stupid question about Fender Jazz pups

[poleposition]

Hello,

I've no experience with the Fender Jazz and had a dumb question.

On a Jazz bass that has a pair of true single-coil pickups, does the volume control of each pickup need to be maxed to get the hum-cancelling effect?

In other words, if I have the neck pup at 100% volume level and the bridge pup at only 20% volume level, will the hum still be cancelled?

Thanks!
Rafe

[kevinmoore73]

Both need to be at the same volume.

[walterw]

yep, whatever volume you have them at, they both need to be at the same level for perfect hum-canceling.

that said, who cares? jazzes sound great with one pickup dialed higher than the other; a little background hum never killed anybody, especially when the band was crankin'.

[fhm555]

Originally Posted by walterw

...a little background hum never killed anybody, especially when the band was crankin'...

[khutch]

Sometimes some of us are in a situation where people do care though. The only way to get hum canceling with single coil pickups is to set the volumes equal which of course negates any capability of getting any variety of tonal blends between the two and it makes any volume change more fiddly because both pots have to be adjusted.

The only way around this is to use two coil pickups. The traditional stacked dual coil pickups like the noiseless Jazz pickups on my bass don't give you the same tone as a single coil and while that may be good or bad most people seem to hate them because of that without really giving them a chance. You can also get J pickups that are two coil but both coils are active: each coil is wound on just two of the pole pieces. So it is electrically like a P pickup but in a single J housing. Best of both worlds? Maybe, pickup performance is a very personal judgement but if you want hum canceling at any blend level and don't like the stacked coil tone then they are worth a try.

Ken

[dougjwray]

Originally Posted by walterw

yep, whatever volume you have them at, they both need to be at the same level for perfect hum-canceling.

that said, who cares? jazzes sound great with one pickup dialed higher than the other; a little background hum never killed anybody, especially when the band was crankin'.

+1
I used to be fussy about this, but all you really need to do is do a little rapid knob twisting when things go from loud to quiet and vice versa.
Even in the studio, it's never been an issue big enough to cause problems for me. Also, you can always trying turning your body this way and that until you find a quieter position.
To me, the tone of plain old single coil pickups is worth any minor hum annoyance.

[sndengr]

Same level of volume to make the harmony. It is not a dumb question. I actually asked the same question before way back when I was just starting to learn. But good thing you raise that question.

Thomas
hire sound system london

[Double Agent]

Originally Posted by walterw

that said, who cares? jazzes sound great with one pickup dialed higher than the other; a little background hum never killed anybody, especially when the band was crankin'.

This.

I use my MIA Jazz with both pickups maxed as the default tone. When I want a more nasal cutting tone, favor the bridge. Want to sound more like a P-bass, favor/solo the neck. At home, when I do this, I can hear the hum from the single-coil. But, at practice or at the gig...haven't heard the hum yet and doubt I ever will.

[poleposition]

thanks for all the great replies!

here's another question (or can of worms?)...

are single-coil jazz pups more "punchier" than humbucking jazz pups?

the bass in question is a Carvin Brian Bromberg with radiussed jazz pups (single-coil or humbucking) and Brian's preamp.

thanks!

[dougjwray]

Originally Posted by poleposition

thanks for all the great replies!

here's another question (or can of worms?)...

are single-coil jazz pups more "punchier" than humbucking jazz pups?

the bass in question is a Carvin Brian Bromberg with radiussed jazz pups (single-coil or humbucking) and Brian's preamp.

thanks!

No can of worms; it's all subjective.
To me, single coils have a "crystal clarity" and humbuckers are "thicker." I'm not sure where punchiness comes in, except that the humbuckers sound kind of "muted" to me. The single coils are more raw, less smooth.

I haven't played the Carvin bass you referenced.

[lowendgenerator]

I prefer hum cancelling jazz pickups for gigs, especially bars full of noisy neon. Boost a bit of mids and highs to get that clarity back.