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Hum cancelling jazz pickups

#2
I can’t speak to a recording situation, but I had Aguilar hum cancelling pickups and they sounded great. That said, I did notice that extra little zing after going back to the single coils that were in the 2012-2016 American standard fenders. If it was my only bass and needed it to do everything, hum cancelling. If I specifically wanted that jazz bass sound, single coils.
 
#5
If you play with both pickups on full, I'd stick with single coils.
The Model J's are nice but don't sound anything like a J bass. It is a very solid kind of generic bass sound though and using just the neck pup is very cool.
 
#6
I'll have to keep investigating. The model J is a different model than the Area J's. I have been using true singles in my strats because I shield them well. I am not sure how effectively I can shield a Jazz bass. I have never done it. The Area Strat Pickups are awfully close to single coil tone. If the Area J's are as good, I could probably live with that. More research/listening is clearly needed. :)
 
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#7
EMG JV52 . . . no noise, easy installation, and (best of all) sounds like a J bass !!

JV 52 set.jpg
 
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#8
TheArchitect said:
Debating if I want to put hum cancelling pickups in my jazz bass. They are for recording. Not sure if I can get classic tones from the hum cancelling models. What would you do?
Click to expand...
I can recommend the Fender Noiseless pickups that are stock in the Player Plus J I got last Christmas. Sounds like a J. Great J thunder and growl. No hum.
 
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#9
If only for recording, and if you're happy with your current tone, skip it. There are tones of great software around to get rid of hum in recorded sound. Audacity is free and works like a charm.
 
#11
There are many hum-cancelling J-pickups now on the market: DiMarzio: J, Ultra Jazz, Area 51, etc.; Seymour Duncan: Apollo, Stacks, others; Bartolini: several models and tonalities; EMG: many models and tonalities; Fender has had humcancelling pickups of various series; Aguliar; Barden has a model; Lindy Fralin; many others now that didn't exist forty years ago. I like Seymour Duncan Apollos because to my ears they are very close to vintage single coils, but without the hum. They were designed by engineer Kevin Bellar, who is also a player with close to 50 years experience playing Fender basses in addition to being an electrical engineer.
 
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#13
TheArchitect said:
Debating if I want to put hum cancelling pickups in my jazz bass. They are for recording. Not sure if I can get classic tones from the hum cancelling models. What would you do?
Click to expand...

My 96 j has had Dimarzio Model J’s, Ultra Jazz’s, Nordstrands, Duncan Apollos. They all sounded great, but none has had the open, airy quality I like from a single coil. I recently just slapped a set of PV74’s in it and made my peace with the hum.

I will say that the Apollos were pretty close what I wanted, but I just really love the Fenders. Best of luck!
 
#15
I have both Duncan Apollo’s and Aguilar HC, in two separate basses

Apollo’s in my fretted:
In my opinion, these NEED 500k volume pots to sound as open as Single Coils. Once that’s out of the way - huge punch and great tone, more output.

Aguilar’s:
To me, these sound 99% like the Fender singles they replaced….which were out of a Marcus Miller sig bass (and I’m still keeping them). No need to change pot values, they also have the same output as the singles; they have a slightly more round bottom-end.
 
#17
In my humble experience; noiseless pickups sound a little different than single coils, in general. Maybe a little less "lively". BUT: No two single coil pickups sound alike either.

So my approach would be to find the pickup your ears like. In a studio setting; you could apply all kinds of tricks to silence your true single coil bass if it comes to that. Shutting down noisy appliances, distancing from EMI sources, shielding your bass, playing on the "most noiseless" angle, etc...

In live settings; I strongly prefer noiseless pickups though. I'm currently using Fender Ultra Noiseless pickups, but Aguilar HC worked fine too.
 
#18
I have a set of Cort VTB- ST humcancelling J pup in my cheap Bacchus J, this pup also as stock pup on latest Cort Elrick NJS J bass. Sound meaty full along with EB Cobalt flat loaded.
 
#19

I was taking this in, from Dave Weckl, the other day. It's always refreshing to get a better sense of the big picture. Sure there's noise but it isn't an issue, for some. I'm off on a tangent here, but when Dave makes the case for ignoring snare buzz on the kit, the penny dropped. It's not ideal, the buzzing, but it's not such a worry, once the wheels are turning,​

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I have a tolerance, which has developed alongside the realities of playing this gear. Singles do get a bit rowdy, in certain orientations so you learn not to lean that way if you can avoid it — certain alignments are quieter, effectively shutting down the din, so you learn to orient yourself that way. And when everything's up and running, any such noise simply evaporates in the melee and becomes a non-issue.

As has been mentioned above, sure, you can get quieter pickups. But, sometimes, you lose out when you undermine the character of those rowdy single coils. Kinda defeats the purpose. I once was convinced that I needed hum-canceling pickups, so I got some. They remain, mint, still in-the-box, unused.

Maybe I got wise. And, in effect, I haven't lost any sleep over the issue. I dearly love my single coils. Perfection's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be.
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