Weak '73 J-bass pickup

Pet Sounds · #1 01-17-2010, 01:00 PM

I just scored a 1973 Fender Jazz Bass that's 100% stock. The only problem (disclosed by the seller, but obvious to the ear) is, the neck pickup output is very weak.
I need advice. Should I:
1. Leave it alone. (The bass sounds great, but I typically use the neck pu more than the bridge.)
2. Have the stock pickup rewound. What makes a pickup get weak to begin with? Is there another fix besides rewinding?
3. Replace it. If so, what replacement pickup would balance best with the stock bridge pickup, which I wouldn't want to replace? Or should I replace both pickups?
Any advice would be much appreciated.

evhest · #2 01-17-2010, 03:37 PM

Have it rewound, I'd say. I did the same with the neck pup of my '74 Jazz recently. The bass sounds like it should again and remains as close to stock as possible.

BassieMike · #3 01-17-2010, 03:45 PM

This sort of thing is usually caused by the coil having a broken winding. Check it with an ohm meter, if it is not in the 6-7k ohm range (infinity, or 250k) then this is the case. Seymour Duncan will rewind it for about $75.

-mike

Jim C · #4 01-17-2010, 04:06 PM

If it sounds good and you like it, leave it alone.
BTW, I have an early 70's J bass and both pickups seem equal in volume (in a J bass sort of way) but they are very weak compared to new basses.
How does your neck pup compare to say a newer Fender?

I love the tone of this bass but the output is so low I use a small amount of gain from a compressor to get enough gain to hit the peak light on some amps; won't touch the pups though; some serious mojo going on

cripula · #5 01-17-2010, 04:12 PM

If there's nothing wrong with the pickup it could possibly benefit from a re-magnetizing.
I have a '62 P bass that sounded a bit anemic - my tech re-magged the coils and it made a huge difference. It's a punchy beast now.

Pet Sounds · #6 01-17-2010, 06:24 PM

Thanks for the advice, guys.
The neck pickup much weaker than a new Fender, or probably any bass in existence! It is barely audible through an amp at any kind of reasonable volume level when soloed. The difference is very subtle between soloing the bridge pickup and running both pickups full out.
The bridge pickup is fairly comparable in volume to a Fender Road Worn Jazz.