Which J pup better for metal style?

tpmiller08 · #1 04-11-2010, 01:05 PM

Please forgive run on sentences. Grammar and spelling...not my strong point

I know my ears are the best judge. But I'm curious to what settings people use on a passive J style pickup bass, when playing metal.

I usually max volume on both the Neck and Bridge pickup. I set the tone for the Bridge pickup a touch below max Treble, and the Neck pickup a bit above halfway between bass and treble, leaning more towards treble.

I get a solid tone, for the mix when both other guitars are on distortion. When a song goes into a clean part I scoop the bridge pickup, usually turning the volume all the way off.

The settings on my amp (SWR 750x) are as following:
Bass - touch above flat, about 1 o'clock
Mid - Boosted to 8-9 O'clock at 400 hz
Treble - Cut down to around 11 O'clock

It sits well in the mix, though sometimes when I let a note ring out, it is cut short, and sounds like I only played a quarter note, when it was a half. Only happens in 2 spots in the same song, so I'm thinking my guitarists mid range is overlapping mine.....but....I honestly don't know. More of a guess than anything

So lemme know how you set your pickups! Even if its an active bass, curiousity has me enthralled. Please include amp settings.

Thanks all,

-Troy

darkstorm · #2 04-11-2010, 07:11 PM

I've found humbucker soapbar pups work best for metal esp if your also useing heavy overdrive. The P's as next best choice. However, for best sounding J pup that also works well in metal music. I cant think of any Ive played or tried that are as good as the Rockfield J pup found in Trabens Array Attack. Some rockfield pups are available as aftermarket, but havent seen anyplace carrying the bass ones yet. EMG active J's as next best choice imo.

Klopp18 · #3 04-11-2010, 07:19 PM

i used fender noiseless pups in my heavy metal band. it cut through nice

tpmiller08 · #4 04-11-2010, 10:13 PM

I love the sound of two jazz pickups, I'm wierd like that. I don't use distortion much, only mess around with it when I'm playing solo.

The question was more oriented towards which pick up (neck or bridge) do you favor? Do you set your Neck volume higher then the bridge? Cut the Neck completely? or any other combination.

And where do you set your tone. More towards treble or bass, and which one? (or mids for active pickups)

Hopefully this is more clear. Reading my original post, it didn't state all that quite clearly.

-Troy

darkstorm · #5 04-12-2010, 10:52 AM

Ok. More often I'll roll off the bridge pup just a little. So neck pups slightly favored. Both pups even when doing basic cruising voice that I dont want to be as noticeable. Then slightly rolled toward bridge pup a little when wanting more a lead tone. Active eq setting vary with the bass and its pups. If the bass is a bit mid shy, I'll boost the mids a little bit. Same for bass and treble if needed for fuller sound. Though with my Trabens burl maplem top and royal paulownia theres no reason to boost the treble ever. Its ussually either flat or rolled off a little. If its treble freq was lower I might use it a little, but its set fairly high and doesnt lend itself that well with the body woods and bridge humbuckers treble emphasis. With the Ibanez SR300. bass and treble is set flat or just slightly boosted. Its center freq is lower then the trabens. It has mahogany body so a darker tone. Then I dial in the mid sweep to its sweet spot for me. Near 3/4 toward trebly side for it. I no longer have it though. So it really does depend on the instrument for how its eq is set. Due to diff body woods and pup voicing and what center freqs the bass, mid and treble controls are set at.

SirGrotius · #6 04-12-2010, 11:28 AM

I played a J bass in a metal band for a while and scooped my mids and pushed the lows and highs very high. Tone at max. This was the best way to cut through while still giving rumble. I used basslines pickups, which were better than my stock fenders (especially for the MIM I was playing at the time).

I've since converted to a P and it sits much better, in general, in a metal mix.

That said, have you ever given sansamp products a try? I have the VT character series and BY FAR that has had the biggest impact on my sound. I found out about it by listening to some NIN discussions here.

tpmiller08 · #7 04-19-2010, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirGrotius

I played a J bass in a metal band for a while and scooped my mids and pushed the lows and highs very high. Tone at max. This was the best way to cut through while still giving rumble. I used basslines pickups, which were better than my stock fenders (especially for the MIM I was playing at the time).

I've since converted to a P and it sits much better, in general, in a metal mix.

That said, have you ever given sansamp products a try? I have the VT character series and BY FAR that has had the biggest impact on my sound. I found out about it by listening to some NIN discussions here.

I'll take a gander at some sansamp stuff, for sure. I just switched from and SWR amp and cab, to an Ampeg 1540he cab. I got a Ampeg b2r, but I don't think the 300 watts or so is enough power for my insanely loud lead guitarist. I haven't used the set up just yet, I wonder what the Ampeg 1540he cab with a SWR 750x head will make for tone...

FunkMetalBass · #8 04-19-2010, 04:11 PM

If the note is dying out too quickly, I'd definitely look to your bass' construction before I'd swap the pickups.

tpmiller08 · #9 04-20-2010, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FunkMetalBass

If the note is dying out too quickly, I'd definitely look to your bass' construction before I'd swap the pickups.

Im not switching the pickups. Its a washburn T-24, and it sustains notes for a long, long, long, long time. However, in the mix the, notes die off at certain parts of the songs. So I think its an EQ problem more than the bass or pickups.

cassanova · #10 04-20-2010, 07:48 AM

My jazz basses were active electronics but I had the kept the pickup blend control dead center so that both pickups were equally balanced. My amp's settings varied from room to room.

tpmiller08 · #11 04-21-2010, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cassanova

My jazz basses were active electronics but I had the kept the pickup blend control dead center so that both pickups were equally balanced. My amp's settings varied from room to room.

I usually keep both pickups max volume. But when the guitars go clean I roll off my bridge pickup. I feel like when guitars are on distortion, rolling off the bridge pickup would make the bass lost in the mix. Could be wrong though

I keep both pickup tones towards the treble end. I like the tone of it, but I feel that it might not be good for metal.
Ryan Martini from Mudvayne and Evil J from Otep do it, and it sounds great, but both bands only have one guitar. I'm not sure the reason why bands with rhythm guitars don't do it often. Any theories?

cassanova · #12 04-22-2010, 05:59 AM

If it sounds good and is working, then it is good. It really is as simple as that.

tpmiller08 · #13 04-22-2010, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cassanova

If it sounds good and is working, then it is good. It really is as simple as that.

This is true. I hate when you get into "Tone Wars" with yourself. I often forget "if it isn't broke, don't fix it", ahha

Nedmundo · #14 04-23-2010, 06:57 AM

I have noiseless pickups in my Jazz basses, so I can blend as desired without the hum. For heavy stuff, I have two settings. If I want growly and thick, neck pickup at max, bridge rolled off about a third, treble turned down about half. (This is one of my two normal settings for anything. The other is both pickups on full.) For maximum pickstyle buzz saw effect, neck pickup on full, bridge pickup off, treble on full. I only use this occasionally, usually with a little overdrive.

tpmiller08 · #15 04-23-2010, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nedmundo

I have noiseless pickups in my Jazz basses, so I can blend as desired without the hum. For heavy stuff, I have two settings. If I want growly and thick, neck pickup at max, bridge rolled off about a third, treble turned down about half. (This is one of my two normal settings for anything. The other is both pickups on full.) For maximum pickstyle buzz saw effect, neck pickup on full, bridge pickup off, treble on full. I only use this occasionally, usually with a little overdrive.

Ill have to try that out. My bridge is either usually max volume, or completely rolled off. I'll let ya know how it sits in my mix. Thanks man!

chump stain · #16 04-23-2010, 07:27 AM

On my Jazz, my favorite settings are, Neck pup full on, Bridge pup 80%, tone in the middle, (adjusting the tone as needed). In my friends studio, I have to have both pickups full on because of the hum. Maybe it's the grounding in his basement?

My EQ on my amp looks like the bass side of the typical EQ shape. Bass side turned up, with the Low Mids being the peak, going down to the treble side which is flat, or slightly cut.

Passive Jazz pickups are great. They're more aggressive, and growly compared to active. I like active basses too, I have 2 actives, and 2 passives, they both have atributes I like.