Muddy sounding Jazz - pickups or preamp?

fourstringbliss · #1 03-06-2013, 11:47 AM

I have an active Jazz that is giving me a bit of a muddy sound. It's not as clear sounding as other J-basses I've had with the same strings and amp setup. Is this likely to be the pickups or the preamp?

miles'tone · #2 03-06-2013, 11:48 AM

Changed the battery?

bongomania · #3 03-06-2013, 11:49 AM

Depends on the pickups and the preamp. Could be either... or both.

fourstringbliss · #4 03-06-2013, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miles'tone

Changed the battery?

Yup. New batteries.

fourstringbliss · #5 03-06-2013, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

Depends on the pickups and the preamp. Could be either... or both.

Stacked J's and active 18v preamp.

bongomania · #6 03-06-2013, 12:04 PM

OK, so no brand or model for either of them... hmm... *gazes into crystal ball* A-ha!

funkingroovin · #7 03-06-2013, 12:20 PM

I had this issue with an 18v Cirrus recently..it just seemed 'muffled',in both volume and tone,making it no more aggressive than any of my passives. Turns out one of the power leads from the p'ups had a bad solder and was hanging on by a single strand...You've probably already done it,but it's worth double checking all solders/connections first..