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DiMarzio Area J or Model J or Relentless or other?
- Thread starter bdplaid
- Start date
Model J wired in Series humbucking...for sure.
Area J is great, but it's not going to have the midrange you're looking for.
Area J is great, but it's not going to have the midrange you're looking for.
Each of the pickups is technically humbucking, so there's 4 conductor wires. You can wire the pickup in series individually, and then wire up the pair of pickups however your preamp allows for.
Exactly this. I had Model Js in a Jazz bass years ago. For a while I had it wired so the bridge was in series mode and the neck was in parallel mode. This darkened and thickened the bridge pickup while also increasing its output relative to the neck. The result was a nicely balanced output that was incredibly responsive to picking hand placement. Model Js are great.
I’ve had the Model Js, now I have the Relentless. I like the Relentless much better.
Here are some quick sound samples I did on both Relentless pups, in every combination of series parallel.
No EQ or FX used.
Cut me some slack the demo please, I just had the control cavity open with wire nuts and alligator clips to swap between wiring. So just open string playing.
Also should be noted bass is a medium scale and bridge is in 70s position. Strings I think were EB Cobalt or Roto Rounds. Don’t remember.
Here are some quick sound samples I did on both Relentless pups, in every combination of series parallel.
No EQ or FX used.
Cut me some slack the demo please, I just had the control cavity open with wire nuts and alligator clips to swap between wiring. So just open string playing.
Also should be noted bass is a medium scale and bridge is in 70s position. Strings I think were EB Cobalt or Roto Rounds. Don’t remember.
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I had the Dimarzio Model J and Ultra Jazz on some basses and the Model J sounded the closest to a precision bass.
In fact, I never witnessed any other pickup than the Model J that sounded that close to a precision pickup.
In fact, I never witnessed any other pickup than the Model J that sounded that close to a precision pickup.
[Sigh!] DiMarzio Model J pickups are only a shadow of what they used to be. First generation Model J's did have more wire on them and approached what the OP describes. I had a set and enjoyed them back in the 1980's. In the last decade, DiMarzio has lessened the amount of wire wound around the bobbins. This took away the mid push and makes them artificially bright. I tried a set of them, and could not get them out of my bass and sold along to someone else quick enough.
Try a set of Bartolini's. I have a pair in a bass. I can't remember which model, but they have the roudness that the OP describes.
Try a set of Bartolini's. I have a pair in a bass. I can't remember which model, but they have the roudness that the OP describes.
More capacitive loading would also help… it essentially acts like adding more wire to the pickup, or making a parallel-wired pickup sound like series-wired. The nice thing is, you can switch the capacitor in or out, or have a switch to select multiple capacitors/values.
Model J’s should be a step in the right direction, but if you want more, remember the capacitors. Or just try capacitors with current pickups - order a bunch of different values, they’re cheap. You can swap them in and out quickly with just some alligator clip leads…
Model J’s should be a step in the right direction, but if you want more, remember the capacitors. Or just try capacitors with current pickups - order a bunch of different values, they’re cheap. You can swap them in and out quickly with just some alligator clip leads…
I'm using an Audere ProJZ3, so that should help. The thing about the pre that I either like or dislike, is that it's so clear it will really show you what a pickup sounds like.
Too bad about the old vs new Model Js. I hadn't thought of wiring them in series as suggested here, so I'll do that and see where it leads me. I'm not looking for a dead-on p-bass sound, as I dislike P-J basses, but rather I like a J bass neck pickup that has a similar midrange "pop" to what the P does.
Have you tried swapping the capacitors in that pre? It’s really cool they built that in. Dialing the resonant peak frequency will get you 80-90% of the way. Yes, a J will sound beefier on the D and G strings because it’s not staggered, but that’s probably my least favorite thing about the P pickup anyway
I have tried, but the pickups in there, Fender Original, which I like a lot in passive basses, just sound scooped and too bright. I also have not found the JZ caps in the audere to especially fatten the midrange, more like go from super bright to super rolled off. I like it, but not with these pickups and or in this bass.Have you tried swapping the capacitors in that pre? It’s really cool they built that in. Dialing the resonant peak frequency will get you 80-90% of the way. Yes, a J will sound beefier on the D and G strings because it’s not staggered, but that’s probably my least favorite thing about the P pickup anyway
Now, let's make a distinction about what "series" refers to. Typical humbucker wiring, including a P-bass pickup or even a Gibson guitar humbucker, wiring one coil after the other, is technically "series." This is the way humbuckers work. It is the basic wiring when you purchase any split coil or dual coil pickup designed to work as a humbucker. Follow the manufacturer's diagram for the color coding of the leads, which is different for each manufacturer, and you will wire the pickup in basic humbucking mode. This has the effect of boosting mids and thickening the texture, what the OP is looking for.
This is in contrast to some single coil pickup wiring diagrams which wire both pickups together. Fender did this some years ago with their J-basses. The entire pickup is a single coil, and the switch on these basses wired both pickups together one after the other. One poster commented on this above. But this is NOT what we are talking about in this thread.
The Bartolini pickups are also split coil and are wired humbucking. After the original DiMarzio Model J's with more wire, my next favorite split-coil J-pickup is the Seymour Duncan Apollo. Smooth and full. Also, I have a DiMarzio UltraJazz in a custom P/J. But this pickup has a scooped tone and may not be what the OP is looking for. There are others.
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All understood and thanks for the comments. Interestingly I have a set of Apollos and don't care for them because I think they have a single coil sound but with something added that's not to my liking.
I haven't used DiMarzios in years and am looking forward to hearing them.
I'm afraid that the preamp getting iny way, as I generally prefer passive but also like the convenience of having tone controls on the bass.
I haven't used DiMarzios in years and am looking forward to hearing them.
I'm afraid that the preamp getting iny way, as I generally prefer passive but also like the convenience of having tone controls on the bass.
The Audere ProJZ3? If that's the pre-wired one with the Z-Mode switch, that was one of the most flexible and transparent preamps I've ever used! Set flat with Z-Mode on middle it was the passive sound of my pickups, mine had 4-band EQ though so the tone shaping was amazing. Loved that low-impedance mode on the Z mode switch too, made for a REALLY big sounding tone from the pickups.
The DiMarzios and Audere preamps have always been a great pairing when I've used them. My only beef with the Audere Classics is they can be a little finicky about shielding and grounding IME, but they sound great. If you have a noise gate or always touch the strings, problem solved!
**EDIT - The reason I no longer have a bass with that in there is I've really had issues getting Jazz basses that "suit" me. Tone is good, but fit and feel just never really gets there for me.**
I think the Delano JMVC FE/M2 would be a good contender as well. In my view, they have the output and mid bite of the older Model J's, but still retain some snap of the jazz single coils. The neck also sounds similar to a P Bass according to some folks. Delanos are also known to play well with preamps.
Don't misunderstand me, i agree. What i mean is, I like the passive tone quite a bit, and the Audere seems almost TOO clear.The Audere ProJZ3? If that's the pre-wired one with the Z-Mode switch, that was one of the most flexible and transparent preamps I've ever used! Set flat with Z-Mode on middle it was the passive sound of my pickups, mine had 4-band EQ though so the tone shaping was amazing. Loved that low-impedance mode on the Z mode switch too, made for a REALLY big sounding tone from the pickups.
The DiMarzios and Audere preamps have always been a great pairing when I've used them. My only beef with the Audere Classics is they can be a little finicky about shielding and grounding IME, but they sound great. If you have a noise gate or always touch the strings, problem solved!
**EDIT - The reason I no longer have a bass with that in there is I've really had issues getting Jazz basses that "suit" me. Tone is good, but fit and feel just never really gets there for me.**
