How much difference do the 500k pots make? I have read that the treble increase can be quite shrill in guitars, but what about in bass? I am curious...
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Hum cancelling jazz without losing jazz tone?
- Thread starter dwagner
- Start date
My experience is that humbuckers are noticeably darker and the 500k just keeps things sounding sweet. I’ve used both 500k tone pots and TBX pots and gotten great results. You could also experiment with 330k pots; there are also a couple of different tone pot wiring schemes that yield subtly different interactions.
I had a similar situation with my two Jazz basses like the OP. Without boring everyone with everything I tried, I ended up with Area J’s in one bass and Fender Super 55’s in another. In the band context, definitely fit the bill for me and kept the Jazz Bass tone. My favorite is the Super 55’s. It’s too bad they don’t make them anymore.
I've also used both, and also prefer the Fralins. They have higher output, slightly thicker tone, and more gnarly growl/punch than the Areas. I've tried several sets of noiseless J-bass pickups across three different basses, and the Fralins are my favorites. But the Areas are darned close for half the price, so I think they're an excellent choice too.
JeezyMcNuggles
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Fralin also makes a great, open sounding noiseless. Don't sound compressed like Fenders or Apollos.
I've been looking at the barts. I've searched quite a few spots, and most descriptions are "that bart sound" or something else that's a little subjective. Sometimes all you get is opinion. Could you compare the different styles? Just looking for an objective description.
Another vote here for the Nordstrand split coils (NJ5S in my case), which are in my Bluesman Vintage Eldorado V. I had a set of Fralin single coils on hand which I swapped out just for comparison, and contrary to what I expected they were not as "Fender sounding" to my ears as the Nordstrands.
I can highly recommend the DiMarzio Ultra Jazz for a louder, fatter humbucker J Bridge pickup.
I tried the Seymour Duncan Hot Stack Jazz Noiseless, but it was pretty quiet.
Lots of great P pickups, but a good Jazz pickup with high output and fat tone is hard to find.
Check out my write up with details from my db meter along with photos.
DiMarzio Ultra Jazz Pickup in Yamaha RBX170
I tried the Seymour Duncan Hot Stack Jazz Noiseless, but it was pretty quiet.
Lots of great P pickups, but a good Jazz pickup with high output and fat tone is hard to find.
Check out my write up with details from my db meter along with photos.
DiMarzio Ultra Jazz Pickup in Yamaha RBX170
Been looking at a set of SD Apollos but the price around here is ridiculous. Upwards of C$400! Personally, I believe that anything over about $125 a pup is basically extortion. They're just magnets, wire, and bobbins, not some uber-rare technological esoterica but supply and demand being what it is I guess...
Looking for something that isn't muddy and won't break the bank. Thinking of the Area J but does it have any punch? It is ceramic too isn't it?
I read about the Model P on here fairly regularly but rarely see anything on the Area J. I want noiseless with good punch but zero mud and not all compressed like these style of pickup sometimes are.
What about Fender Ultras?
Looking for something that isn't muddy and won't break the bank. Thinking of the Area J but does it have any punch? It is ceramic too isn't it?
I read about the Model P on here fairly regularly but rarely see anything on the Area J. I want noiseless with good punch but zero mud and not all compressed like these style of pickup sometimes are.
What about Fender Ultras?
I’ve been stumbling my way through the rabbit hole of split coil J pickups recently. I haven’t tried them all, and I don’t have any experience with the Apollos, so I can’t compare. The short story is that for those characteristics, and under $250 for a set, of what I’ve tried, my short list for recommendations would be the Dimarzio Area J, Bill Lawrence/Wilde J45, and the Bartolini b-axis. The Area J has Alnico 2 magnets, not ceramic.
I’m still writing the long story.
Thank you so much for your feedback. I was under the impression that all the noiseless Dimarzios used ceramics hence their lower price.
I'll probably opt for the Area J as the others aren't readily available around here but I will ask my local Ma & Pa about the others though.
LowendLobster (also user here) uses Area J's in several of his jazz basses. He recommends them for traditional jazz sound without hum. You can see them in several of his videos.
I'll be checking those out right away. Ty!
It just gives me an excuse to watch more of Lobster's videos. He's very informative and entertaining. Even with the "change the lobster claw back into my hand" schick (which cracks me up everytime).
One of my favourite channels on YT.
What's Lobster's handle on here? Lobster13?
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I'm not reading all five pages to see if this has been addressed already, so forgive me if it has.
1) You are not going to get "vintage" J-pickup tone out of a split coil humbucker. Period. The rest of the forum can explain why.
2) The closest current approximation of a split coil humbucker to a single coil vintage style J-pickup is the Seymour Duncan Apollo, designed by bass player and Seymour Duncan head of R&D Kevin Beller;
3) It is worth it to get rid of the hum and noise, especially with new digital boards.
1) You are not going to get "vintage" J-pickup tone out of a split coil humbucker. Period. The rest of the forum can explain why.
2) The closest current approximation of a split coil humbucker to a single coil vintage style J-pickup is the Seymour Duncan Apollo, designed by bass player and Seymour Duncan head of R&D Kevin Beller;
3) It is worth it to get rid of the hum and noise, especially with new digital boards.
Bet the church has a lot of lights on dimmers? Not so much at your studio?
Light dimmers can be a pretty nasty source for 60 Hz hum. Problem is that it is no longer hum in the sense of a 60 Hz sine wave, but is now something with edges and a lot of harmonics. The high impedances and low levels seen in the bass, cables and amp inputs circuits (all unbalanced) make it tougher to fight against this kind noise.
1) You can get so close of a J pickup tone that most players cannot hear it. Add that most in the audience cannot tell the difference between a P, J, or MM..... And add the mix on top of it.... 99% of the audience will have no idea. I can hear a bigger difference between 250K pots and 500K pots than some brand's splits and single coil J offerings. Just sayin. Is it 100% alike? No. Magnetic fields and such. But I'll take 98% alike with no hum.
2) I've heard great things about Dimarzio's Area J's, and Nordstrands linear splits from people who have tried them (there are others that aren't vintage voiced). I'll add your recommendation of Seymour Duncan Apollo and Frailin (somewhere else on here) to my personal list of "should be damn close" list. Needless to say, I'm guessing that most companies are figuring out how to do it, they're just flavoring it to their brand...
3) I absolutely agree. Hum is the reason I avoided J basses for a long time. It is super distracting for me.
Bonus round: Because I'm on a similar path as OP, I've listened to as many audio clips comparing J pickups. I've also listened to various strings. I can hear a bigger difference between flats and rounds on a J bass than I can between many of the pickup offerings from different brands. Sure it may be low quality audio I'm listening to, but I'm pointing out that it's probably not as big of an issue as we're making it. (says the guy who's probably going to go back to over analyzing which pickups to buy lol...)
I'd wager almost all of the differences we hear get lost in a mix.
