"J" pickups discussion and comparisons.

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by carved czech

Noiseless is toneless.IMO.I AM experienced...

Noise does not equal tone. Noise is noise.

Noise canceling pickups might sound a little different, but many sound great. Many sound just like single coils.

There is no right or wrong tone.

[wysiwyg248]

carved czech,
Seems like you tried everything but the best: Lollar pickups. IMHO the best for the original Fender tone. He can also rewind your pickups to your specs.
Here is the website: http://www.lollarguitars.com/

[bedui]

Hello everyone! I own a passive MIA 2001 Fender P-Bass, with factory pups and everything, but I've been planning to switch to some REAL pups! I'm interested in using a Precision pup combined with the bridge J-pup, especially the Seymour Duncan Antiquity II one. But I am unsure of some good P-pup that would match nicely with that, any thoughts?

[johndough247]

Originally Posted by wildhorse

I have the same bass. Dropped some Seymour Duncan Hot For Jazz Bass SJB-2's into it on Monday. Gigged with it last night for the first time. Awesome. Everything was better than the stock pups. Bottom was there and much better in the mids. I felt the stock pups were missing in the mids. Highs were even better than stock. I record each gig with a Zoom H2 recorder and always had to eq the bass before mix down. It still seemed lacking in areas and although felt through my subs in the car it just wasn't heard all the time without re-eq through garage band. This morning on the way into work I listened to a couple songs still on the recorder and bass is loud and clear and cuts through the mix great. It's got to be the added mids that are the major improvement in this area. Love the pups and no complaints. I can't compare it to others pups but for the price I can't complain.

Sounds good, but I would like to hear maybe one of those clips if possible. But if not, how would u compare the tone to verdine's tone in those songs?

[greekorican]

I have some questions about quarter pounders. I'm looking for something versatile, do these fit what I'm looking for? I'd like to play some James Jamerson, RHCP, and P-Funk. Is this a decent match? How do they sound for slap, or funk in general?
thanks

[Risen Ashes]

I don't believe so. Perhaps EMG's or other SD's. Also: Dimarzio Ultra-J. Quarter Pounders are not as slap and pop friendly

[RwG]

Does anyone have a comparison of Antiquity II's and the stock pickups in a Fender 75 Jazz RI? The stock pickups are lacking a little high end for my taste, the low end is awesome but i just want little more highs and a little more "definition". i tried some Model J's, though they're awesome it's the opposite of what i'm looking for. I love the natural, unplugged tone of the bass....my goal is to maintain that.

thanks

[Duffy]

I put in a Seymour Duncan STK-j2 hot stack neck pup in my affinity and it is noisy.

I like the tone but it is not much different from the stock quieter noise cancelling when both turned up J bass pups.

I'm taking it out. Taking it back, and having the old timer put in the Fender Vintage Noisless J bass pups in my affinity. He knows what he is doing.

I will let you all know what I think. I'm thinking I'm going to like them but we will see.

Duffy

[Duffy]

With the treble on the Marshall bass amp turned three quarters down and just the Seymour Dunca hot stacked J pup turned all the way up and the stock bridge all the way down there is almost no noise.

When I turn off the SD noisless hot stack and turn up the stock bass string, even with the treble on the amp all the way down the amp is very noisy at full volume. Very unacceptably noisy.

Does this sound normal for an affinity bass with stock pups and way quieter with the SD noisless hot stack?

When I turn the treble on the amp up and have only the SD hot stack on it still is a bit noisy but not intolerable like the stock bridge pup. They are not noise cancelling when both turned all the way up, just very noisy, They do not cancel out the noise.

I can get an SD bridge, a bit hard to find, or have the older guy install the Fender Vintage Noiseless that he says are awesome. What do you all think.

I think I'll leave the hot stack SD in the neck so he has something to compare to.

Duffy

[Frank Orlando]

Great discussion!!

I have an 05' American Standard Jazz Bass. I'm leaving it bone stock 'cause it really nails that Fender Jazz Bass sound!

OK... let me have it.

[narud]

Originally Posted by RwG

Does anyone have a comparison of Antiquity II's and the stock pickups in a Fender 75 Jazz RI? The stock pickups are lacking a little high end for my taste, the low end is awesome but i just want little more highs and a little more "definition". i tried some Model J's, though they're awesome it's the opposite of what i'm looking for. I love the natural, unplugged tone of the bass....my goal is to maintain that.

thanks

i just finished a journey with the same bass. eleven sets of pickups later and i found my answer. a set or antiquity 2's with specific resistance ratings. the thing about the duncans is that theyre all wound different so youre set might not sound the same as the guys down the street.

i picked up the 75 ri with the intention of gigging it hard rather than my 78 jazz. it just never sounded as bright as the 78 though. thats where the journey began. heres all the pickups that were in that bass
-stock
-fender samarium cobalt noiseless
-lindy fralin
-seymour duncan antiquity 1's
-dimarzio ultra jazz
-fender custom shop 60's
- fender original 60's
-seymour duncan antiquity 2's X2
-pickups from a 1980 fender jazz (this was the set that made me realize this bass was capable of sounding like the 78 and that it was a pickup issue and not the bass)
-semour duncan antiquity 2's with neck pickup i had unwound slightly by the duncan custom shop(the set currently installed in the bass)

here's a soundclip of the current setup and im finally happy with the bass
http://rapidshare.com/files/24079476...oppolo_pre.mp3

the stock set, along with the majority of the replacements, were all wound in a way to have more upper mid/low treble growl at the expense of the airier/glassy high end. all the vintage fenders ive owned have had pickups that had that airy top end to them, so the replacement pickups were all kind of disappointing. about midway through this, i bought a multimeter to find the resistance reading of the pickups in my old fenders. they were lower than the majority of the replacements.

the first set of antiquity 2's i had were the sound i was looking for. they were super microphonic though and were unusable. at the time i was borrowing them, so i bought a set of my own. the new ones didnt sound the same though. at this time, i didnt have the multimeter yet. i kept using those pickups in that bass though. i eventually bought another set used off ebay because i needed a neck pickup for my 62 jazz. i took the ebay set,put them in the ri and it sounded perfect. by this time, i had the multimeter. the ebay set had a neck pickup at 8.12k and a bridge at 8.7. the set i bought new was 8.99k neck and 8.9 bridge. i was never happy with that set.

so, i sold the hotter set which left me needing a neck pickup again for my 62 jazz. i took the 8.12k neck pickup out of the ri and put it in the 62 until i bought another set. well, i bought another set off of ebay and installed the neck pickup and the bass no longer sounded the same. the pickup was wound to 8.88k. i knew the 8.12k pickup sounded perfect, so i called duncan to see if they could swap me out. they said that would be to much trouble since they are all wound different and they would have to find one off the shelf, but they could unwind the 8.88k pickup to 8.10 for me. i went that route and when i got the pickup back it sounded exactly like the bass did before. total satisfaction. im now confident in a set of replacement pickups that will sound like what a vintage fender should in my experience.

[Duffy]

Narud,

In your list I notice that the "Fender Vintage Noiseless" J bass pickups are absent.

These sound great. A lot of people go for the demarzios but the Fender vintage noiseless are awesome.

Duffy

[derridiandrift]

I can add that the Dimarzio Ultra Jazz pickups have disproportionately big bottom end but a scooped mid that tends to make drop you out of the live mix. The upper mids are present, and the highs can sound a bit clanky. The bottom notes on the E string jump out but the A and D tend to disappear somewhat. This was not a great setup for a MIJ jazz bass that I had. I now have them installed in a very good quality bass and that tends to passify the pickup's imbalance somewhat, but I'm still not completely pleased. I'll be switching to something more vintage sounding once I make up my mind between Fralin, Nord, and Antiquities.

[RwG]

hey Narud....thanks for the great info and sound clip.

[basswave]

Originally Posted by Risen Ashes

I don't believe so. Perhaps EMG's or other SD's. Also: Dimarzio Ultra-J. Quarter Pounders are not as slap and pop friendly

I know its PJ based and this is J bassed thread, but I have never been more unhappy with a set of pickups then the PJ Quater Pounders...Raw undefined and not musical IMHO.

I have been pleasantly surprised that my most Jazz like sounding Jazz is actually has EMG JVs in it.

[Supertanker]

Originally Posted by narud

i just finished a journey with the same bass. eleven sets of pickups later and i found my answer. a set or antiquity 2's with specific resistance ratings...

Narud,

I think you have a winner there.

Those pickups sound perfect.

They actually sound better than the ones in my Marcus Miller.

Thanks for sharing...

Now only if I could get a five string set.

[narud]

Originally Posted by Supertanker

Now only if I could get a five string set.

thats kind of how this whole thing started. i was trying to commission a 5 string j that sounded like my 78 jazz. i realized there had to be a pickup component going on because stuff that should have fit the bill didnt. i played one of george furlanetto's new jazz 5's that was heavy ash and it didnt have the sparkle. it had the heft and attack from the wood, but still didnt have the top end. i played several alleva coppolo lm5's that didnt do it either. specifically an 11.5 pound ash beast that by all accounts should have done it. it didnt, it was too dark.

ive had this reissue the whole time while i was trying find a 5 and i was going through the same problem. its heavy ash and unplugged it was bright but didnt sound like the 78. it took me a while to figure out i needed the weight for the attack and the pickups for the range.

most of those other pickups sound ok with your average preamp that sucks out high mids and has extended top end even when set flat. to my ear, that sounds artificial and i dont like it. this alleva coppolo pre is the **** because it doesnt do that. its really the perfect pre for a vintage fender. but, all those other pickups sounded like dog mixed with this pre. my 62 and 78 jazzes sounded amazing with it though. the right pickups though and this ri has become my horse. i just put a d-tuner on it to get some low notes.

[Waxhead]

After reading this thread I put Dimarzio Model J PUP's and a Baddass II bridge in my MIM Fender Jazz Bass.

Big success, made a huge improvement in tone. Highly recommended

[troyus]

Damn that's a journey!

I just got a set of AII's for a relic I built up but 8.51k/8.01k.

They are a lot beefier than the Nordstrands a the expense of some clarity... no right answers for me... just different tasty flavors!

Originally Posted by narud

i just finished a journey with the same bass. eleven sets of pickups later and i found my answer. a set or antiquity 2's with specific resistance ratings. the thing about the duncans is that theyre all wound different so youre set might not sound the same as the guys down the street.

i picked up the 75 ri with the intention of gigging it hard rather than my 78 jazz. it just never sounded as bright as the 78 though. thats where the journey began. heres all the pickups that were in that bass
-stock
-fender samarium cobalt noiseless
-lindy fralin
-seymour duncan antiquity 1's
-dimarzio ultra jazz
-fender custom shop 60's
- fender original 60's
-seymour duncan antiquity 2's X2
-pickups from a 1980 fender jazz (this was the set that made me realize this bass was capable of sounding like the 78 and that it was a pickup issue and not the bass)
-semour duncan antiquity 2's with neck pickup i had unwound slightly by the duncan custom shop(the set currently installed in the bass)

here's a soundclip of the current setup and im finally happy with the bass
http://rapidshare.com/files/24079476...oppolo_pre.mp3

the stock set, along with the majority of the replacements, were all wound in a way to have more upper mid/low treble growl at the expense of the airier/glassy high end. all the vintage fenders ive owned have had pickups that had that airy top end to them, so the replacement pickups were all kind of disappointing. about midway through this, i bought a multimeter to find the resistance reading of the pickups in my old fenders. they were lower than the majority of the replacements.

the first set of antiquity 2's i had were the sound i was looking for. they were super microphonic though and were unusable. at the time i was borrowing them, so i bought a set of my own. the new ones didnt sound the same though. at this time, i didnt have the multimeter yet. i kept using those pickups in that bass though. i eventually bought another set used off ebay because i needed a neck pickup for my 62 jazz. i took the ebay set,put them in the ri and it sounded perfect. by this time, i had the multimeter. the ebay set had a neck pickup at 8.12k and a bridge at 8.7. the set i bought new was 8.99k neck and 8.9 bridge. i was never happy with that set.

so, i sold the hotter set which left me needing a neck pickup again for my 62 jazz. i took the 8.12k neck pickup out of the ri and put it in the 62 until i bought another set. well, i bought another set off of ebay and installed the neck pickup and the bass no longer sounded the same. the pickup was wound to 8.88k. i knew the 8.12k pickup sounded perfect, so i called duncan to see if they could swap me out. they said that would be to much trouble since they are all wound different and they would have to find one off the shelf, but they could unwind the 8.88k pickup to 8.10 for me. i went that route and when i got the pickup back it sounded exactly like the bass did before. total satisfaction. im now confident in a set of replacement pickups that will sound like what a vintage fender should in my experience.

[troyus]

Originally Posted by pcollin

I read all 15 pgs of this and although really interesting, I didn't see my exact guitar/recommendation. I've got a MIA '07 passive Jazz w/S1. I play straight ahead rock (60s-today) through Ampeg B2RE/SVT-410 HLF. The Dimarzio Model J's got a lot of praise - would those be a good fit?

Speaking as someone who has messed around with a lot of pickups and bodies... the pickups will amplify the natural sound of the instrument and color it as well... If you want a thick sound, "P like" and you've already got a thick sounding bass unplugged, you might want to go for a middle of the road pickup instead of something wit huge bottom.. it might get too huge.

Not all jazz basses have the same voice. Right now I have 2 and in a recording they sound like 2 different animals... One has a really warm, deep voice and the other is bright and punchy... Plugged in and unplugged...

A 'bad' pickup, like MIM jazz pickups, can have good qualities... I find they make awesome feedback, if you're into that, they can really scream in a way the botique pickups do not do. But then they also have a brittle tonal quality on the top end which is the tradeoff, I guess, for the crazy feedback.

I guess figure out what you want sound wise, but if you have a bright, punchy jazz bass and you want to get warm and deep, you're pushing against the natural tone of the wood... EQing it and pickups etc. will help but it won't sound the same.

At least that's the conclusion I came to after spending thousand of dollars and countless hours, and why I have 2 jazz basses.