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Bassline VS. EMG for jazz bass

Jbyjnkx57

Jbyjnkx57

Jan 24, 2011
318
1
Adrian Mi 49221
#1
Alright so I'm thinking of buying a jazz bass. If I do. Then I'll be replacing the pre amp and P/U as I really don't care for passive basses or fender OEM P/Us. I'm looking for a really meaty, aggressive, sound. The two manufacturers that caught my eye were EMG and Duncan. Does anyone have a say of which is better for what I'm looking for or a summary of what each companies strong and weak points are? And if you have preamp input that's very well appreciated too! I've been looking at the OB3 and the sadowsky ones Just because I've played a sadowsky and loved it and Aguilar is awesome too (plus they are both active!!!) And I'm looking to add a 2 or 3 band eq with the preamp if possible. So any input is appreciated and thanks guys!
 
#4
Most EMGs have a modern tech sort of sound. They can sound powerful, but it may not be your thing. There's an EMG comparison thread right not of a few of the soapbars. Yeah they aren't the J-style pickups, but it will give you an idea of the EMG sound.

Duncan has some good stuff. Quarter pounders, Hot stacks, and Hot for Jazz may be what you are looking for.


Dimarzio Ultra Jazz and Model J's have a lot of good words around said about them. Model J's are pretty hot and grindy, but overall are fairly balanced. Ultra Jazz takes the Model J and turns the treble and bass up to 11.

I think an Ultra Jazz would probably sound really good at the bridge. For my tastes, it might be too much at the neck.
 
#6
lowendgenerator said:
I suggest either Sadowsky singles or Dimarzio Ultra-Jazz pickups. I was just turned on to the Ultra Jazz pickups, and they're angry as all hell.
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Agreed. The DiMarzio Ultra Js are angry...definitely worth a look. I can only imagine what they would sound like with a pre-amp.

I also like the SD Quarter Pounder and Hot series, but if I was going to go with a matched pair for a J, I'd choose the Hot for Jazz over the QPs. They're more well balanced, IMO.
 
#7
Thanks for the response guys. Well the dimarzios are DEFINITELY a serious consideration after all the good Rep I'm getting from them. Those and the Duncan hots. Anyone have a preamp suggestion to go with them or one that we know works? With preamps is it they are all relatively the same sounding or is there a lot of texture difference?
 
#8
Jbyjnkx57 said:
Thanks for the response guys. Well the dimarzios are DEFINITELY a serious consideration after all the good Rep I'm getting from them. Those and the Duncan hots. Anyone have a preamp suggestion to go with them or one that we know works? With preamps is it they are all relatively the same sounding or is there a lot of texture difference?
Click to expand...

I don't have a great deal of experience with preamps, as I tend to stay away from active electronics. Two brands that are usually mentioned are [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] and Audere.
 
#11
ghostdog93 said:
I don't have a great deal of experience with preamps, as I tend to stay away from active electronics. Two brands that are usually mentioned are [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] and Audere.
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I have Audere in my fretless and Aguilar in my Ibanez.

Audere to my ear sounds more transparent, classier, refined, concert hall kind of thing. It reproduces the sound of my bass and technique faithfully (with my beginning fretless skills that's not necessarily a good thing - yet :)

Aguilar OBP-3 has a definite character. Very punchy and with nice growly mids for rock and roll.

Both are excellent, but in my opinion they are different tools for different jobs.
 
#12
For preamps I favor the basslines, the basslines blackout is very very good at much lower price then the competition and also has selectable treble center freq. I passed on most of the higher priced pres due to their not having the freq centers I wanted btw. Is a more modern sounding preamp that works great with any pups imo. EMg preamps would be my other pick for best for the money and personal wants sound wise.
 
#14
maturanesa said:
i would go with the EMGs, very clean and noiseless.

Di Marzios generally have hum issues, even being humbuckers.. you have some hum that dissapair when you touch the strings..but kinda annoying when recording...
SD single coils literally hum when soloed.. every time...
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That's a grounding issue, not your pick-ups. Your amp is making a hum because it's not grounding properly, then whenever you touch something metal on your bass (strings, bridge, tuners) you become the ground and the noise goes away.
 
#16
darkstorm said:
For preamps I favor the basslines, the basslines blackout is very very good at much lower price then the competition and also has selectable treble center freq. I passed on most of the higher priced pres due to their not having the freq centers I wanted btw. Is a more modern sounding preamp that works great with any pups imo. EMg preamps would be my other pick for best for the money and personal wants sound wise.
Click to expand...

I've used the EMG Invalid Link Removed and I really liked it - about 12db of boost/cut for bass & treble, which did wonders for the EMG PHZ pups it was paired with. It runs about $80, but technically, it's not a pre amp, so I don't know if it really fills the OP's needs.
 
#18
First Make yourself a large coffee (or drink of choice)

Take about a hour out of your day (maybe a little more) and then go through the following stcky in the pickup section.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f38/j-pickups-discussion-comparisons-91384/

There are opinion based descriptions and there are more overall specific descriptions that apply to certain pickups.

It should not take much to be able to tell which is which when you first start reading it.

Good Luck
Oh and PLEASE share your results (thats how we all learn bit more).
 

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