Old DiMarzio Jazz Bass pups - single coils or humbuckers?

[2meterbassman]

Hi folks!

I have here a pair of DiMarzio pups for Jazz Bass in creme colour, that I bought in 1980.

Now I want to build a bass around it. ;-)

Some days ago I saw new creme coloured DiMarzio pups in a web-store, and the description said, they are humbuckers for hum cancelling.

So: is this new, or were they always humbuckers?

Thx for your answers, greetz

[SGD Lutherie]

They should be the DP123 Model J. They are hum canceling. That was their only Jazz pickup until fairly recently. They were introduced in 1979.

[TimBosby]

I just sold a pair like that. They're humbuckers and they're awesome. I kinda miss 'em. Oh well.

DiMarzio doesn't have any single coils that I'm aware of.

[king_biscuit]

They are ceramic humbuckers.

[2meterbassman]

Thanx for the fast info, guys!

I will use my old Ibanez Jazz Bass body plus a used Fender fretless neck for bringing the old DiMarzios back to action.
When the work is done, I will post pictures of it.

Greetz from Germany

[georgiagoodie]

These are vintage DiMarzio Model Js (installed in my '74 Jazz in 1979). I have them wired for in/out phase and coil tap for each pup. They are Awesome.

[2meterbassman]

Originally Posted by georgiagoodie

These are vintage DiMarzio Model Js (installed in my '74 Jazz in 1979). I have them wired for in/out phase and coil tap for each pup. They are Awesome.

Hi pal,

nice photo - the colour combination of the bass is awesome!
Those are exactly the same pups as I have here.
Funny: I try to build a fretless bass with my old Ibanez Jazz bass body and a fretless Fender neck - and I'll use the same bridge as on the Ibanez in the 80s: a Badass 1 - and yours seems to be a Badass bridge, too...;-)

Greetz

[Cadfael]

Originally Posted by 2meterbassman

... Those are exactly the same pups as I have here.

Tach Zweimetermann ...

Even if they look like yours - there were dozens of PUs which looked like DiMarzio PUs in the earky 1980s ...

DiMarzios were copied as often as Fender basses - and after copying Fender basses, the DiMarzio copying carried on until the mid or late 1980s ...

Some only copied the creme colour, others copied creme plus humbucking, some added the hex screws ...

Besides Japanese copiers, Schaller copied them too - and still offers them.

Don't want to say that your or gg's PUs aren't true DiMarzios!

By the way - I have a DiMarzio X2N I must have bought about 1981-82 in my Rockinger Telecaster. My X2N proves, that the DiMarzio bonins aren't "plec resistant" ...

Grüße aus Dortmund (studiert in Münster)
Andreas

[76JazzRay]

I had these in my 76 jazz and man were they hot!! Big output, big and dark in my case.

[georgiagoodie]

Originally Posted by Cadfael

Tach Zweimetermann ...

Even if they look like yours - there were dozens of PUs which looked like DiMarzio PUs in the earky 1980s ...

DiMarzios were copied as often as Fender basses - and after copying Fender basses, the DiMarzio copying carried on until the mid or late 1980s ...

Some only copied the creme colour, others copied creme plus humbucking, some added the hex screws ...

Besides Japanese copiers, Schaller copied them too - and still offers them.

Don't want to say that your or gg's PUs aren't true DiMarzios!

By the way - I have a DiMarzio X2N I must have bought about 1981-82 in my Rockinger Telecaster. My X2N proves, that the DiMarzio bonins aren't "plec resistant" ...

Grüße aus Dortmund (studiert in Münster)
Andreas

I KNOW mine are Dimarzios, as I bought them and put them on my bass......

[DonaldR]

Late '80s I got an Ibanez RB824 modified to have two of them glued together with serie/parallel switch: totally incredible sound. I think I made the first japanese Music Man clone!!!

[Cadfael]

Originally Posted by georgiagoodie

I KNOW mine are Dimarzios, as I bought them and put them on my bass......

Yes! I believe you!

Especially as it might have been more difficult to get European or Asian copies in the USA (?) than the original ones.

And in the 1980s copies were still labeled as copies and not faked like nowaday ...

Most copies were installed in basses and not sold alone ...
The bass builders wanted to have their basses to look like DiMarzio equiped - they did not want to sell the pickups.

The late 1970s and 1980s can not be compared to 2013 ...
At least in Europe / Germany 50% of the advertisements in magazins were about exchange speakers of guitar and bass cabs!
The Pickup exchange market was 90% in the hands of DiMarzio and the motto was: "Switch as switch can!" ...
In Germany we had brands like Rockinger - in America surely Mighty Mite, Charvel or Schecter? The Rockinger bass PUs are still No.1 for me if you want a real Fender 60s sound.

Nowadays it's SD everywhere - but in the 1980s it was DiMarzio! The hot humbuckers (for Jazz Bass or guitars) were something totally new. It weas a revolution compared to everything Fender offered at that time.

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by georgiagoodie

These are vintage DiMarzio Model Js (installed in my '74 Jazz in 1979). I have them wired for in/out phase and coil tap for each pup. They are Awesome.

You can't coil tap those. You would only hear two strings because they are slit coils. Do you mean series/parallel?

[Cadfael]

I have a nice "coil tap" wiring diagram for those ...

NL+NR
NL+BR
NL+NR/BL+BR
BL+NR
BL+BR

(Neck, Bridge, Left, Right)
But that's something VERY special ...

[TN WOODMAN]

A lot of after market pickups have entered the fray since 1979 and these are still one of my favorites. I have a set in a fretless J with a John East Retro J preamp and tapewounds and it kills.

[2meterbassman]

Originally Posted by Cadfael

Tach Zweimetermann ...

Even if they look like yours - there were dozens of PUs which looked like DiMarzio PUs in the earky 1980s ...

DiMarzios were copied as often as Fender basses - and after copying Fender basses, the DiMarzio copying carried on until the mid or late 1980s ...

Some only copied the creme colour, others copied creme plus humbucking, some added the hex screws ...

Besides Japanese copiers, Schaller copied them too - and still offers them.

Don't want to say that your or gg's PUs aren't true DiMarzios!

By the way - I have a DiMarzio X2N I must have bought about 1981-82 in my Rockinger Telecaster. My X2N proves, that the DiMarzio bonins aren't "plec resistant" ...

Grüße aus Dortmund (studiert in Münster)
Andreas

Tach Andreas, :-)

nice to meet you!

I bought my pups brandnew as replacements in 1980 (or 1981? I'm not sure) at a local store in Münster called "Schallwand".
So they are original DiMarzios.
Last time I had them installed in a bass (25 years ago) I remember a full tone, and "hotter" than regular jazz bass pups.

It was a fretless bass - so I will put them into my new "Frankenstein" fretless bass. Can't wait to assemble it.

But you're right, there were a lot of creme DiMarzio copies in the market, especially from japan.

Studierst in Münster? Ja Mensch, dann sollten wir beizeiten ein Bier trinken... (sorry for writing german, guys)

Greetz

[2meterbassman]

Originally Posted by Cadfael

Yes! I believe you!

Especially as it might have been more difficult to get European or Asian copies in the USA (?) than the original ones.

And in the 1980s copies were still labeled as copies and not faked like nowaday ...

Most copies were installed in basses and not sold alone ...
The bass builders wanted to have their basses to look like DiMarzio equiped - they did not want to sell the pickups.

The late 1970s and 1980s can not be compared to 2013 ...
At least in Europe / Germany 50% of the advertisements in magazins were about exchange speakers of guitar and bass cabs!
The Pickup exchange market was 90% in the hands of DiMarzio and the motto was: "Switch as switch can!" ...
In Germany we had brands like Rockinger - in America surely Mighty Mite, Charvel or Schecter? The Rockinger bass PUs are still No.1 for me if you want a real Fender 60s sound.

Nowadays it's SD everywhere - but in the 1980s it was DiMarzio! The hot humbuckers (for Jazz Bass or guitars) were something totally new. It weas a revolution compared to everything Fender offered at that time.

Yeah, you're right,

there are a lot of "the best pu ever" pups on the market, and each month there is a new company calling their own pups better than the pups of other companies before.
Sometimes I think there is a challenge "who switched pups the most", LOL

The Rockinger pups are really very good pups for the money, no need to pay more to get a Fralin or so. Maybe some guys hear differences, I can't.

Greetz

[georgiagoodie]

Originally Posted by SGD Lutherie

You can't coil tap those. You would only hear two strings because they are slit coils. Do you mean series/parallel?

You're right. I believe the accurate DiMarzio description is "Dual Sound", which is Series/Parallel...sure sounds like a coil tap switch though...;D

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by georgiagoodie

You're right. I believe the accurate DiMarzio description is "Dual Sound", which is Series/Parallel...sure sounds like a coil tap switch though...;D

Yes. I had a bass set up the same way once, but it was a P/J.