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Fender Jazz Bass Special - Circa 1984-87

#1,341
I joined the JBS club on Tuesday with this one! It's got a few dents and dings, but not much considering its age. The pickups have been replaced with EMG actives and the bridge with a Babicz. I'm thinking of returning it to (something closer to) stock. The original bridge looks like the bog-standard one Fender puts on just about everything, but does anybody have a suggestion for stock-ish pickups?

IMG_20200312_083130.jpg
 
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#1,342
LostJohnny said:
I joined the JBS club on Tuesday with this one! It's got a few dents and dings, but not much considering its age. The pickups have been replaced with EMG actives and the bridge with a Babicz. I'm thinking of returning it to (something closer to) stock. The original bridge looks like the bog-standard one Fender puts on just about everything, but does anybody have a suggestion for stock-ish pickups?

View attachment 3741745
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Those large pole pickups are rare to find.
 
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#1,344
SPB-4 is a better pickup from Duncan. EMG Geezer is similar and also a nice one.
Pickups with wider frequency response are better; so you can shape the signal as you see fit without introducing distortion. By cutting out instead of trying to boost low db freqs.

Can of worms...
 
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#1,346
Adam Kitto said:
Thanks all for the responses. I have pulled the trigger and this beauty is on its way!
Looking forward to improving my technique on fretless :)
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I played one of these around maybe $2004, and I loved it. It was only $300, and I should have bought it. I would love one of these MIJ fretlesses.
 
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#1,349
LostJohnny said:
So I opened it up today, and just the fit of the EMG harness and the battery makes me uncomfortable. The cover goes on, but barely. The Babicz bridge is growing on me after I spent some time adjusting it, though.

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That's a tight fit but shouldn't pose any problems. If you store them bass for long periods I'd remove the battery. I have A Babicz bridge on A gibson Bass I've had a few years and love it. It does take getting use to adjusting them but solid bridges
 
#1,355
A reference for anybody working on these, based on some lessons I learned today:
The pots are all of the smaller, metric bushing size, 8mm. Pots with 3/8" bushings will not fit.
This poses a problem for the TBX control, though - AFAICT, all currently available TBX controls are made with the 3/8" bushing.

And, of course, the meta-lesson is to always dry-fit all your parts before you get too deep into a project... *sigh*
 
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#1,356
LostJohnny said:
A reference for anybody working on these, based on some lessons I learned today:
The pots are all of the smaller, metric bushing size, 8mm. Pots with 3/8" bushings will not fit.
This poses a problem for the TBX control, though - AFAICT, all currently available TBX controls are made with the 3/8" bushing.

And, of course, the meta-lesson is to always dry-fit all your parts before you get too deep into a project... *sigh*
Click to expand...
Few years ago I bought a reamer from harbor freight. Very cheap and quick to use to enlarge up to 1/2" used many times
 
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#1,358
LostJohnny said:
A reference for anybody working on these, based on some lessons I learned today:
The pots are all of the smaller, metric bushing size, 8mm. Pots with 3/8" bushings will not fit.
This poses a problem for the TBX control, though - AFAICT, all currently available TBX controls are made with the 3/8" bushing.

And, of course, the meta-lesson is to always dry-fit all your parts before you get too deep into a project... *sigh*
Click to expand...
I literally ran into this very problem today replacing the volume knobs I feel your pain.
 
#1,360
^^ Re. questions about replacement pickups, some posts up, I can't speak to the original pickups since, when I got my (Power) Jazz Bass Special, it had already been modified with active EMGs and a passive VV/TT setup. The EMGs served me well for a long time. Eventually, I replaced them with a set of Reed James pickups and replaced those with a set of Wilde/Bill Lawrence pickups, which are in there now and are my favorite, overall, of the three sets. They're wide (voicing) and just a bit modern-sounding, but more full and more organic sounding, to my ear, than the EMGs.

On my bass, I had to sand the casing of the neck pickup some, in order for it to drop in the route (bridge dropped in fine), which was a pain, but, now that it's in there, I enjoy the pickups a lot. They're responsive (dynamics are clear and low notes don't mush-out or lose focus) and well-balanced without being clinical or harsh.
 

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