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Highest output hum-cancelling "vintage" J pickups

P

PJay-bass

Oct 2, 2022
19
19
New England
#1
Rephrasing this question from an earlier post.

I've got a Squier VM Telecaster Bass special with a fender reissue WRHB for bass and a Duncan Designed jazz bass pickup. I really like the sound, but the j pickup is really wimpy and makes the sound with both pickups/just the bridge almost unusable. I use this bass for classic rock and country, and so I'm looking to replace the pickup with a vintage spec one with a high enough output that it can work with the humbucker (which is a very high output pickup). I also think it needs to be hum-cancelling because of the WHRB, though I'm open to suggestions on this one. Any suggestions?
 
#2
If you can't find a suitable Jazz pickup, consider adding a switch to drop the output of the humbucker. Just need the switch to put a resistor in series. Could be a properly selected fixed resistor or a trim pot adjusted to your liking.
 
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#4
sikamikanico said:
Vintage spec and high output don’t really go together. What exactly do you mean with “vintage spec”?

some contenders may be DiMarzio Ultra J or Model J, or Nordstrand SE. These are split coils… not sure how stacks stack up :)
Click to expand...

Ok, that's a very fair point :). What I mean by vintage spec is something that sounds much like a standard j pickup, and not something like a quarter pounder (which sounds very different different from a standard j pickup). I just want it to have a little more oomph to it in order to compete with the WHRB. So maybe not those Dimarzios (which I've heard have different tones compared to the "standard" pickup).

From what I've read and listened to, the Seymour Duncan hot jazz is sort of what I'm looking for. Unfortunately, that pickup definitely hums a lot when solo'd, which is probably not the best idea with a humbucking bridge pickup. And the hot jazz stack is supposed to be lower output than you might expect. But I'm also just defaulting to the idea of a hum-cancelling bridge because that's what most people do with PJ basses, and I'm really willing to try anything.

Maybe the DiMarzio Area J? Not sure what the output is like, I know SD's version (Apollo) has some decent punch to it. I've heard Lindy Fralin's split coils have some oomph to them too. I'm just looking for suggestions!
 
#8
My DiMarzio Ultra Jazz noiseless pickup has a louder and fuller J tone.
Perfect for my Yamaha PJ bass.
Probably NOT what you are looking for.

My Seymour Duncan Hot Stack Jazz sounds just like a typical thin Jazz bridge pickup.
This would give you the classic vintage tone with a noiseless design.
 

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