Going for a certain sound...

[JustRicks]

I want to turn my Jazz bass into a bass that can sound like Geddy Lee's rig. I'd like for it to hold some of the values that Chris Squire can get out of his Ric if possible. For the most part, I'm figuring for the Geddy Lee sound, turning my Jazz bass into a 1973 would be the best idea. I know Geddy Lee and Chris Squire both use Rotosound RS66 strings, so I've got them on there already. Geddy Lee also uses a Badass bridge (whether or not it makes that much of a difference) and I put one on today. Note: Chris Squire's Ric has a stock tailpiece bridge which is a heavy-weight bridge so I think the Badass will work well for this purpose. Now just so you know what else I'm dealing with:

I have a two week old Squire Vintage Modified Jazz Bass (maple body, maple neck). Since I'm going for a 1973 Jazz bass, I decided to replace the logo now, so I don't have to explain to people that the bass really is as good as a Fender after I get fretwork done and have these nice upgraded parts in it. [Not trying to stir up any controversy but we can agree that a nicely setup bass with good parts can be as good as a Fender, right?]

What I'd like to do is replace the pickups (stock are "Duncan Designed" vintage knockoffs) and electronics. I'm figuring a the standard CBS pots, new wiring, an Orange Cap will do, and guitarpartsresource.com has them for 20 bucks so it's cheap. Now the issue with the pickups is there are too many choices.

Remember I'm looking for a Geddy Lee sound. He uses a 1973 Jazz bass. If I'm not playing Rush, I'm playing Yes, Beatles, or anything "classic rock." Generally speaking, to stay with my 1973 idea, I'd like to stay with Fender-made pickups. I'd also like to aim for US Fender-made pickups. Yes, that actually means Geddy Lee bass pickups are out of the question! This is because they are Japanese-made and am looking for highest quality here, not an imitation of vintage pickups. This limits us to the following choices:

'62 Reissue
'75 Reissue
Custom Shop 60's
"Original"
"Noiseless"
and perhaps others that I haven't thought of yet

First thought comes to mind, a '75 would be best fit for a '73; but is it? I've heard some people say that it feels skimpy on the low end. I've heard some people say the Custom Shop 60's are great, but do 70's basses have this sound?

I'm looking sub $100. I might budge if it's worth it. Give me your opinion on these pickups and what you think would be fit for a Geddy Lee sound.

A few pictures of the current setup if you wanted to see the bass in question:

 

[JustRicks]

So I've got two votes for Custom Shop 60's; anybody have an opinion or what to talk about the tone with these pickups?

 

[colcifer]

Invalid Link Removed

Here's some good pups. It's worth emailing him and getting his two cents on this as well.

best,
c

 

[JustRicks]

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91384

Here's some good pups. It's worth emailing him and getting his two cents on this as well.

best,
c

I'll look into that. I came across another thread:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91384

In there the user says based on his experience the Nordstrand NJ4 pickups sound just like his original '74 pickups on his J bass. Does anybody have any feeling or opinion about NJ4 pickups and how they would sound compared to an early 70's sound?

Suppose another question is the exact pickups that Geddy Lee is using: does anybody know if he's using the stock '73 pickups or does anybody have any reason to believe he has aftermarket pickups?

A strange thing I noticed the other day with the pickups that this bass currently has: while playing pick style, I can get a trebly growl that I can hear in Rush music; but we all know that most of the time Geddy Lee picks finger-style. The problem is when I play finger style, the sound loses all of its luster and is "dull" sounding in my opinion. So the pickups I'm using aren't picking up enough treble-sounds of the strings let alone the famous "growl" that Geddy has. Any comments?

Thanks,
Ryan