Hum cancelling jazz without losing jazz tone?

[sonojono]

I love the Nordstrand NP4 J’s on my Fretless Jazz but they don’t sound as close to the original 60 cycle hum stock pickups they came in; but I’ve learned to love them regardless

 

[Barcza]

If you looking for similar to the original tone, skip any stacked design! They doesn't sounds like a real jazz....
Nordstrand split coil pickups sounds pretty authentic!

 

[P Cheen]

Anybody have any input on the Fender Gen 4 Noiseless J bass set? They’re pretty cheap compared to Nordys, Fralins, what-have-you. I saw a youtube comparison video of that vs the Custom Shop ‘60s set and they sound pretty darned close. My only problem is that for me the linear noiseless pickups sound better than the stacked one. The SD Hot Stack Jazz bridge on my PJ is lacking a bit of balls.

 

[Eric Moesle]

I use noisy singles. I've tried most of the popular split coil offerings, and the tone isn't quite there. They are a bit smoother, more polite, polished to my ear. If that's what you are going for sound-wise, they might work fine for you. Me, I like grunt and grind, and I have yet to encounter any split coil jazz pickup that compares to a raw single coil's agressiveness.

 

[packhowitzer]

this actually makes a ton of sense. I don’t notice it when I’m dialing tones in my studio and other environments. I’ve been wanting to get a wireless unit anyways, so maybe this is what I should do. I would prefer to keep the bass stock if I can.

I use a Line6 G50 at church and it's worked flawlessly and was worth every penny. Added bonus- I can walk the room and hear how my bass (and the rest of the mix) sounds.

As far as pickups go- I bought a set of DiMarzio Model Js to spruce up my Geddy Lee jazz and they are outstanding. good luck.

 

[Barcza]

Anybody have any input on the Fender Gen 4 Noiseless J bass set? They’re pretty cheap compared to Nordys, Fralins, what-have-you. I saw a youtube comparison video of that vs the Custom Shop ‘60s set and they sound pretty darned close. My only problem is that for me the linear noiseless pickups sound better than the stacked one. The SD Hot Stack Jazz bridge on my PJ is lacking a bit of balls.

I had Fender noisless PUs, in a MIA Deluxe Jazz, I used a SD Hot Sacks for a while to, both are very far from a real jazz tone for me.....
Now I have a Nordstrand single coils in my 74 Jazz, it's sounds amazing and authentic, the noise are manageable, I never had noise problems...
Shielding all the cavities, and under the pickguard helps a lot!!!

 

[yodedude2]

skipped from p.1 to p.4 to add: lace sensors. still, i would try the wireless setup first.

 

[alembicbones]

I've always been partial to single coils in a jazz bass as opposed to hum cancelling. My tool to eliminate 60hz hum when emphasizing either the bridge or the neck pickup is the Hum Debugger made by Electro-Harmonix. I initially bought it for use with my Rickenbacker but it works very well with my Sadowsky and two Fender Jazz basses too.

Bones

 

[abarson]

Playing a MIM Jazz. I play a lot in church. Lots of the modern stuff, like Bethel and Elevation Worship. My tone is predominantly neck pickup alone, and I push the mids with some good tube breakup style overdrive. I ride the volume knob a lot for dynamics and how hard I hit my preamp, so I hardly use the bridge pickup (don't like the mid scoop with both on), and I like the fatness of the single coil.

I love the sound of the pickups I have right now, they are stock. But, I have 60 cycle hum because I am running just the neck pickup. Is it possible for me to keep the same tone switching to something hum cancelling or am I better off getting a P Bass?

I was thinking maybe the Lindy Fralin Split Jazz or something.

I'd say that proper shielding might be sufficient without pickup changes. What's it like on your bass currently?

 

[Geri O]

I use a Line6 G50 at church and it's worked flawlessly and was worth every penny. Added bonus- I can walk the room and hear how my bass (and the rest of the mix) sounds.

As far as pickups go- I bought a set of DiMarzio Model Js to spruce up my Geddy Lee jazz and they are outstanding. good luck.

In step with the context of this post, did you buy the Line6 wireless unit because of issues with noise issues or because you wanted to be wire-free?

 

[P Cheen]

I had Fender noisless PUs, in a MIA Deluxe Jazz, I used a SD Hot Sacks for a while to, both are very far from a real jazz tone for me.....
Now I have a Nordstrand single coils in my 74 Jazz, it's sounds amazing and authentic, the noise are manageable, I never had noise problems...
Shielding all the cavities, and under the pickguard helps a lot!!!

Thanks a lot! I might properly get into shielding. What do you recommend for general shielding?

I’ve been really eyeing 3 single-coil Jazz pickups: the Nordstrand NJ4, Fralin, and the Fender Pure Vintage ‘74. I am more inclined towards humcanceling though...and I was thinking the SD Apollo for that. I’m not really after the Jazz tone, just anywhere that can get me to its general area. But I do play heavy music.

 

[captainofsmooth]

I put a set of EMGs (supposed to emulate a vintage Jazz, they're side-by-side humbuckers) in a friend of mine's Squier Vintage Modified Jazz (the 70s style one with the natural soft maple body), sounds for all the world like a gnarly classic '70s Jazz and dead quiet. I also shielded all the cavities, but I'm confident the bass would be mostly hum-free without it.

+1 to the EMG’s for sure. Had too much noise for my taste with the Vintage p/ups in my American Original 70s Jazz. Went with EMG based on previous good luck with their stuff. I was not let down. And as TGW alluded to, I did not shield the cavity, but there is still no noise.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

+1 to the EMG’s for sure. Had too much noise for my taste with the Vintage p/ups in my American Original 70s Jazz. Went with EMG based on previous good luck with their stuff. I was not let down. And as TGW alluded to, I did not ground the cavity, but there is still no noise.

Upon further review, the set I put in my friend's Squier (forgot which earlier, but it bothered me so I figured it out) was the JV52 set, and I cannot say enough good things about those pickups. For me and a lot of other folks who enjoy a '70s Jazz sound, they're kinda everything I want in a Jazz, but new, reliable, and dead quiet.

 

[P Cheen]

Upon further review, the set I put in my friend's Squier (forgot which earlier, but it bothered me so I figured it out) was the JV52 set, and I cannot say enough good things about those pickups. For me and a lot of other folks who enjoy a '70s Jazz sound, they're kinda everything I want in a Jazz, but new, reliable, and dead quiet.

INTERESTING! A passive, pole-pieced set of EMGs! Are the pole pieces staggered? That’s literally the only thing I need to know before I buy a set right now LOL

 

[packhowitzer]

In step with the context of this post, did you buy the Line6 wireless unit because of issues with noise issues or because you wanted to be wire-free?

I bought it because I wanted to be wire free (and to work on the mix at the back of the room while still being able to play). But for me, an unintended consequence was also the taming of noise issues - namely in the Geddy Lee jazz bass I mentioned earlier. It was not my main player at church, but when I did bring it out, it was a noisy - until the G50 came along.

 

[Slater]

Are the pole pieces staggered?

Nope.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[Geri O]

I bought it because I wanted to be wire free (and to work on the mix at the back of the room while still being able to play). But for me, an unintended consequence was also the taming of noise issues - namely in the Geddy Lee jazz bass I mentioned earlier. It was not my main player at church, but when I did bring it out, it was a noisy - until the G50 came along.

Oh, another victim of the dreaded “bassist with a wireless having to drive a mix from offstage” affliction! I feel for ya!...

I still get drafted occasionally, but when I supply (the little bit I have of) production, I now claim old age and needing help with my gear. I make sure I hire a young sound guy to drive the mix....

Continued success with your off-stage mixing!...

 

[mikewalker]

I have recently tried several different brands of dual-coil side by side humbucking J pups, and the MOST 'single-coil-J' sounding of the bunch was the Bartolini B-axis (which are a radically-different-sounding pickup from the three other 'normal' Bart humbucking J's i tried...)

 

[gtlover]

I've used both stacked humbuckers (Carvin) and split (DiMarzio Model J) and they can both sound great. IME one key ingredient is changing to 500k volume pots (or blend pot if desired).

 

[packhowitzer]

Oh, another victim of the dreaded “bassist with a wireless having to drive a mix from offstage” affliction! I feel for ya!...

I still get drafted occasionally, but when I supply (the little bit I have of) production, I now claim old age and needing help with my gear. I make sure I hire a young sound guy to drive the mix....

Continued success with your off-stage mixing!...

Thank you! You too! I should probably take a page out of your book and get a young sound guy to drive the mix. I'm fortunate that our PA needs very little tweaking most of the time (unless we have guest musicians, etc...). A couple of small adjustments and we're good to go. Of course the human ears listening change week to week. My volume hasn't changed in 10 years - there's probably cobwebs on the fader - but every week I hear a different opinion about the volume of the bass. Luckily for me, I keep it up so loud, I drown out most of the naysayers.