Ultimate PUs for Fender RW Jazz Bass?

[Mad John]

Hi guys,

I am new to this forum and I just bought a Road Worn Jazz Bass. I really love the feel of this bass, but I could tell right away, I was going to want to swap the original Mexican pickups out, as they seem weak to me and I know that I can do better with an upgrade!

The two I was considering for great vintage J bass tone were, Lindy Fralin split coils and Duncan Antiquity 2. I really want the midrange growl, while still be able to still obtain excellent tight low end!

What are your suggestions?

[recreate.me]

From what i have read the RW Basses have specailly made Vintage sounding pickups already.. Some people have tried the SD swap already and claim no difference haha

I have always like the SD Antiquities, and the Model Js i have in HWY 1 jazz

[sporad]

I have the road worn P and I agree, the pickups are weak.
I ordered Lollars and am waiting for delivery.

[sporad]

Originally Posted by recreate.me

From what i have read the RW Basses have specailly made Vintage sounding pickups already..

Were did you read this?
If that's true, they're not very convincing.

[NKBassman]

I don't think you can go wrong with either of those choices.

For vintage goodness, also check out Jason Lollar and Curtis Novak.

And, apparently Bill Lawrence at Wilde USA makes some nice pickups too, at a fraction of the price those other guys are charging.

[Mad John]

I never did get PUs for my Road Worn, but plan to now!

I think I will give Lindy a call!

[sven kalmar]

i believe the roadworns have top quality pickups.Fender vintage Pbass pu(usa)propably the same as a American vintage or custom shop.but it should be possible to get this confirmed. I have another Pbass with a SD antiquity 2, and i like the roadworns more. perhaps a setup i needed?
my P sounds fantastic and in the shop, a very good shop, they felt it sounded as good as a similar customshop. The rest of the hardware too is top notch and contribute to the sound i suppose

[jay loren]

Originally Posted by NKBassman

I don't think you can go wrong with either of those choices.

For vintage goodness, also check out Jason Lollar and Curtis Novak.

And, apparently Bill Lawrence at Wilde USA makes some nice pickups too, at a fraction of the price those other guys are charging.

I put the B Lawrence Jazz pups in my RW jazz. Big difference!

[franksgbass]

For my J I loved the Fralins. And the Lollars were great too. But I gotta say DiMarzio model J's are hands down my favorite. I think the fact that they havent changed them since 1979 is a testament to how totally awesome they are. And if you wire them in series, they sound bigger than a P bass. Just my opinion of course, they are not the traditional Jazz tone at all, much bigger. If your into that type of thing.

[JazzPbass NXT]

I swapped my RW 60's JB pickups for the Antiquity II's within two months. Big difference. Both Lollar and Fralin are excellent choices for keeping your purchases in the USA. However Delano from Germany are superb & tons of headroom.
I had them in my 74 PBass but have just swapped them back for the original pickups that were rewound

[DERB]

Carvin makes some good inexpensive replacements for JB. i have a stacked humbucker as a bridge pup on my "JazzSpecial".

[Cadfael]

I have Delano AL/M2 humbuckers in my Maruszczyk "Elwood" (Jazz Bass) ...
It is not the 100% direct JB SC sound (burden of humbuckers) but very good! At home I mostly practise via headphones and the AL/M2 humbuckers "buck the hum" perfectly! They sound great with flatwounds as well as Elixir strings ...

[frozenbolt]

Originally Posted by DERB

Carvin makes some good inexpensive replacements for JB. i have a stacked humbucker as a bridge pup on my "JazzSpecial".

This mod caught my eye as I have an inexpensive P/J bass that I'm considering playing around with the pickups, specifically the bridge pup. I noticed while on the Carvin site that they have that stacked humbucker available.

Can you compare and contrast the two pups, stock jazz you had in there versus the stacked humbucker you added?

I'm seriously considering changing my bridge pup, as it doesn't seem to add much to the sound of the bass I have.

Thanks,
'Bolt

[tubehead2]

I have my custom warmoth jazz bass loaded with SD Antiquity I.

It is very hard to choose between my original 71 Jazz bass with original PU and electronic and warmoth loaded with SD Antiquity if I have to keep one.