• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Bartolini B-Axis pickups don’t fit

Redbutton

Redbutton

Feb 20, 2003
153
61
New York
www.facebook.com
#1
Has anyone had issues with Bartolini B-Axis pickups not fitting in your bass?
I currently have Bartolini 9J1’s installed (which fit fine). The B-Axis neck pickup fits but the bridge pickup is too big. I had the same issue a year and a half ago, and was told by Bartolini that the new run corrected this problem. Doesn’t seem to be the case…
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rich-Cincy Kid
#3
I had the same issue in my Lakland. The neck fit perfectly but the bridge not even…
I used my Dremel to slightly enlarge the ear routes. Every other pickup I ‘ve tried fit easily without mods.
 
#6
Well I have some experience with mods and it required less than 1mm widening.
So you can’t tell something was done to it.
Mine are J55J-19. Fender 5 string size.
I tried it on a Fender US Deluxe. Still wouldn’t fit.
 
#9
dwizum said:
What are the part numbers on the bottoms of your B axis pickups? Do you have a caliper or other way to accurately measure them?
Click to expand...
FC75CC0B-C284-46A1-B8C2-DA7123F47595.jpeg
 
#10
Ok so we know you have a legitimate L-S pair. I'd be tempted to put some calipers on them and compare it to their specs. Or just email them, especially since you said you had this problem with a prior set.
 
#11
dwizum said:
Ok so we know you have a legitimate L-S pair. I'd be tempted to put some calipers on them and compare it to their specs. Or just email them, especially since you said you had this problem with a prior set.
Click to expand...

I've actually been in touch with them about this going back to May of 2020 when the first set I got didn't fit. They asked me to send those back to them so they could take measurements. A full month after I returned them, they were finally able to take measurements and conclude that the B-Axis were bigger than the 9J1's by about .020".

They told me they were extremely short-staffed because of Covid, but they wanted to address the issue and fix it. They assured me that once the next batch of B-Axis were available, they would not be over-sized. They said they'd send a corrected set directly to me, so I waited a few months for that to happen. Then in February of 2021 they changed the plan and said I'd now have to go through Sweetwater again. So I had to get back in line at Sweetwater and wait for them to get stock, which they finally did a few weeks ago. I just had my tech try to install the new set and it was the same exact problem; no difference. The neck pickup fit, but the bridge was too big. Very frustrating and kind of weird that Bartolini can't even match the dimensions of their other pickups.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tindrum and dwizum
#12
That's very weird coming from a company that's been fairly consistent and great about customer service for the 20ish years I've been buying stuff from them. If I were in your shoes and it was definitely just a .020" difference I'd be tempted to rout the cavity a hair bigger. There's definitely a lot of variation in Jazz pickup dimensions from brand to brand but it's unexpected to see it within one brand.
 
#13
I definitely was not anxious to route the pickup cavity and risk chipping the finish. That’s why I held off when they told me they were going to correct the issue. I just did not expect that it was going to take them over a year and half to do that, and then after waiting all that time, they still didn’t solve the problem. So now I guess I have to route the bass and hope for the best.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dwizum
#14
Redbutton said:
Has anyone had issues with Bartolini B-Axis pickups not fitting in your bass?
I currently have Bartolini 9J1’s installed (which fit fine). The B-Axis neck pickup fits but the bridge pickup is too big. I had the same issue a year and a half ago, and was told by Bartolini that the new run corrected this problem. Doesn’t seem to be the case…
Click to expand...
Flash forward... looks like these are a still a little oversized. I just received a set of B-Axis J44J-L/S for my Lull M4V fretless, and the opposite happened. The bridge pickup fits, but the neck pickup is too broad at the mounting ears to fit the route. The original pickups were Fralin single coil, and the pickups I just took out of it are Bill Lawrence / Wylde J-45's. I'm not willing to enlarge the route on this one, so I didn't bother measuring with calipers. The mounting ears on the B-Axis pickups flare outwards at the bottom. The neck pickup fits in upside down only about a quarter of the way. I did consider filing the pickup ears, but I'm not that dead set on making them work in this bass.

I haven't tried them in any other Jazz body because all but one I own are assembled (the one that isn't is in a box... somewhere).
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Malak the Mad
#16
Curiosity got the better of me. I pulled them out of the box and measured. The ears on the neck pickup measure 29.68 at the widest (base of the pickup). The neck pickup ear routes in the Lull m4v body measure 29.20mm across. I located my unloaded body- can't remember the origin. It's unfinished and the pickup just fits, but it's snug. It won't fit after the bass is finished without modification. For comparison, the Bill Lawrence J45N measures 28.29mm ear to ear.

This just deepened the curiosity, so I out a few more sets of pickups I have on hand and measured them (all 4 string long/short Jazz pickups)
Bartolini B-Axis J44JL (bridge): 29.90mm, J44J-S (neck) 29.63mm

Bill Lawrence J45 Neck: 28.29, Bridge 28.46
Dimarzio Area J DP248BK: 28.56mm - neck and bridge
Dimarzio Model J DP123S (neck) 28.73. DP123L Neck: 28.94
Lindy Fralin (original pickups from Mike Lull): Neck 28.70, Bridge: 28.80
Aguilar AG 4J-70 Neck 28.52, Bridge: 28.39 (single coil, not potted)

So I can confirm the Bartolini B-Axis appear to be larger than average, and may be a tough fit for some basses without enlarging the routes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Malak the Mad
#17
Another update... I have a return label for the B-Axis, but I'd really love it if I could fit them in something, if just to try them out!
I pulled the pickups (Dimarzio Area J and Ultra J) from my MJT body fretless to see if the B-Axis will fit. Nope. The tabs are wide of the routes for both the neck and bridge pickups and will not fit without enlarging the routes. It's a little hard to see, but the ear routes just don't line up at all. Yes there's copper foil lining them, and I could remove it, but I don't think it would be enough for them to fit. So it's becoming clear to me that Bartolini strayed wide of the mark here vs "standard" jazz bass pickup dimensions.

Neck:
1750516703989.png


Bridge:
1750516724479.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: Malak the Mad
#18
JdoubleH said:
So I can confirm the Bartolini B-Axis appear to be larger than average, and may be a tough fit for some basses without enlarging the routes.
Click to expand...
I ran into a similar issue putting a set into a Warmoth body. I had to rasp a little finish off the inside of the bridge route's mounting ear slots to get it in. Initially, I thought it was a boo-boo by Warmoth, since I had no issues putting my first set into two, different bodies. This MIM Fender FSR body...

LZcKxS7.jpeg


...then later, this Fender MIM Geddy body.

dfivtlU.jpeg


But, not long ago, another TB'er posted on some other thread in Pickups & Electronics that they had the same problem, too. They said they contacted Bartolini and were told how some units' epoxy swelled and expanded a little bit, enough to be a too-tight fit. If that's true, then it wasn't a sloppy miscalculation on Bartolini's part, but rather they ended up with either a bunch of units with fractionally expansive epoxy or shells that weren't as robust as their usual products.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5StringPocket and JdoubleH
#19
Malak the Mad said:
I ran into a similar issue putting a set into a Warmoth body. I had to rasp a little finish off the inside of the bridge route's mounting ear slots to get it in. Initially, I thought it was a boo-boo by Warmoth, since I had no issues putting my first set into two, different bodies. This MIM Fender FSR body...

LZcKxS7.jpeg


...then later, this Fender MIM Geddy body.

dfivtlU.jpeg


But, not long ago, another TB'er posted on some other thread in Pickups & Electronics that they had the same problem, too. They said they contacted Bartolini and were told how some units' epoxy swelled and expanded a little bit, enough to be a too-tight fit. If that's true, then it wasn't a sloppy miscalculation on Bartolini's part, but rather they ended up with either a bunch of units with fractionally expansive epoxy or shells that weren't as robust as their usual products.
Click to expand...

The question I have, is how do you like them? Been interested in these as a hum cancelling option but I'll probably choose another brand just to not have to deal with them potentially not fitting.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Malak the Mad
#20
Siiverado44 said:
The question I have, is how do you like them? Been interested in these as a hum cancelling option but I'll probably choose another brand just to not have to deal with them potentially not fitting.
Click to expand...
Personally speaking, I really dig them! They are definitely modern sounding, almost hi-fi, if that makes any sense...especially if you compare them to the older Jazzy offerings by Led Zeppelin. Putting aside any fancy-shmancy qualifiers, I can objectively say they have plenty of low end on top of the growliness one would expect a Jazz bass to have. They were exactly what I was hoping for...thump and growl in the same package.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back