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Fender Jazz Deluxe Electronics

weeks82

weeks82

Inactive
Oct 10, 2001
410
2
45
#1
I just picked up a 2002 Fender USA Jazz Deluxe. I like it very much so far, but I'm not completely sold on the pickups. They are the standard Fender Noiseless pickups. It has the 18v pre system.

So I am thinking about replacing them. The pickups i'm leaning towards are Fralin's, as I've had excellent results with them in previous passive jazz's. The other option i don't know much about is the Fender Samurian Cobalt pickups.

Either way would these pickups be a straight forward installation ? Are the noiseless pickups 4 wire (i know i should just open it and look) How does the wiring change if i were to put in the fralin 2 wire pickups ?

Also has anyone replaced the pre in the Jazz Deluxe ? If so any recomendations ? Thanks!
 
#3
I'd be wary of dropping single coils in with the existing pre -especially if you already dig the sound of the Fralins in a passive axe.

The reason being... there's no preamp bypass switch on that pre, so if you don't like the sound of the pickups activated there's no other option. Personally, I haven't had satisfying results when activating single coil pu's. I've found:

A.) your shielding really needs to be in order everywhere possible because of single coils' inherent noisiness. I'm talking shielding everywhere possible, including the pickguard.

B.) the activated sound of a single coil isn't necessarily better to my ears, just different. I mean, they've already got great balance and bite to them when passive. The buffered (straight w/ no EQ) sound just brings out the stuff that I don't really want.. string noise, a spikey response and sizzle. The active sound can work in certain mixes but I definitely prefer to use the higher quality EQ on my Demeter system preamp to shape a passive signal.


So far in my 9-volt J Deluxe I've gone through:

The stock setup
A Bartolini 2 band preamp w/ the stock Noiseless Pu's
The bart pre w/ bart 9J's
The bart pre w/ CS 60's
The bart pre w/ Sadowsky HB's

The bass pre is wired with a bypass switch so I can go active or passive.

At this point, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to take out the Bart Preamp. I'm not crazy about it.

I'm either going to go with:

A.) a straight up passive set up w/ single coils.
B.) an Aguilar 2 band w passive/active switch and the Samarium Cobalt HB's for an active HB sound.
C.) the Aguilar w/ active/passive switch and single coils.

Choice "C" would be my last effort at activating single coils and even in that case, I'd have the failsafe of the passive option.
 
#4
I would change the pre rather than the pickups. Maybe it's just that I'm not a fan of the hi-fi tone and sizzle it has, even when set flat. Something with a bypass might be useful. The pickups themselves aren't bad at all, and I really enjoy the fact that they're noiseless (and by noiseless, I mean really really noiseless).
 
#6
B String said:
I had a bypass switch put in my 2005 am dlx jazz, just
for emergencies. The passive sound is remarkably similar
to the active sound, with everything set flat.
Click to expand...

Just a little less sparkle in the higher notes. The old 9 volt preamp mine had didn't seem to have enough headroom and clipped often, but I would imagine the newer 18 volt pre doesn't have this problem.

That sizzle really bugged me. However it made slap sound more alive than my passive MIA. Decisions, decisions. :D
 
#7
i would consider a new pre first. i didn't particularly like mine. it was just o.k. there are quite a few excellent preamps out there, but i will personally recommend the new audere jazz deluxe. far superior to the stock pre imo. it is also designed to fit that bass so installation is a breeze. i tried a couple sets of pickups also and ended coming back to the fender noisless. i think they are actually pretty good pickups. might try a set of nordstrands in the future but who knows. oh and i would not recommend single coils with active electronics because noise can be a problem, more so than a passive bass. imo.
 
#10
EricSands said:
I'd like to convert my American Deluxe Jazz Bass to passive. How do I do it?

Thanks in advance!

Eric
Click to expand...

I had my tech install a mini toggle in the battery cavity.
But again, the bass reaaly sounds almost exactly the
same passive or with the preamp flat. I can still use the
volume and maybe the blend (maybe). Your milage may vary.
 
#13
EricSands said:
Thanks B String. Good to know. I'll choose another battle! I just noticed the body is significantly smaller on the American Deluxe than a Standard Jazz. Interesting. Incredible basses.
Click to expand...

I've been trying to get rid of my Maple board basses, but
my Am Dlx Jazz V is such a winner, I can't think of selling
it. (thanks peter parker) If it has a weakness, it might be
the preamp, and thats only if you don't like the eq points.
 
#14
Just received my Audere preamp tonight and installed it in my MIM Jazz with Bartolini pu's. The quality of construction is fabulous and very easy to install. So far the sound does not thrill me, but I have a pair of Dimarzio Ultra Jazz and Model J's to try next. There is a huge drop off in volume with the rear settings on the "Z" switch. Maybe I just have to lower the gain to match the settings but I like the punch of the forward setting. I also don't seem to get treble out of the control, but maybe it's the pickups.

I also have a Fender Deluxe Jazz (MIM version) and I may try the Audere in that one. Sounds like it may take some tweaking to find the best combo.

Please let me know if anyone settles on a good PU match for the Audere - I'll write back if I find the answer!

Cheers,

Jay78
 
#15
Jay78 said:
...There is a huge drop off in volume with the rear settings on the "Z" switch.

Maybe I just have to lower the gain to match the settings but I like the punch of the forward setting.
Click to expand...

You will need to match the vol levels. You can still keep a little (3-6 dB) extra vol in the low Z-Mode if you want it but.

If there is a huge drop off in gain - the other modes will sound bad relatively. This is a classic trick used to sell basses with preamps. Make it louder and it sounds better.

The goal on the Audere preamp is to make it sound good in all 3 modes without using a simple make it louder trick.

In general, Bart pickups will want:
less Low Z-Mode gain
more High Z-Mode C but the C level is a personal choice.

David
 
#16
weeks82 said:
I just picked up a 2002 Fender USA Jazz Deluxe. I like it very much so far, but I'm not completely sold on the pickups.
The pickups i'm leaning towards are Fralin's, as I've had excellent results with them in previous passive jazz's.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
... dude , the Fralin's rock in the Jazz Bass !!
here's my Fralin setup with the JZ3 preamp :
bass-16.gif



i prefer this preamp over my old J-Retro ...
 

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