Single coil MM's = Jazz pickup sound?
 

Hey guys. Tossing up whether to get my Sandberg configured with one MM at the bridge + one Jazz pickup at the neck, or two MMs.

You can flip both MMs to single coil on these basses, so I was wondering: Does doing that produce a Jazz bass sound? Effectively, is a humbucker running single coil simply a J pickup?

I have a Sandberg JM5 with Delanos, and I get a jazz:ish sound when splitting the MM, but not close enough to the real deal imho.

Besides the character of the Delanos and the preamp which are faaaar away from a standard Fender J, some of it is because of the positioning of the split coil. I've heared some Sandberg owners had good luck getting a better jazz emulation by simply turning the MM coils around top to bottom, to get the split coil closer to the bridge.

Personally, I enjoy the Sandberg for what it is and play a passive singlecoil jazz bass when I need true jazz sound. Doesn't matter how hard we try, one bass can't do it all. Unless it's a Fender P of course ;-)

Do you have any sound samples available? Love to hear this (haven't been able to find this exact model in a local shop).

I don't think switching humbuckers to single coil mode gives as good a tone as normal J pickups. My warwick $$ has that feature and while it does give you a thinner, brighter sound, I wouldn't say it takes the place of a jazz bass by any means.

Nope, but youtube is your friend there, just search for sandberg bass. Lots of crappy players, but with some good enough examples of split MM.

It depends on what kind of music you are playing really, and on what level, but the j+mm sandberg will probably be versatile enough to get you through most situations.

I've used my JM5 in my main coverband to do everything from 50's rock to 80's hard rock to modern dance hits and it sounds good enough for it all.

Be warned though, even in passive mode and with split MM it will NOT sound like a vintage:ish, passive Fender Jazz. If you really need that sound you might want to look at another brand than Sandberg, or consider their passive, J+J basses.

I play weird metal, for the most part: http://errata.bandcamp.com/

I'm not so much after a vintage Jazz sound. It's more the snap, growl and playability of Jazzes that I really like. The fact the Sandy sounds a bit more modern is a plus, but I do like the beef of having an MM at the bridge and was just thinking, hey, if BOTH pickups can act like Jazz pickups, why not just get one of these axes with two MMs?

The YouTube players do Sandberg absolutely no favours, for the most part. Even that Marlowe guy is rough as guts. Why do peeps dig him so much? There's one guy who plays a Jamiroquai cover and sounds amazing, though. Wish I could find that for you.

Well, that was...wierd...metal ;-) If beef and modern are keywords, I'm shure you will be happy with 2 x MM. Even when splitted the 'berg won't give you a true Jazz growl and snap though.

As to Marlowe, I agree that he sounds like crap on the signature videos. He is an amazing player though with lots of instruction videos on the tube with more traditional finger/funk/slap material, well worth checking out just for his sound and playing. The videos feature lots of vintage Fenders that probably suit his playing style and genres better than the Sandberg. But hey, why should he say no to a free sig Sandberg, right ;-)

Haha, thank you. Not even my mother can pretend to like it.

This is the vid I was talking about. Killer. I love the tone this guy got (but he's just using a regular Sandy Jazz copy): http://youtu.be/pLTKdWIgG5A

Didn't say it was bad, only agreed that is was wierd. I'm middleaged, and have gone full circle back to passive fourstrings with a reborn passion for classic fingerfunk, so who am I to judge anything metal anyway ;-)

Yeah, that guy has a chewy tone, but there seems to be quite a bit of processing going on on the side in the clip.

Sandbergs are great basses, but as to "beefy", "modern" and chewy slaptones, have you considered a dual-pup Stingray or Bongo instead?

I once saw a man take heroin during one of our shows.

I don't slap at all anymore, so I hazard a guess a nice Stingray would be totally wasted on me. I used to gas for them hard, but now I want a bass that is less about the actual low-end and more about the tone of the bass. I love basses like that. I want to hear the whole degustation menu of the filth between the wounds on the strings. Jazzes seem to be all about that. Funny thing: I'm trying to find the ultimate Jazz copy, I guess. I really don't dig Fender. I played one of their newer Deluxes and it was such a dog. Those N3 pickups are gross.

So one could say we have the tonal characteristics down to "beefy", "modern" and "clarity" then? ;-)

I still think that you should try out a 'ray or Bongo - if I was into any kind of modern metal myself a Bongo would be my first choice, even though the looks may be an aquired taste... If you are dead set on a Sandberg then my guess is that you won't be disapointed in one or two MM pups on it, but this discussion could probably benefit from some more input from our fellow forumites ;-)

Try posting this in the Sandberg club thread under Basses too perhaps?

I have a Jazz and I have my $$, and I use my $$ almost entirely in single coil mode and usually very heavily favoring the bridge pickup.

To my ears it sounds much beefier and less nasal than my jazz bass in the same configuration, while retaining the clarity and presence that I enjoy about single coils.

Please tell me you have sound samples.

Not isolated but you can hear me in a mix (with a pedal or two sometimes) in any of the links in my sig)

Checking out Breakhouse. This is your $$ in singe-coil mode? Reminds me a leeeetle bit of Flea's tone. You got anything else going on with your tone for these recordings?

There are some effect pedals being used on some tracks, but yes single coil mostly bridge on my $$.

Appreciate the Flea comparison, he's got great tone even if he's not necessarily my inspiration.:)

What exact bass are you using on this, by the way? A lot of the time when folk say $$, it tends to refer to Warwick (I think).

Yep. Warwick Corvette $$.

That's because one coil in a humbucker is not wound the same as a Jazz pickup. A J has more wire on it, so it sounds fuller.

A humbucker can be made with one coil having a tap, where it's wound to match the other coil, then you run out a tap wire, and then wound more to sound good in single coil mode. So when you switch to single coil more you active the extra windings.

Any knowledge on whether that's the case for the SD Basslines ceramic MM humbuckers I have? I realize it's apples and oranges but it sounds way better in single coil than the MIA jazz pickups I have in my Jazz.