FENDER JAZZ MIM: What pickups should i get???

First, I don't think you'kll find anything that'll fit a MIM Jazz without a SLIGHT amount of enlargement for the bridge pickup. I did mine with about 5 minutes worth of work with a Dremel tool. Easy and fast. I replaced the stock MIM pups in my '95 Jazz with Fender American Std pickups. It was a TREMENDOUS improvement.

 

You could get those aero pickups for a mim jazz, but i think they cost more than $140. They are the only pickups that fit a mim jazz. I'm in the same boat as you, i'm looking for pickups myself, i may go for some Seymour Duncan Stacks.

 

I've heard great things about Lindy Fralin pups. I think they cost about $160.

If you go to www.bassplayer.com/gear there is a link to a j-bass replacement pup review they did. That's a decent starting point.

 

I used the Dimarzio DP123's on 2 basses. They are $90 a pair from Musician's Fiend. I love them.

All of this info is worthless to you, though, if you "will not modify the body or the pickguard at all." That means you can't change your pickups, because the bridge route is too small for standard size bridge pickups, and the pickguard has to be filed slightly to fit the screwmounts protrusions of the replacement pickups. It's not that big a deal to do a little hand-woodwork with a file or Dremel tool. Don't be so scared.



Chris

 

throbbinut, I dont know how many times you showed us that picture. now I cant close my eyes without seeing that damn MIM j bass with the white pickups in it!!!

 

Well I think they look good..unusual.

cx

 

This question has come up a lot here. If you look down through the threads you will find several on this subject.

I have done a few conversions now on the MIM Jazz and can say that any PUP upgrade will be an improvement. I would say the top three IMO are the Aero, Seymour Duncan and Bart's. I really like the sound of the SD Classic Stacks, but YMMV and it depends on the sound you are after.

As far as fitting, the Aero's are a direct drop in. The others require very MINOR modificaion to make fit. To me, the fit is really almost a non-issue when deciding what to get.

John
Black Rose Customs

 

Yep. I'm gonna put it in every MIM Jazz pickup thread, ever. Until the whole world has seen it.

Chris

 

throbbinnut, whcih of your jb's do you play more?

 

I play the MIM one pretty much exclusively. It's the one with the Badass2 and the black DP123's. I have only played my Rick 4001 once or twice in the last year. The Korean Squier Jazz plays as good as the MIM Jazz, but it has a bent tuning machine that rattles a little bit on certain notes, so I keep it as a backup. The neck finish is thicker on the Korean, and the sound and action on the 2 basses is pretty much identical. I'm definitely one of the people that goes around singing the praises of the MIM Jazz bass. They are the best thing going right now.

Chris

 

So you play the most expensive one the least, and the least expensive the most? Someone could have saved some $$$.

 

Yep. I got the Rick about 10 years ago, and it served me well until I got the Jazzes in the last 2 years. I'll never part with it, but the older the Rick gets, the more I want to take care of it. The frets on it are worn down pretty bad. When I do break it out, it definitely has a cool sound all its own. When I used to play through an 18" sugar-scoop cabinet, the Rickenbacker was unbeatable. Ricks have some really low lows that most amps don't even let you hear.

Chris

 

I did this modification on a '98 MIM Jazz Bass I used to have (got stupid and sold it).

Since I wanted the white pearl guard instead of the stock white one, I simply bought a white pearl AmStd Jazz bass pickguard as part of the upgrade. It screwed on with no problem. As for the bridge pup, it took a little work with a knife on the body and the pup slipped right in. I used the Fender Custom Shop '60s and was real pleased with the sound.

When I sold it I re-installed the stock pups and pickguard. The white pearl guard and Custom Shop '60s now reside in my '00 AmStd Jazz.

I am very pleased with these pups, but sound is a very subjective thing and each bass responds differently to various pup changes. Your going to have to take a chance. You may hit paydirt, you may hit fools gold.

Good luck!

 

I made the exact same change to my MIM Jazz earlier this year.

I went with EMG's but I wish that I had tried Seymour Duncans or Bartolinis. The EMG's were very good and extremely clean, but I like the Duncans' bite and the Barts' midrange and warmth more.

The EMG set cost about $120, and the Duncans and Barts were pretty close price-wise. I did, however, appreciate how easy it was to install the EMG's - extremely straightforward.

I spent (maybe) $10 at Home Depot for a really sharp chisel and about 5 minutes making the necessary minor adjustment to the bridge hole - not a problem at all.

Unfortunately, I got that sucker all nice and gussied up with the fancified pups, slick pearloid pickguard (with the deep red finish - very sexy), and flatwound strings only to have some a$$hole make off with the bass at a gig in Lubbock. My fault for letting it out of my sight, but still annoying. However, it did give me the idea to get my beloved new Lakland! All's well that ends well...