Marcus Miller J-bass Pickup Replacements

[kirkm24]

I have a Marcus Miller J that I really like but I want to "darken" the tone up a bit. Right now, it's really bright and sizzly and I was considering swapping out the pickups. I have Lindy Fralins in my P bass that I really like but wasn't sure if the Fralin J pickups would be the best match for the Marcus Miller or if it would even accomplish the tone I'm looking for. I did a lot of searching and there is a lot about swapping out preamps in this bass but very little about pickups and it appears that people have used lots of different pickups in this bass. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Also, if a preamp and pickup swap would be best, make me those recommendations as well.

[Dr. Cheese]

Your answer might be the preamp, not the pups. If you do change the pups, try Seymour Duncan.

[kirkm24]

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

Your answer might be the preamp, not the pups. If you do change the pups, try Seymour Duncan.

I'd assume the Bartolini is the most common preamp for this bass?

[narud]

id also go the preamp route first. i just got through about 8 different sets of pups in a mia 75 ri jazz and except for the antiquity 2's, most of the singles i tried sounded pretty darn similar. however, the sound of that bass through a j retro,bart ntbt and an alleva coppolo pre was a lot more dramatic.

[kirkm24]

which of those pres did you like the best?

[narud]

Originally Posted by kirkm24

which of those pres did you like the best?

well, we're probably in opposite camps. i was looking for a brighter single coil that sounded like my 78 jazz, but without the pre giving it all the highs. the pre's reacted different in different basses. the jretro sounded super juiced and wide in the fender, but pretty neutral in a different bass. the a/c was just with ok the r.i. but killer with my vintage fenders. the bart has givin me what i want in the r.i. a slight natural dip in the high mids when set flat and big lows.

the thing is all these pres sound really good. some just match up better with different pieces of wood. i havent tried an audere, but from what i hear its supposed to be pretty flat sounding so maybe something like that with your stock pickups would give you what you want. it shouldnt sound as juiced as the fender pre.

[kirkm24]

Well I decided to get the Marcus Retro pre-amp (basically the J-Retro but with an MM pickguard). It sounded like what I wanted and there have been alot of positive reviews on it. I am also a terrible solderer so getting a pre-wired assembly like this sounded like the best route. I am also glad it has some mid-range control as well as passive tone control. The specs also suggest that it is capable of much deeper low end which should help get me where I want to go.

[narud]

Originally Posted by kirkm24

Well I decided to get the Marcus Retro pre-amp (basically the J-Retro but with an MM pickguard). It sounded like what I wanted and there have been alot of positive reviews on it. I am also a terrible solderer so getting a pre-wired assembly like this sounded like the best route. I am also glad it has some mid-range control as well as passive tone control. The specs also suggest that it is capable of much deeper low end which should help get me where I want to go.

well if you werent liking the bright and sizzly nature of the bass i dont know if a retro would have been the best choice.

[kirkm24]

Originally Posted by narud

well if you werent liking the bright and sizzly nature of the bass i dont know if a retro would have been the best choice.

I figure I can switch the preamp off and use the tone control to get a darker sound. There are times when I want the sizzle. Honestly it wasn't so much that I didn't like the brightness but that there wasn't enough bass to balance it out. Plus, since I play finger style having some mid control is a nice option as well. I think the bass is inherently a bright bass with its maple fretboard and ash body. The preamp is only going to amplify the tone that is already there. Worse case scenario, I don't like it and I sell it. Unfortunately, on board preamps can't work on a try before you buy basis.

I might change my strings to as I think Fat Beams might be a little too bright. I have been a die hard fan of EB Slinkys but thought I would give DR's a try. For this bass maybe I should give the Slinky's a try.

[chiplexic]

Originally Posted by narud

i just got through about 8 different sets of pups in a mia 75 ri jazz and except for the antiquity 2's, most of the singles i tried sounded pretty darn similar. .

What was your final impression of the Antiquity II's after all your comparisons?

[narud]

Originally Posted by chiplexic

What was your final impression of the Antiquity II's after all your comparisons?

i just posted this in another thread
"well at least in the 4 string version, the duncan antiquity 2's were the closest to an actual vintage sounding single coil. my 62 and 78 have less going on in the high mids/low highs and more going on in the sparkly/airy highs than a lot of the "vintage" replacements ive tried. ive got a set of antiquity 2's at duncan right now getting potted and was going to ask them what they recommended to get that sound in a 5."

[kirkm24]

Originally Posted by narud

i just posted this in another thread
"well at least in the 4 string version, the duncan antiquity 2's were the closest to an actual vintage sounding single coil. my 62 and 78 have less going on in the high mids/low highs and more going on in the sparkly/airy highs than a lot of the "vintage" replacements ive tried. ive got a set of antiquity 2's at duncan right now getting potted and was going to ask them what they recommended to get that sound in a 5."

Have you tried Lindy Fralin's? I don't know much about their jazz pickups but I've heard they are very comparable to the Antiquities. Not that it would be very comparable, but I am a huge fan of the Lindy Fralin P bass pickups.

[peterpalmieri]

I hate to not add much to the discussion but here I go.

The Marcus bass is sizzly by nature, mostly defined by the ash body, maple fingerboard and 70s pick up spacing. That's not a bad thing but to me it "is what it is". The pickups only amplify the signal it receives. IMO the preamp can boost the lowend just like an outboard or the pre on your head but isn't going to change the inherant tone of the instrument.

Sorry I don't have any great suggestion for you.

[narud]

Originally Posted by kirkm24

Have you tried Lindy Fralin's? I don't know much about their jazz pickups but I've heard they are very comparable to the Antiquities. Not that it would be very comparable, but I am a huge fan of the Lindy Fralin P bass pickups.

yup, did the lindy's and sold em. the singles i had were the stock 75 ri set,fralins,fender custom shop 60's,fender original 62's,antiquity 1, and antiquity 2's. the antiquity 2's sounded the most different and the most like vintage pickups to me. the rest were all different flavors of the same imo. the fender originals are the biggest bang for the buck out there and those were the singles i was going with before trying the antiquity 2's.

[narud]

Originally Posted by peterpalmieri

I hate to not add much to the discussion but here I go.

The Marcus bass is sizzly by nature, mostly defined by the ash body, maple fingerboard and 70s pick up spacing. That's not a bad thing but to me it "is what it is". The pickups only amplify the signal it receives. IMO the preamp can boost the lowend just like an outboard or the pre on your head but isn't going to change the inherant tone of the instrument.

Sorry I don't have any great suggestion for you.

not necessarily imo. especially with swamp ash (vs.heavier northern ash). the 8 different sets of pickups i tried in an ash/maple 70's spacing bass gave me tones ranging from a darker/growly midrangey sound to an over the top bright/scooped sound.

[Modern Growl]

could you give an in-dept review of your thoughts on the Fralins in the 70's style bass? I'm considering putting Fralins in my 75' RI for more growl in the mids.

[narud]

Originally Posted by Modern Growl

could you give an in-dept review of your thoughts on the Fralins in the 70's style bass? I'm considering putting Fralins in my 75' RI for more growl in the mids.

low mids or high mids?

[peterpalmieri]

Originally Posted by narud

not necessarily imo. especially with swamp ash (vs.heavier northern ash). the 8 different sets of pickups i tried in an ash/maple 70's spacing bass gave me tones ranging from a darker/growly midrangey sound to an over the top bright/scooped sound.

I will of course defer to your opinion since I have certainly not tried 8 sets of pickups in any particular bass.

What I can tell you is that my ash/maple and alder/rosewood J basses have a unique tone when played acoustically that does translate to the amplified sound. When you compound that with a 60 vs 70s spacing you can account for a large percentage of tonal characteristics. I would never try to put a number on the preamp and pickups but they are only part of the equation. I'd probably start with different strings, if that doesn't do it for me I'd be more likely to try a bass that better fits my needs then swapping parts out but that's just me and probably not the opinion of the guys in this thread.

[kirkm24]

Originally Posted by peterpalmieri

I will of course defer to your opinion since I have certainly not tried 8 sets of pickups in any particular bass.

What I can tell you is that my ash/maple and alder/rosewood J basses have a unique tone when played acoustically that does translate to the amplified sound. When you compound that with a 60 vs 70s spacing you can account for a large percentage of tonal characteristics. I would never try to put a number on the preamp and pickups but they are only part of the equation. I'd probably start with different strings, if that doesn't do it for me I'd be more likely to try a bass that better fits my needs then swapping parts out but that's just me and probably not the opinion of the guys in this thread.

I know the Marcus is inherently a bright bass. If I want vintage growl and dark tone, I use my P bass with flats. I was just wanting to darken the Marcus up a little bit but not drastically alter its tone. I find that in some rooms and in some settings, it is a very bright bass and I have trouble dialing in the sweet spot where there is an optimum balance of bass, mids and hi end. Almost all the critics of this bass on here say the stock preamp is garbage but the bass itself is very nice and I agree at least with the latter.

I do know that the retro preamp will give me control of the mids and a passive/active tone control which will at least give me more flexibility in finding the sweet spot. The last active bass I used was a 3 band Stingray and I could boost the mids slightly, boost the bass slightly and cut the treble slightly and easily find the sweet spot. When I say sweet spot, I am referring to the tone where it sits the best in a mix. I never liked the overall tone of the Stingray but I was easily able to dial it into the sweet spot. If this doesn't accomplish my goal, I will consider a string change since DR strings tend to be pretty bright. I like brightness and want the contrast with my P bass but I would like to be able to dial it in a little better. The stock preamp configuration can be tricky to dial in.

[Modern Growl]

Originally Posted by narud

low mids or high mids?

whatever stood out the most to you. I'm looking for an aggressive upper-mid grind...