Billy Sheehan's split outputs, for a Jazz?

[zagralin_arf]

I recently found a 1991 Yamaha Attitude Standard, and this led to me getting into the idea of buying a full fledged new model Attitude.

In researching the bass I started to wonder what it would sound like if I made a bass and used the concept of split pickups but with a set of Jazz pickups instead of the Precision pickup he uses.

Anybody seen anything like this before?

 

[SeaK]

Well, I can´t remember seeing such a setup with a jazz but for example Rickenbackers have their stereo output with two pickups on roughly the same locations as you would have your jazz pickups and Ricky´s are often used in biamp setups so I don´t see any problem why it wouldn´t work well with a jazz, too! I recently modified a Gibson Thunderbird 1990 and placed an EB-0 pickup in front of the normal TB neck pickup and I made another output to that pickup - it worked AWESOME with my 8x10 + 2x15 biamp setup. Too bad some dork stole the bass from me just a few weeks ago.

 

[castleshade13]

i have a yamaha Attitude II as my main bass, but for other stuff (and as my third back up) i use a rather butchered =( Jazz bass, i moved the pickups about 3mm back (the middle one a bit more maybe 5) and added a model one to the neck and i run is stereo

I found its the ultimate reggae bass lol

it can do alot though i tend to use more mids with the low end covered so the jazz picups really hit home

 

[zagralin_arf]

You got a picture of that? I'd like to see that

 

[Bob C]

zagralin arf,

My guess is that if you like the JJ sound, you'll like it just as much or more with the "split" setup.

It might be out of fashion nowadays, but gearheads used to do all kinds of stereo pickup setups, mostly to do the clean/fx thing at the pups vs a blender. Blenders are more sophisticated now, but I think there are pros and cons to each method.

A friend of mine made his Jazz bass into a P/J before that was the industry standard. He wire it in stereo and often ran each pickup into a separate channel of his SVT. His idea was to go fo a "treble channel" and a "bass channel".

 

[zagralin_arf]

Thats my idea, but I want my treble/fx channel to be JJ and my bass channel to be the gibson style neck position humbucker.

 

[Bob C]

Oh, that would be monstrous. Kind of like a MM in the bridge position... only different. One of Warwick's models (Thumb?) used to have a double J pickup in the bridge. But of course it had another J neck pup - not a Gibson humbucker.

I have entertained the idea of a two pickup bass (PJ, JJ or whatever) PLUS a J pickup for effects only.

But I digress...

 

[zagralin_arf]

What I am thinking is just take the neck pickup, the Dimarzio Willpower, out of an Attitude and put it right on a Jazz bass, there will be room. So you got that classic Jazz bass growl and you can grind some drive and treble on that channel but still keep the bass going with that neck pickup. That make sense?

 

[Bob C]

Yeah, that makes sense. I guess my mind wandered for a while. So, that Dimarzio will fit in front of the neck Jazz pickup - probably right up against the end of the fingerboard, right?

 

[castleshade13]

don't take a will power out an attitude! thats sacralige! just buy one! jokes

the will power is less intense then a model one (as in buy dimarzio less bass and mid and treble) but has more out put

sorry my camera is broken

i asked dimarzio for coloured front pickup up like the attitudes one (white) as my jazz bass's pick guard is that colour!

=D

unless your next to it it looks just like a jazz bass to a trained eye it looks like a weird jazz bass

 

[zagralin_arf]

Yeah, that makes sense. I guess my mind wandered for a while. So, that Dimarzio will fit in front of the neck Jazz pickup - probably right up against the end of the fingerboard, right?

Exactly. The idea is that the Attitude is a suped up Precision bass, based off of Billy's bass "The Wife." I want to take that same concept just apply it to the other timeless Fender, the Jazz. I'm thinking it will be an awesome sound...can't wait to get the money for it.

I'm thinking of doing it to one of those new 70's Jazz basses.

 

[beezerjoe]

I loved the Ric 4001's I had so I just had a custom Jazz built last year by Scot Moon of Moon Guitars in Monterey and we wired it for stereo or mono with two mono jacks and stacked pots like a '62 for both pick ups. Plug in the top jack and it puts the neck and bridge in mono. Plug in the second jack and it splits the pick ups in stereo. I have always had enough preamps, power amps and cabs to run two rigs since the Rickenbackers. With my Jazz it sounds huge and powerful with lot's of definition once you get it set up proper. If I run effects at all I always run them on the bridge side and leave the neck side dry and eq'd to a lower tone than the bridge. Which is nice because you don't have to worry about the effects killing any of your bottom end. Kind of costly in the amp department but well worth doing in my opinion. Sorry if I got carried away.