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Geddy Question

B

Bassosaur

Jul 14, 2005
56
0
#1
O.K. after reading many threads about replacing the pickups in a Geddy Lee, it seems the DiMarzio Model J's seems to be a popular choice. My question is for people who actually made the switch. What differences did the pickups make tonally from the stock pickups? Also, is there noticeably more output that the stock pickups?
 
#2
The model J's I put in my GL definetly added a more aggressive ,edgier tone than stock, output volume to me seemed equal.I had a set of Fralins in there at first which I wish I'd kept , a much fuller ,smoother,vintage tone IMHO.
 
#4
Don't base your pickup choice on what other people have done.

What is your bass lacking for tone, that you want it to have? Do you think you need to replace both pickups, or will one get you where you want to go?

Personally, My Geddy has the basic tone I'm looking for, but I want a little more low mids. I've come to the conclusion that I only need to replace the neck pickup. So for my needs a vintage pickup with just a little more bottom. I think a SD Antiquity II, or a Fender CS shop will get me there.

I can get the SD pickups individually, but the Fenders only come as a set. Or I could have my current pickup rewound with a little hotter wind.

Ask yourself some questions and try to define what you are really looking for. I've been thinking about my pickup swap for about the last year.

I've played a few Geddys stock that had the bottom already there. To bad I did not have the funds to buy that bass then.
 
#6
I guess my problem is my lack of knowledge of how to describe what I want. To me the stock pickups sound a little thin(?). I guess I want something a little warmer or bassier (is that a word?). How would you describe the stock Geddy tone?
 
#7
Bassosaur said:
I guess my problem is my lack of knowledge of how to describe what I want. To me the stock pickups sound a little thin(?). I guess I want something a little warmer or bassier (is that a word?). How would you describe the stock Geddy tone?
Click to expand...

I find the Geddy to sound like a good 70's jazz bass. It has bottom end, but not the bottom I hear in my head. What it does not sound like is Geddy's, snarly, barky, low mid toned 72 jazz. They sound closer to his red jazz, but a little more open on the top end. After listening to, and reading a lot of info on pickups, my opinion is that this bass needs an overwound neck pickup. It is close, but not quite there. It only misses by a little though.

I play every Geddy that I come across in the stores to hear how they sound. Out of 9 basses only one had a dark, low mid bottom end. The rest sounded very similer to my current bass. A good top end, but diluted low mids from the neck pickup. Hence my opinion for an overwound neck position.

I can eq my bass and get closer to what I want, but the bottom tends to be a bit boomy as opposed to tight. Plus I lose the top end that I like in this bass.

I will probably go with a SD Ant. II, or a 2-3% overwound Fralins. The fralins Pickup appeals to me for it's tone, and I can get it custom wound. The soundclips of the SD pickups sound very nice as well. A set of Fender CS jazz bass pickups would work well also.

Search the board here, and look in the faq's section. There is a ton of info on J bass pickups.

Let me add as well. Setup on jazz basses is critical to unlock the voice. I have played with pickup heights extensively, to find the right balance. Be sure that you have explored your setup specs down to a gnats butt. Sometimes lowering your neck pickup by 1/64" can unlock a new voice.
 
#8
Bassosaur said:
I guess my problem is my lack of knowledge of how to describe what I want. To me the stock pickups sound a little thin(?). I guess I want something a little warmer or bassier (is that a word?). How would you describe the stock Geddy tone?
Click to expand...
Before you swap out pups try removing the BadasII bridge. I've done this and recovered the thickness in sound the BadassII took. The bass also got warmer.
 
#12
markblasco said:
Here are audio samples from my swap to the model J's

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4485677#post4485677
Click to expand...

After listening to the samples, I don't think the DiMarzio's made a big enough difference to make the change. I did find another post where the guy made several recordings with several different pickups in a Geddy. Based on what I heard I would either have to go with either Aero's or SD Ant II's. Of course those are the most expensive ones but I guess you get what you pay for.

Thanks everyone for your input.
 
#13
Bassosaur said:
After listening to the samples, I don't think the DiMarzio's made a big enough difference to make the change. I did find another post where the guy made several recordings with several different pickups in a Geddy. Based on what I heard I would either have to go with either Aero's or SD Ant II's. Of course those are the most expensive ones but I guess you get what you pay for.

Thanks everyone for your input.
Click to expand...

Aero (type 1s) come off to me as fairly agressive 70s J type tone. If that's what you're looking for, they sound nice to me.
 
#14
I should really listen to those audio clips to see how they compare to mine, but without having done so I was going to say that I made this exact switch, did before/after recordings, and also found the change in tone was extremely small; I personally kind of liked the lower-mids of the original pickups.

Having said that, the PUPs weren't the only things that changed. I also replaced all the pots and did the series/parallel mod (actually, a bit farther than that -- it was one of the weirder wiring schemes that came with the Model J's involving two push-pull pots).

I did control for everything else (tone settings on my bass, the board, and computer settings).

Overall, I liked the tone options I got with the mod, and the lack of hum of the Model Js. But I didn't get a noticably (to my ears) more aggressive (what I'd define as midrangey, a la Moving Pictures) tone. I believe others when they say they did, but my experience is measured through my tastes.

If I had known this in advance I'd have left the original PUPs in, but now that's the effort is a sunk cost, I'm actually slightly better off than I was previously. The ONLY negative is I don't like the visual aesthetics of the black pole pieces. Purely subjective.

HooBass
 

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