Pickups for MIM Jazz V.

[Mike M.]

If I may let me sidetrack a bit. I have a Squire P bass (stock and passive) that I've had for a few years, haven't played it much but this past week I've totally fallen in love with it. With old Fender flat wounds on it and playing it thru my GK MB115 the tone is just THERE and the output from the bass is very good.

Funny thing is, I've had my GK for a few months now and while I like it a lot....I wasn't totally loving it But I needed an amp and it's what I could afford within my budget. Then last week I wiped the dust off the Squire, plugged it in and now I can't stop smiling!

This brings me to the bass I have been using, my MIM Jazz 5 bass. I like the basic vibe of it but I know it could sound better. In terms of output the Squire walks all over it. In order to get the J even close to the Squires output I have to crank the mids on the on board preamp and add a healthy dose of bass and treble as well. But it just doesn't have that "umph" that I'm looking for or that "organic" quality. (Yeah, the term "organic" gets used a lot but it seems to fit.) The pickups heights on the J are adjusted fine and the battery is good.

In terms of output I don't know if anyone has done a comparison between the Squire P and the Fender that I have. But I know I would like to try going passive with my J 5 string and have the same kind of output that my Squire has, if that's possible.

So as it turn's out it wasn't the amp I wasn't digging but rather the sound from my MIM. Hope this all made sense. Any recommendations are much appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

[jacostilllives]

Short answer, yes you can change from active to passive, but it would be a PITA and you would have to rewire the entire thing. You can just swap the pickups out for something with more output. I hear the nordstrands have a lot of output or you can go with seymour duncans for a lot less.

Personally I don't mind having less or more output.. That's what the gain control is for. I know what you're talking about when you say umph though. The P has it better than the J IMO.

On the other hand the J will cut through your mix better and give you a totally different tone if that tone is what you're looking for. Some people like the J tone some would rather have a P. It all depends on what you're trying to achieve.

Last note... Are you suuuree the pickups are the right height? Even a millimeter makes a big difference. Or maybe your P pickups are too high?

[Mike M.]

Originally Posted by jacostilllives

Short answer, yes you can change from active to passive, but it would be a PITA and you would have to rewire the entire thing. You can just swap the pickups out for something with more output. I hear the nordstrands have a lot of output or you can go with seymour duncans for a lot less.

Personally I don't mind having less or more output.. That's what the gain control is for. I know what you're talking about when you say umph though. The P has it better than the J IMO.

On the other hand the J will cut through your mix better and give you a totally different tone if that tone is what you're looking for. Some people like the J tone some would rather have a P. It all depends on what you're trying to achieve.

Last note... Are you suuuree the pickups are the right height? Even a millimeter makes a big difference. Or maybe your P pickups are too high?

I'm at work right now so I can't give you an exact number. But I know the pickups on the J a fairly close to the strings, but not over board. As far as the pickups on the P, I just adjusted the heights until I found that sweet spot. Same as the J....fairly close to the strings.

[Nedmundo]

Sounds like you have the Deluxe Active Jazz, which I believe has stacked noiseless pickups. That design usually produces low output, and when I've tried the four string version it sounded kinda weak to me. The low output isn't the biggest deal IMO, but for both tone and output, I bet you'd prefer Nordstrand's noiseless NJ5FS. I have them in my Am. Std. Jazz V, and they sound great in a band mix, with a strong, clear punch. They're expensive, but if you plan to keep the bass for the long term, they're worth it IMO. (The pure single coil version is less expensive, so check those if you don't mind the hum.)

I would recommend DiMarzio's Area J, which are awesome and less expensive than Nordstrands, but unfortunately the five string version doesn't fit Fenders. Why a J-bass pickup wouldn't be available in a version that fits Fender Jazz fives is beyond me, but so it goes.

[Mike M.]

Originally Posted by Nedmundo

Sounds like you have the Deluxe Active Jazz, which I believe has stacked noiseless pickups. That design usually produces low output, and when I've tried the four string version it sounded kinda weak to me. The low output isn't the biggest deal IMO, but for both tone and output, I bet you'd prefer Nordstrand's noiseless NJ5FS. I have them in my Am. Std. Jazz V, and they sound great in a band mix, with a strong, clear punch. They're expensive, but if you plan to keep the bass for the long term, they're worth it IMO. (The pure single coil version is less expensive, so check those if you don't mind the hum.)

I would recommend DiMarzio's Area J, which are awesome and less expensive than Nordstrands, but unfortunately the five string version doesn't fit Fenders. Why a J-bass pickup wouldn't be available in a version that fits Fender Jazz fives is beyond me, but so it goes.

Thanks for the info and yes, my bass is the Deluxe Active model. Actually....I went to Dimarzio's web site and it's stated that the ULTRA-J set will not fit as a direct replacement without some modification. They give no mention on this for the Area-J set. Offhand I wouldn't mind trying the Area-J's. I've had great luck with thier guitar pickups, so it seems like they'd more than have thier act together for bass pickups.

[bassist4dalord]

Originally Posted by Mike M.

Thanks for the info and yes, my bass is the Deluxe Active model. Actually....I went to Dimarzio's web site and it's stated that the ULTRA-J set will not fit as a direct replacement without some modification. They give no mention on this for the Area-J set. Offhand I wouldn't mind trying the Area-J's. I've had great luck with thier guitar pickups, so it seems like they'd more than have thier act together for bass pickups.

The Area J pickups are the same dimensions as the Ultra Jazz. I know this because I e-mailed DiMarzio; I'm looking at a set of Area J 5-string pickups for my Squier Standard Precision Special V, which these pickups fit right in to.

As for your pickup dilemma, I can't really help. I've heard good things about Nordstrand and the other usual suspects.

Good luck

[Mike M.]

Originally Posted by bassist4dalord

The Area J pickups are the same dimensions as the Ultra Jazz. I know this because I e-mailed DiMarzio; I'm looking at a set of Area J 5-string pickups for my Squier Standard Precision Special V, which these pickups fit right in to.

As for your pickup dilemma, I can't really help. I've heard good things about Nordstrand and the other usual suspects.

Good luck

Thanks for correcting me about the DiMarzio's.

[van_gogh_bass]

I have the Fender Active Deluxe Jazz V and the noiseless pickups that were stock weren't so noiseless. And the preamp made all kinds of noise.

I bought the bass used to experiment with and replaced the pre with an Audere and the pickups with Nordstrand hum cancelling pickups. Sounds great!

I also do not understand why the Ultra Jazz pups don't fit Fender five strings as those were my first choice.

[Nedmundo]

I looked into the Area J for my Jazz V, and e-mailed bestbassgear.com, who told me they wouldn't fit. They now indicate this on their site, so I'm surprised DiMarzio doesn't. It's really too bad, because IMO they're a viable alternative to the boutique brands for noiseless J pickups.

[Rano Bass]

Originally Posted by van_gogh_bass

I also do not understand why the Ultra Jazz pups don't fit Fender five strings as those were my first choice.

I dont understand that either

They (Dimarzio) should have that option IMO.

[bassbenj]

Originally Posted by Nedmundo

Sounds like you have the Deluxe Active Jazz, which I believe has stacked noiseless pickups. That design usually produces low output, and when I've tried the four string version it sounded kinda weak to me. The low output isn't the biggest deal IMO, but for both tone and output, I bet you'd prefer Nordstrand's noiseless NJ5FS. I have them in my Am. Std. Jazz V, and they sound great in a band mix, with a strong, clear punch. They're expensive, but if you plan to keep the bass for the long term, they're worth it IMO. (The pure single coil version is less expensive, so check those if you don't mind the hum.)

I would recommend DiMarzio's Area J, which are awesome and less expensive than Nordstrands, but unfortunately the five string version doesn't fit Fenders. Why a J-bass pickup wouldn't be available in a version that fits Fender Jazz fives is beyond me, but so it goes.

I have a MIM Deluxe jazz V too and the pickups seem to leave a lot to be desired. I had asked here about suggested choices a while back but didn't get much. I sort of came to Norstrands myself as the choice, but haven't bought them yet. They are expensive, but I love the tone from the samples on TB.

"What pickup" seems to be a rather universal complaint of us Deluxe V owners. I must admit that my Deluxe has no "oomph" either just as described. But otherwise it's a great playing bass.

[rojo412]

From what I've seen in my bass travels is, a single P pickup bass (be it a Squier or US, passive) will have INSANELY loud output.
A guy who was a "Student" of mine was complaining that his Marcus Miller J wasn't sounding as good as his Squier P bass. Well, it wasn't as loud, but sounded a lot better, so louder vs. better is in the ear of the beholder...

As for J pickups for 5 string guys, that market is insane. I've done a lot of research and found that Fender people do have options... but just not the usual ones.

FENDER 5 STRING SIZED: Nordstrand "F sized" series, Lindy Fralin, Duncan QP 5s (but not any others), Delano, SGD, Barts, Aero, Lakland (I think?)... and probably others.

NOT Fender size: EMG, Dimarzio/Sadowsky, most SDs.

I'd try the Nordstrands, as I've heard a lot of good about them. Once I get the extra funds to do so, I have the 03 US Dlx waiting for them.
But then again, people have been liking the latest Fender version (N3) because it has more oomph.

Oh, and Squiers use the NOT size in the Special P5 and the Deluxe active, but the US size in the Affinity J5. What's up with that?!?

[Nedmundo]

Originally Posted by rojo412

But then again, people have been liking the latest Fender version (N3) because it has more oomph.

Good to raise the issue of Fender pickups, which obviously will fit. I'm not sure whether the N3 is available, but the older SCN pickups from the previous American Deluxe generation are pretty good IMO, and they're readily available. I was always impressed with how well they captured classic J-bass tone, so I considered them for my Jazz V. Their output might be on the low side, but I still think they would be a good choice if you don't want to spend for Nordstrands.

[rojo412]

I have the SCNs and am quite content with them... well, at least I was until I tried hotter pickups (Sadowskys).
They are mellow and clear, but lack high-output. From what I've read about the N3, they seem to be more aggressive. Not harsh or bad, but more oomph.

[Medford Bassman]

I've had pretty good luck with quarterpounders on my MIM Jazz V.
These pickups are very hot much better than the stock pickups. IMO