna be starting a project soon that will be ongoing as much as i can spare money on it. i have a geddy jazz body and will be making a frankenbass from it. i would ideally like a musicman/jazz hybrid but i will only rout the body and drop in a mm pickup if i really have to. so are there any jazz style pickups or pickup/eq/preamp combos that will get me close? i own a 3eq stingray but i'd prefer a 2eq stingray type arrangement. i would also prefer not to have any exposed pole pieces (from an aesthetic point of view)

my plans are:

geddy jazz body
all black hardware
70's style maple neck with black blocks or all black neck (aerodyne style)
j/j or mm/j config.
all black pickguard (1 ply)

its nickname will be "stealth bass"

I think your best route to go for this is to call Seymour Duncan because they pretty much no the voicings of the MM eletronics and pickups better than anybody IMO.

[hands5]

Originally Posted by Darkstrike

What about the Delano, "The Hybrid"? Could work.

it's pretty damn close !

[Bassmingo]

Originally Posted by Darkstrike

What about the Delano, "The Hybrid"? Could work.

just checked it out......now that i like....hmmm things just got interesting!

[dmusic148]

The Hybrid is probably the way to go. Notice at the top of the FAQ page they show one installed on a Jazz-but I'm not sure what position it's in. For that matter I don't know where a MM pickup is supposed to go, you'll need to do some measuring and figuring to get the rout correct. I agree with KJung-you'll need to put it in the correct MM position to get MM sound, and pay a slight penalty in J sound, but it'll probably still be really cool.
Pay attention to the FAQ's, the pickup has some wiring tricks that must be implemented for it to work.

[Darkstrike]

Been thinking about one myself too, for a while.

[Bassmingo]

Originally Posted by dmusic148

I agree with KJung-you'll need to put it in the correct MM position to get MM sound, and pay a slight penalty in J sound

yep, i dont mind paying that penalty!

everyones input so far has been very helpful, thanks so much!

now.....another question. in keeping with the stealth theme of this bass, i dont want exposed pole pieces....will this be possible? can i replace the covers without any fears? or is it worth it to look cool?

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by Bassmingo

noted. damn! i was hoping i wouldnt have to route. i'm scared that if i do and i end up not liking it, i'll be stuck with a MM/J config.

so, this "exact position". any problems doing this on a J? will i cut into the pickguard? or does it just require a body route?

thanks for your input, its much appriciated.

You only have to rout the pickguard if that's where the pickup is. In that cause you rout both at the same time.

I take it you want to do something like this?




Double the fun:

[BAW]

you got some routing to do!

my friend had a double buck warwick and it got badly damaged in a car accident. he took out the electronics and then routed his geddy lee and put in the double humbuckers. im going to see if i can get any pics from him.

[WarriorJoe7]

I have non exposed pole piece musicman pickups for sale in my sale thread (link in my signature.) Do you want black or white ones?

Thanks,
Joe

[Bassmingo]

Originally Posted by SGD Lutherie

I take it you want to do something like this?

YES! imagine that all in black!

I have non exposed pole piece musicman pickups for sale in my sale thread (link in my signature.) Do you want black or white ones?

i'm liking the look of the hybrids, and if i cant replace the covers i'd be interested.

[narud]

Originally Posted by hands5

I think your best route to go for this is to call Seymour Duncan because they pretty much no the voicings of the MM eletronics and pickups better than anybody IMO.

+1 i had an alnico basslines stingray pickup and it was really good.