Jazz Bass pickups - Lindy Fralin vs. Seymour Duncan ANTIQUITY II

hoel · #1 02-28-2011, 03:41 AM

Hi there,

I'm currently building a standard Jazz Bass with parts from Warmoth. Now I'm gonna decide for pickups, and I find it hard to make a decision (and I don't have the opportunity to compare them)

I currently own and play a '64 Jazz Bass, and the Warmoth bass will be my spare bass.

I like the vintage tone alot, but I wouldn't mind getting a little "help" either.

It's either gonna be Lindy Fralin or Seymour Duncan ANTIQUITY II.

How do these compare?

panamonte · #2 02-28-2011, 04:11 AM

http://www.atkinsonbasses.com/library/

Here are some sound file comparisons of some of the most popular J pickups. Unfortunately it doesn't include the Lindy Fralins, but it might give you an idea of how the SDs compare to others. There's also a pretty comprehensive sticky on this forum which compares a huge range of J pickups. Good luck - I hope you find what you're looking for!

MuzikMan · #3 02-28-2011, 05:42 AM

I have the Antiquity II set in my jazz bass but I have never tried the Lindy Fralins. There is no doubt in my mind that the Antiquities can pull off the vintage vibe. I bet the Fralins are equally as capable. I can't see you being disappointed with either set, but I never feel the need to move beyond my Antiquities.

Rumblefisher · #4 02-28-2011, 05:47 AM

They are really similar pickups. As Muzikman pointed out, each is more than capable of vintage vibe, and I've never really heard a bad word about either.

The real difference is when you start looking at Lindy Fralin humcanellers, which have a bit less treble and a bit more mids and lows...for me, absolutely perfect. Whereas (to my ears) Jazz basses typically have a pretty raw and slightly messy low end, the humcanellers change that (simply by their design, all humcancelling pups lose some sheen but bump up the mids and lows) giving a slightly less raw, thicker low end. Personally, I like this SO much that mine are overwound. Definitely not necessary, unless you very much want to accentuate the low end.

hoel · #5 02-28-2011, 06:51 AM

Thanks for your answers.

Rumblefishers:

Less treble sounds good. I like warm and mellow.

Do these pickups look like a standard J-bass pickup?

BuffaloBass · #6 02-28-2011, 07:06 AM

Rumble, if you want to retain a tight and focused bottom end, yet the highs of true single coils, I might suggest Aero Type 1. Low end is tremendous, but in a natural 20Hz way, plate rattling way. As I play 5s exclusively, I am sensitive to tight low end.

Hoel, if you like the way your Warmouth sound acoustically, then the Aeros will bring that out better than most others. If you don't, then color the sound with the SD's. Nordy J pups will sound a bit more articulate than the Aeros but dont do the wide response as well, to MY ears. IMHO.

www.aeroinstrument.com

Read the J pup sticky, its full of good info.

EDIT: Hoel, careful of the HC -style pups as they sound way different than a traditional J bass to me. Again, my ears, not yours, so your results may vary.

allexcosta · #7 02-28-2011, 07:10 AM

Ant. II, Fralin, Lollar and Fender 60's sound similar...

prd004 · #8 02-28-2011, 07:16 AM

Fralins, best set of pups I've ever owned, wouldn't consider anything else now that I've experienced them! But Unike Rumblefish, I feel the hum canceling jazz pups lose a tiny bit of the jazz vibe, I prefer the standard.

hoel · #9 02-28-2011, 07:24 AM

More good info, thanks.

I like the vintage, mellow, warm vibe. I don't mind my strings being 2 years old, and I like flatwound strings.

The information I get when searching the web makes me think standard Fralin j-bass pickups is the way to go.

prd004 · #10 02-28-2011, 07:34 AM

You'll love them, my main bass is a Lull Jazz, Fralins + Flatwounds, vintage jazz bass tone galore!

BuffaloBass · #11 02-28-2011, 10:57 AM

Hoel, as folks tend to say they sound likes Aero's, and my J5 oozes vintage ash/maple vibe, they should do you quite well!

lesmarshall · #12 02-25-2012, 10:54 PM

Which one has more output, the Fralins or the Antiquities ?

Does anyone know if either has more output than the 60s Fenders, which are very low output?

ryanfenderbass · #13 02-25-2012, 11:05 PM

Okay, I'm going to be that guy who tells you to get something different: look into DiMarzio Area Js

I could eat these for breakfast they are so crisp and buttery. They are wound like vintage pickups, but have the noise-free, high-end qualities of modern p'ups.

I hope you post pics of your new bass... sounds great!

invalidprotocol · #14 02-25-2012, 11:22 PM

I haven't found the cs60's as being low output. Seem just right to my ear.

lesmarshall · #15 02-26-2012, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by invalidprotocol

I haven't found the cs60's as being low output. Seem just right to my ear.

That's good to know . I am not sure which CS ones are in my Custom Shop 64' J Bass, which I just bought . The output of this Bass with these pups is very low compared to my other passive J Basses. These pups measure at 6.28/neck, 6.45 bridge. For comparison , Fralin lists their J pups at 8.5-9. Duncan lists their Antiquity II as 10.56. I know there has been lot of discussion about whether these numbers are an indicator of output , but for comparison , my CS pups appear to be low. I was wondering if anyone has compared the CS pups to the Fralins or Duncans.

narud · #16 02-26-2012, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by invalidprotocol

I haven't found the cs60's as being low output. Seem just right to my ear.

what have you compared them too? theyre noticeably lower in output compared to almost all the other jazz bass replacement sets.

Filip Burdon · #17 05-20-2012, 12:42 PM

I'm looking for a thick sounding, agressive, pickup fiting pick playing and distortion (with a Rush kind of vibe).

I was thinking about:

Seymour Duncan STK-J1

Seymour Duncan STK-J2 (hot stack)

Fender '75 REISSUE

Fender CUSTOM SHOP 60's JAZZ BASS

Which one do you thin would siut me best?
If someone could give me a short characteristic of those pups I'd be greatful!

That's the kind of music I play (recorded on a P bass here).

http://soundcloud.com/filipburdon/sets

Garrett151 · #18 05-21-2012, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Filip Burdon

I'm looking for a thick sounding, agressive, pickup fiting pick playing and distortion (with a Rush kind of vibe).

I was thinking about:

Seymour Duncan STK-J1

Seymour Duncan STK-J2 (hot stack)

Fender '75 REISSUE

Fender CUSTOM SHOP 60's JAZZ BASS

Which one do you thin would siut me best?
If someone could give me a short characteristic of those pups I'd be greatful!

That's the kind of music I play (recorded on a P bass here).

http://soundcloud.com/filipburdon/sets

Try Seymour Duncan quarter pounders. SJB-3? Or something like that.

Filip Burdon · #19 05-21-2012, 10:15 AM

But the ain't hum canceling you know.
Plus I didn't like the spb-3 so much so to buy two of them and put it in my jazz bass

Garrett151 · #20 05-21-2012, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Filip Burdon

But the ain't hum canceling you know.
Plus I didn't like the spb-3 so much so to buy two of them and put it in my jazz bass

Yeah I didn't like them much for what I was doing. But they were killer for hard rock.