*DiMarzio Model J vs. DiMarzio Ultra Jazz*

[JimmyM]

The UJ's have alot of mids in my ash/maple jazz! I get that old school and modern vibe from em'! They are the best pickups out there IMO!!!

Ya, the Ultrajazz is a good vintage-ish sounding pickup, and pretty bright if you like more modern tweeter sounds, so you can get the best of both worlds out of it. The Model J is more like a supercharged vintage pickup. It's hotter and more in your face than the Ultrajazz.

 

[seansv]

Ya, the Ultrajazz is a good vintage-ish sounding pickup, and pretty bright if you like more modern tweeter sounds, so you can get the best of both worlds out of it. The Model J is more like a supercharged vintage pickup. It's hotter and more in your face than the Ultrajazz.

That just made me buy a model j for my bridge position

 

[Tonegasm]

I owned and played both. I preferred the Model J. UJ's were scooped in the mids. Mids are important, to me anyway.

 

[Mystic Michael]

I use a set of Ultra Jazz in my four-string fretted bass, and a set of Model Js in my four-string fretless - and I would say that each model is well-suited to the application I've chosen for it.

IME, the Ultra Jazz is mildly mid-scooped, but not nearly to the point that is commonly stated. It's brighter, more modern & more refined than the Model J, with a really lovely tone that works well in a variety of genres - modern rock (not so much classic rock), funk, pop, jazz, etc. It offers a great slap tone, in case you're into that sort of thing.

The Model J is definitely more aggressive, with a somewhat rolled-off top end, and thicker mids, relative to the Ultra Jazz. Both pickups have good, strong low end, but the Model Js is especially good for cranked-up, high-gain, fingerstyle rawk. Because it's rather hot, with such strong mids, it also works really well for fretless bass - especially if you favor a big, powerful tone that can compensate somewhat for the naturally more subdued tone of the fretless.

MM

 

[Filip Burdon]

Sounds like the model J and P will give me the mid punchy sound, which will be different to my P bass with the spb-3.

 

[Ed F]

I owned and played both. I preferred the Model J. UJ's were scooped in the mids. Mids are important, to me anyway.

You sound like someone who really played both. I have two basses with each and the model j pups sound more like a jazz bass. Today's jazz basses come with extra bright pickups. The mid-range is very important.

 

[eddiemac]

I had a Seymour Duncan SPB-3 with a DiMarzio J bridge in a PJ. It was the best setup in that bass from my tone-seeking perspective (and I had a fralin set after that). The only problem was that the DiMarzio couldn't compete in volume with the P pickup. But that was alright because I just used the J to add flavor to the P.

 

[Ed F]

I noticed that the bridge pickup seems a little to have less output than the neck pickup on most basses. Can't explain why.

 

[Ed F]

I had a Seymour Duncan SPB-3 with a DiMarzio J bridge in a PJ. It was the best setup in that bass from my tone-seeking perspective (and I had a fralin set after that). The only problem was that the DiMarzio couldn't compete in volume with the P pickup. But that was alright because I just used the J to add flavor to the P.

I noticed that the bridge pickup seems a little to have less output than the neck pickup on most basses. Can't explain why.

 

[jallenbass]

I owned and played both. I preferred the Model J. UJ's were scooped in the mids. Mids are important, to me anyway.

I stayed away from Ultra J's for some time due to reading about its lack of mids but finally decided to hear for myself. I'm a midrange aficionado and have never needed more mids than a set of Ultra J's has available. I think it depends on what your midrange needs are.

 

[Elusive1]

I noticed that the bridge pickup seems a little to have less output than the neck pickup on most basses. Can't explain why.

That's the general consensus. The neck pickup is closer to the middle of the string so it's going to sense more string movement than the bridge pickup and inherently translate to a 'louder' sound. The most basic solution is to raise the bridge pickup and/or lower the neck pickup. And in any case, most pickup sets (neck + bridge) will have the bridge pickup wound just a hair more than the neck pickup to compensate.

If you raise the bridge pickup all the way up and lower the neck pickup all the way down and the neck is still significantly louder than the bridge, then it's a matter of mismatched pickups.

 

[iiipopes]

I have both. The Model J is a grindy, slight high-end roll-off, rockin' pickup. The Ultra Jazz is a clean, scoop-tone modern monster that outshines the "boutique" pickups.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

The Model J is more like a supercharged vintage pickup. It's hotter and more in your face than the Ultrajazz.

According to DiMarzio, the M.J. has less output than the U.J.:

Those measurements are milliVolts, so two Ultra-Jazz in series at their highest output would be half a Volt or 500 milliVolts, while the Model-Js would only be 300 milliVolts.

 

[MrUsefulAlien]

Checking in on this older thread, I have the same question Ultra Jazz vs Model J vs Area J.
BUT I would love to hear an opinion on which go well with Labella flats, one bass with standard tuning (DJ4), one BEAD (CIJ J).
I'm getting the UJ for my Lakland 55AJ with 760FL, now need to decide what the other two J's should wear.

I need to change out the single coils for theater work, maybe not the BEAD, but, I will use it for dub and similar music, so no SC hum is preferred.