A Hum-less jazz bass??

[MVE]

hey guys...wouldn’t it be great if they SLICED bread before they sold it??

Im just kidding.

OP, it is an excellent question.

But yeah, there are plenty of “jazz style” (size, look) pickups that flip the windings backwards halfway through the wind, making them “humbuckers”.

The problem is, they don’t sound exactly like real single coils. And they don’t perform exactly like real single coils.

So a J bass with noiseless pickups isn’t going to sound just like a real ‘62 Jazz.

 

[mikewalker]

I recently did a humbucking JB shootout with many of the leading brands (Bart/SD/Dmz/EMG/Lace/Sadowsky etc), and these turned out to be tied for first:

CaliGuitar.com

almost free!!

 

[thmsjordan]

The N3 pickups in my Am. Dlx. Jazz 5 circa 2013 are dead quiet.

 

[darwin-bass]

so assuming that both pickups are being used,

If we are talking about hum it is much safer to assume pickups are being soloed.

 

[jglunt]

Thank you for your replies! I love to learn. I've never seen what I'm specifically talking about. Yes, there are noiseless pickups for a jazz bass. But I'm not just talking about a skinny humbucker designed to drop-in to a jazz bass. I'm talking about a split-coil-offest-humbucker that would be a single coil pickup on each string, but offset 2X2 like a P-bass pickup. Each 2-string section would be thin, like a jazz bass pickup, but the two sections would be offset and wired as a humbucker, as in a P-bass. There would be two of these pickups on each bass in the usual jazz bass pickup positions. Maybe those tiny drop-in humbuckers still sound like a jazz bass, but I think a split coil jazz bass pickup could sound exactly like a jazz bass without the hum. Maybe they're out there and I just haven't run across them. In my experience, aftermarket pickups are made to be drop-ins. These wouldn't be. It would take a different bass body and pickguard. If such a bass exists, let me know. I would like to see it...Jim

 

[B-Mac]

This. For example, my band prefers to hear hum more than my actual playing.

Things that make you go Hmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[jglunt]

If we are talking about hum it is much safer to assume pickups are being soloed.

Yes, or even not having the pickup volumes adjusted the same. The simplest way would be to do as Timothy B. Schmit had Carvin do...a single volume control. Never any hum.

 

[Ostie]

A lot of people dime the pickups. That’s just asking for hum. For me, the neck and body, plus the tone, are why I bought a J. I just never bonded with a P. But I like Gibson and Epiphone and hollow bodies, so I’m an odd ball.

 

[iiipopes]

What isn't mentioned is when the hum is experienced, and how the pickups are being used.

AFAIK, Jazz bass pickups are wound RWRP, so assuming that both pickups are being used, it should naturally cancel any hum. Certainly, all the Jazz basses I've owned have been like that.

Also, when is the hum being experienced? At home, in front of a PC? At gigs or rehearsals?

As mentioned, there are a few options for hum cancelling / split coil JB pickups out there.

1. Any time one J-pickup is used alone, it is prone to all the noise and hum as is any single coil pickup.
2. RWRP is only effective to cancel hum when both volume knobs are at the same or nearly the same level.
3. Distinguish between 60-cycle hum and electrostatic noise. 60-cycle (or 50-cycle in Europe, Australia and Japan) hum is what the humbucking pickup was designed to counter, not electrostatic noise. All pickups without shielding, whether single coil, humbucking, or any variant, can still pick up electrostatic noise, whether from line sources, fluorescent or neon lights, TV/CRT sources, dimmers on incandescent lights, or whatever. That's the reason original Gibson PAF guitar humbuckers had a nickel cover, and still do: to shield the electrostatic noise as well as the coils working together to cancel 60-cycle hum. This is also why other pickups, for example Lace Sensors and DiMarzio Area pickups, have internal shielding against the noise, not necessarily the hum.

 

[jglunt]

Thanks. I once had a '70 Fender P-bass that was quiet as could be until the band I was playing with bought a light system to use in clubs that didn't have one. Yikes, it sure screamed then. The hum I'm talking about in the hypothetical bass of this thread would be the usual single coil pickup hum of a jazz bass when using just one at a time...Jim

 

[Ricky Rioli]

I'm talking about a split-coil-offest-humbucker that would be a single coil pickup on each string, but offset 2X2 like a P-bass pickup. Each 2-string section would be thin, like a jazz bass pickup, but the two sections would be offset and wired as a humbucker, as

So like this except the two halves arranged like a P's split pickup?

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Fender make two sets of Noiseless Jazz Pickups, but from what I've read, none of their Noiseless range sound quite like their standard single coil equivalents.
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender/Gen-4-Noiseless-Jazz-Bass-Pickups.gc

Nah, not quite. But, they do sound good. They retain the high end, but the gen4 standards have more growl (low mid) than the standard singles. Not a whole lot more, but it is there. And a good amount more output. I'd actually compare them more to a set of nordy blades than jazz singles. Except, they're stacked humbuckers. I guess, "a little more aggressive", would be a good way to describe them.

 

[JazzbassArt]

Fender Super 55’s are dead quite, while kicking a**.

 

[jglunt]

Yes, Ricky, that's exactly what I was thinking, but I guess it's not needed. I feel pretty foolish. First, the only jazz bass I ever owned until I recently bought a little Indonesian one was a 60-something Fender jazz bass--my very first bass--that I bought used in 1970. I sold it to a friend who needed it in 1971. Having gone 50 years without a jazz bass left me out of touch with the technology (though I have owned and still do own many other basses). Second, I was told by a friend that the coils had to be offset in order to make a pickup hum-cancelling. I guess that's wrong. Third, when I was growing up, my mom baked our bread, and you definitely had to slice it yourself. I appreciate you guys educating me on these pickups, whose prices vary wildly. One last question: Since the Dragonfires mentioned here are the cheapest I've found, are they good? I hate to spend $400 for aftermarket pickups for a $300 bass. That'd be like the cowboy who buys a hundred dollar hat to wear with his 50 dollar suit...Jim

 

[pbassnut]

Certainly one of the most iconic bass guitar sounds is the jazz bass. But unless you keep the volumes adjusted evenly, you can get hum. Of course, a P-bass doesn't do that because of the split coil humbucker. Why not build a jazz bass with two pickups that are the same look and size (windings, magnetic design, etc.) of straight single coil jazz bass pickups, but make them split coil humbuckers? Has that ever been done? I've seen basses wired with two P-bass size and style pickups, but never with two smaller jazz bass style pickups that had been split. It seems to me that would preserve the jazz bass sound without the hum. Any thoughts?..Jim

I have a few Jazz Basses loaded with DiMarzio Area J pickups which are humbuckers. They don't have an exactly traditional single coil sound but are quiet as a church mouse and authentic sounding enough, IMHO ... relatively inexpensive, too.

DiMarzio - Pickups - DP249BK Area J 4 String Set Black - Best Bass Gear

 

[jglunt]

I have a few Jazz Basses loaded with DiMarzio Area J pickups which are humbuckers. They don't have an exactly traditional single coil sound but are quiet as a church mouse and authentic sounding enough, IMHO ... relatively inexpensive, too.

DiMarzio - Pickups - DP249BK Area J 4 String Set Black - Best Bass Gear

Thanks. That is indeed a good price for a set. I appreciate the recommendation!..Jim

 

[40Hz]

Some people like that hum, everything doesn’t have to be glossy and perfect.

“I like hum” said no player ever.

 

[Clark W]

Fender makes a noiseless J pup.

Aguilar makes one, and they split it into two halves that cancel each other out just like a P pup does. But they keep the two halves inline with each other and under one housing.

Quite a few pup makers are doing it.

 

[sxaxsx]

Yeah lots of split coil noiseless pickups out there. I just reinstalled Dimarzio Ultra Jazz pickups in my bass last week. I can't say they are a genuine sounding jazz tone, really I like P tone, so when I solo the Dimarzio neck pickup and roll the tone back I get a pretty great tone for my needs, Jazz purists may not approve.

 

[jglunt]

Well, I'm not a jazz purist, and it's a good thing, because this little bass I picked up to experiment with is a G&L Tribute JB-2, which they apparently don't even offer anymore. It looks a little like G&L's L2000--no pickguard, similar body shape, nice wood grain under the sunburst--but it has jazz-style alnico pickups instead of the MFD humbuckers and has the usual jazz style V-V-T controls. The pickups are surprisingly hot with good tone--maybe a little heavy in the low mids, but certainly not bad. I tend to like a bright tone on my bass anyway. They do hum, though, unless you match up the volume of the two of them. With their low-mid emphasis, I'd like to play with the bridge pickup hotter than the neck, but that creates hum. I grabbed it as a B-stock, so I don't have a lot of money in it, so I can afford to mess with it some. I do kinda hate to take out those hot pickups, but...