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Fender 64' Custom Shop J Bass Pick Ups

lesmarshall

lesmarshall

Feb 26, 2011
120
37
#1
Just got a Custom Shop 64' J Bass with CS vintage-style pick ups . The output of this Bass with these pups is much lower than my other basses including my Am. Std. J. Also, much lower than my Fender P-Bass and my Ric 4003. I tried raising the pickup height , but it did not help much .

My questions are: is this just the nature of these Fender J pick ups-- i.e. low output?

Are there any vintage- style replacement J pick ups that would have much better output and punch, while retaining the other characteristics of vintage-stye Fender J pick ups ?

Do P -Bass and RIC 4003 pick ups generally have more output than J- Bass pick ups?

Thanks
 
#2
lesmarshall said:
Just got a Custom Shop 64' J Bass with CS vintage-style pick ups . The output of this Bass with these pups is much lower than my other basses including my Am. Std. J. Also, much lower than my Fender P-Bass and my Ric 4003. I tried raising the pickup height , but it did not help much .

My questions are: is this just the nature of these Fender J pick ups-- i.e. low output?

Are there any vintage- style replacement J pick ups that would have much better output and punch, while retaining the other characteristics of vintage-stye Fender J pick ups ?

Do P -Bass and RIC 4003 pick ups generally have more output than J- Bass pick ups?

Thanks
Click to expand...

is it a set of custom shop 60's with the flat pole pieces or the 62 reissue set with the beveled poles? the cs60's have low'ish output.
 
#6
lesmarshall said:
The readings on the pups in this J Bass are 6.28 neck/6.45 bridge. These seem low to me-what do you think? Fralin replacements are 8.5-9.
Click to expand...

did you take the reading while the pickups were connected to the pots or did you disconnect them? disconnected from the pots seems a touch low but not by much. the cs60s i just traded away were 6.8 neck and 7 bridge. like it or not, thats around where most 60's jazz bass pickups read out at. early 60's creep into the 8k range and thats where the pickups in my 62 jazz read out at. most of what ive seen from like 64 to very early 70's seem to be around high 6k low 7k. from the mid 70's on into the end of fullerton production are mid 7k. i just picked up a set of black bottom pickups from a fullerton reissue and a single bridge pickup from an 83 standard jazz bass with the white pickup cover and its the same pickup as the ones from the ri bass other than the leads. those early 80's pickups sounded exactly the same as the stock set in my 74 jazz so i put them in there and sold the 74's.

seems like im rambling, but what im getting at is most replacements are hotter than whats period correct. ime, enough turns that yeilds somewhere in high 7k low 8k range for a set of pickups seems to be a good compromise between period correct sound and decent output and punch.
 
#7
narud said:
did you take the reading while the pickups were connected to the pots or did you disconnect them? disconnected from the pots seems a touch low but not by much. the cs60s i just traded away were 6.8 neck and 7 bridge. like it or not, thats around where most 60's jazz bass pickups read out at. early 60's creep into the 8k range and thats where the pickups in my 62 jazz read out at. most of what ive seen from like 64 to very early 70's seem to be around high 6k low 7k. from the mid 70's on into the end of fullerton production are mid 7k. i just picked up a set of black bottom pickups from a fullerton reissue and a single bridge pickup from an 83 standard jazz bass with the white pickup cover and its the same pickup as the ones from the ri bass other than the leads. those early 80's pickups sounded exactly the same as the stock set in my 74 jazz so i put them in there and sold the 74's.

seems like im rambling, but what im getting at is most replacements are hotter than whats period correct. ime, enough turns that yeilds somewhere in high 7k low 8k range for a set of pickups seems to be a good compromise between period correct sound and decent output and punch.
Click to expand...



I took the reading while connected to the pots -how much of a difference does it make?
I am looking for a vintage sounding J pup with more output and punch. Any suggestions?
 
#8
lesmarshall said:
I took the reading while connected to the pots -how much of a difference does it make?
I am looking for a vintage sounding J pup with more output and punch. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

the pots load the pickups so youre getting a lower reading.

your current pickups really are vintage sounding. the thing is is that most people recommending pickups dont really have any experience with old basses. they can sound kind of thin through modern amps. old amplification and recordings make them sound fatter and less bright.

i saw your post in another thread about antiquity 2's. the published spec isnt 10.56 on those. its 8.97. ive posted about this in the past but every set of antiquity 2's sounds different. they dont put a consistent amount of turns on these. they might read out as low as 8k or as high as 8.9 like the published spec. sometimes the neck will be hotter than the bridge. sometimes the opposite. that makes every set sound different. either radically or subtly. i talked to mj in the custom shop and she said they intentionally do that since old fender pickups vary. its very different from buying a set of sjb1's where you know what youre going to get every time because theyre always very close in dcr. ive personally had great success with antiquities wound to low 8k for the neck and mid 8k for the bridge. ive gone as far as sending sets into the customs shop to have them pull windings.

one of the most important things ive noticed is that all the repros dont really sound like old pickups even if they have the same amount of turns. im speculating its the magnet composition. all the modern pickups are more strident in the mids and the old pickups are sweeter in the highs. i had duncan rewind the neck pickup of my 62 jazz and the frequency response matched the bridge pickup exactly. an antiquity 2 with the same amount of turns and nearly identical dcr had highs that didnt reach as glassy and low highs/high mids that were more aggressive. i also tried a set of nordstrands in my 62 jazz just for kicks and they were similar to the duncans in the highs. the stock set of pickups is fatter in the low mids and reaches higher in the highs.

if i wanted a legit, true vintage sound for a bass like a custom shop or 62 reissue, id hunt ebay for a late 70's early 80's pair of jazz bass pickups. they usually go for around the same price as a boutique replacement set. if you want more punch, grind etc, any of the replacements are good pickups if not similarish. the fender made pickups are the most different in that they stay true to history in their amount of turns and output. ive owned a set of every thing out there other than the aguilars. still have to try those one day:D
 
#9
narud said:
the pots load the pickups so youre getting a lower reading.

your current pickups really are vintage sounding. the thing is is that most people recommending pickups dont really have any experience with old basses. they can sound kind of thin through modern amps. old amplification and recordings make them sound fatter and less bright.

i saw your post in another thread about antiquity 2's. the published spec isnt 10.56 on those. its 8.97. ive posted about this in the past but every set of antiquity 2's sounds different. they dont put a consistent amount of turns on these. they might read out as low as 8k or as high as 8.9 like the published spec. sometimes the neck will be hotter than the bridge. sometimes the opposite. that makes every set sound different. either radically or subtly. i talked to mj in the custom shop and she said they intentionally do that since old fender pickups vary. its very different from buying a set of sjb1's where you know what youre going to get every time because theyre always very close in dcr. ive personally had great success with antiquities wound to low 8k for the neck and mid 8k for the bridge. ive gone as far as sending sets into the customs shop to have them pull windings.

one of the most important things ive noticed is that all the repros dont really sound like old pickups even if they have the same amount of turns. im speculating its the magnet composition. all the modern pickups are more strident in the mids and the old pickups are sweeter in the highs. i had duncan rewind the neck pickup of my 62 jazz and the frequency response matched the bridge pickup exactly. an antiquity 2 with the same amount of turns and nearly identical dcr had highs that didnt reach as glassy and low highs/high mids that were more aggressive. i also tried a set of nordstrands in my 62 jazz just for kicks and they were similar to the duncans in the highs. the stock set of pickups is fatter in the low mids and reaches higher in the highs.

if i wanted a legit, true vintage sound for a bass like a custom shop or 62 reissue, id hunt ebay for a late 70's early 80's pair of jazz bass pickups. they usually go for around the same price as a boutique replacement set. if you want more punch, grind etc, any of the replacements are good pickups if not similarish. the fender made pickups are the most different in that they stay true to history in their amount of turns and output. ive owned a set of every thing out there other than the aguilars. still have to try those one day:D
Click to expand...


Thanks for you response- good stuff . I have a few other questions. Do the CS pickups get closer to vintage Fender pups than the various vintage -style replacements , like Fralins , Duncan Antiquities, etc.?

Also, I noticed you mentioned in another post that the CS pups are lower output than such other replacement sets ( which is what I am experiencing in my new CS 64' Jazz). How much greater output in terms of subjective impression or otherwise would you say the replacements have ? 5%, 10%, 50% ? And how does this higher output manifest itself: i.e. does it make the Bass have more punch or sock to it , fatter sound, better harmonics, etc. or what?
 
#10
lesmarshall said:
Thanks for you response- good stuff . I have a few other questions. Do the CS pickups get closer to vintage Fender pups than the various vintage -style replacements , like Fralins , Duncan Antiquities, etc.?

Also, I noticed you mentioned in another post that the CS pups are lower output than such other replacement sets ( which is what I am experiencing in my new CS 64' Jazz). How much greater output in terms of subjective impression or otherwise would you say the replacements have ? 5%, 10%, 50% ? And how does this higher output manifest itself: i.e. does it make the Bass have more punch or sock to it , fatter sound, better harmonics, etc. or what?
Click to expand...

id say if you took the average pickup from like 64-83 than the custom shop pickup is slightly lower in output and a touch brighter/glassier. however, its closer in sound than the hotter/grindier aftermarket pickups. those 8 to 9k pickups tend to have more focus in the low midrange and low highs. and even though those aftermaket pickups have a similar readout as a say a 60-63 pickup, they still dont sound the same. my 62's pickups have a more extended top end and arent as brash sounding. the bridge pickup is fatter sounding as well.

the nice thing about pickups is theyre relatively cheap in comparison to something like a custom shop fender. and here in the classifieds, everything will eventually show up used. that makes it really easy to try everything out.
 
#15
FWIW for comparison, I've owned a few sets of
standard-spec boutique J pickups that I've measured:

Nordstrand NJ4 set #1:
neck: 8.15
bridge = 8.35

Nordstrand NJ4 set #2:
neck: 8.25
bridge = 8.80

Fralins:
neck: 8.30
bridge: 8.80

Both brands sounded very similar, with the Fralins weighing
in just a tad darker.

—Will
 
#17
fwiw, my buddy brought over his stack knob today. it doesnt have the original pickups, but a set of fender "originals". compared to my 62 with the stock pickups, it had that same type of glassy highs. not a ton of lower voiced grind like the boutique guys. i think fender still may be making the most correct fender pickup! imagine that.
 
#18
lesmarshall said:
Fender just sent me a CS 60s replacement for the CS 60s that are 6.28/6.45. The new ones read 7.32/7.68 . You think I will be able to hear any difference?
Click to expand...

The Fender Original Jazz Bass Pickups being sold today (aka:Vintage Jazz Bass Single-Coil)
are rated 7.25/7.50.

I think they used to be packaged "Fender '62 Original Jazz Bass Pickup Set".

Maybe they sent you a set of these.
 
#19
I just traded for a 64 cs jazz with orig pups. Much lower output and thinner than say my favorite pickups but very clear sounding. Great tone but I've gotten used to my vintage Duncans. My buddy measured these readings and they were in the mid 6's like 6.6 and 6.8k.

The sound does sound like a famous 62 fretless I played though. Bright, clear, responsive, high and high mids standing out.
The cs relic 64 pickups are definitely lower out put than say stock Mia fenders and much lower than my goto sjb-1- from Duncan.
 

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