Pickup advice wanted

Shinji · #1 03-01-2011, 02:05 AM

I'm wishing to replace pickups in two basses, just wondering what would be best for each respectively

:Ibanez SR450

:Ibanez Jazz Bass copy

I would appreciate any advice/opinions as I'm so far undecided

spaz21387 · #2 03-01-2011, 02:12 AM

what dont you like about pickups id try new strings first before you swap pickups... but you cant go wrong with nordstrand nj4s in a j bass

Shinji · #3 03-01-2011, 02:21 AM

I bought my jazz copy years ago and the previous owner had rewired it with only one pickup in the neck. I've rewired it now with all new pots, input, capacitor and wiring. However i would love to put in some nice new pickups.

As for the soundgear, I really love this bass but feel that some new pickups would help it sound nicer.

walterw · #4 03-01-2011, 07:47 PM

again, "new pickups" doesn't tell us anything. new ibanez pickups would sound just like what you have. better pickups, from bartolini or wherever, would indeed make a nice difference.

what's the shape of the stock ones (pics?), and what kind of music do you want to use these for? that will narrow things down and should net some useful suggestions.

Shinji · #5 03-02-2011, 02:30 AM

I play a wide range of styles of music, I'm just after workable tone.
More than anything I'm after a set of decent pickups for the jazz bass, for an affordable price.

Are the fender replacements any good ? They are really cheap and most likely better than the pickup in there at the moment.

Sparky Mark · #6 03-02-2011, 01:25 PM

What type and shape of pups are on the SR450, I couldn't find any photos on Google?

Shinji · #7 03-03-2011, 07:19 PM

104mm x 39mm

walterw · #8 03-03-2011, 07:48 PM

oh, that's easy then: EMG "40" series pickups, they'll fit right in. their new "x" line have an updated preamp, so i'd look there. the CS dual-coil version would be big but still clear, a nice choice for lots of modern music.

oh, and i'd lose the ibanez preamp, too. lots of good choices there, including EMG as well.

Sparky Mark · #9 03-06-2011, 04:03 PM

That's an SR405. Have a look at the Bartolini site, they have a good selection of pups and pre amps. I recently swapped out Ibanez MK1 pups and pre on my SR500 and it made the world of difference.