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Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
I don't think those are gonna fit into the original pup rout's.Jazz bass's best friend.
Dimarzio Model J if you want to bring the thunder with a serious rock tone. Dimarzio Ultra Jazz if you just want more of everything.
Both are split coils so no hum, and both are hot so you can flutter your bell bottoms when you stand in front of your amp.
Both are split coils so no hum, and both are hot so you can flutter your bell bottoms when you stand in front of your amp.
i also like Split coils ... to me , they sound closest to Singles ...
Ultra Jazz , Super 55 , the Model J's are huge , ... you Can get/put Black out plastic pup covers to cover just about any Poles ... !! Barts have no poles , get the more aggressive models ... also love the sound of Nords ...
any humbucker style pup ( split, dual , stacked ) will help .. ! i like a more aggressive Bridge biased sound .. Bridge 100%/ neck 50% ish ...
i recently picked up an RMI Classic ... nice warm tight EQ/boost .. !! really nice
Ultra Jazz , Super 55 , the Model J's are huge , ... you Can get/put Black out plastic pup covers to cover just about any Poles ... !! Barts have no poles , get the more aggressive models ... also love the sound of Nords ...
any humbucker style pup ( split, dual , stacked ) will help .. ! i like a more aggressive Bridge biased sound .. Bridge 100%/ neck 50% ish ...
i recently picked up an RMI Classic ... nice warm tight EQ/boost .. !! really nice
I think this is the only place a person can come, ask for a pick up recommendation and be told to sell your bass. buy a completely different bass by one person, quit your job by another, Trade your car in by a third and have a group of people tell you to do things you've already done while not answering the original question
They told me there would be internets like this, i told them they were crazy, Look whos crazy now
lots of great pick up suggestions have been meantioned, im not gonna repeat them. But i will throw another recommendation in that if you are going to swap pickups and have it opened up..Add a series/parallel switch while your at it, Very minimal cost, very large return
They told me there would be internets like this, i told them they were crazy, Look whos crazy now
lots of great pick up suggestions have been meantioned, im not gonna repeat them. But i will throw another recommendation in that if you are going to swap pickups and have it opened up..Add a series/parallel switch while your at it, Very minimal cost, very large return
I just bought a 2003 MIM J bass....the pickups are punchy, no doubt the ceramic magnets are stronger on some basses more than others.
I've swapped around magnets for years btw on guitars and I have a Peavey Foundation which has the powerhouse Super Ferrites so I KNOW what a powerful j bass should sound like.
On the contrary, some of the USA J basses while warm and smooth with alnico magnets, I thought lacked some punch.
I was shocked how good my 2003 J bass sounds but a lot is in the particular neck and body wood....a solid neck body joint is crucial as well.
But hey, ADJUST THE STRINGS CLOSER FIRST.
I've swapped around magnets for years btw on guitars and I have a Peavey Foundation which has the powerhouse Super Ferrites so I KNOW what a powerful j bass should sound like.
On the contrary, some of the USA J basses while warm and smooth with alnico magnets, I thought lacked some punch.
I was shocked how good my 2003 J bass sounds but a lot is in the particular neck and body wood....a solid neck body joint is crucial as well.
But hey, ADJUST THE STRINGS CLOSER FIRST.
.... hang on... we haven't addressed strap height yet...
I second the advice of a good setup first. Setting the right pu height is a bit tricky in a jazz bass, but it's usually much more rewarding than changing pickups! It took me months go get that sweet spot, but finally I have all the three basic sounds working great. By the way, set pu height after other regulations, like neck curve and action...these affect pu height as well
If you want a really balls out passive pickup, the Model J is a good way to go for sure. The polepieces are exposed, but at least they're black and you really can't see them very well 
But if you don't want polepieces, EMG J's.
But if you don't want polepieces, EMG J's.
This will be long with detail.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and go against the majority who say change the pickups. And throw my hat in with the install a preamp crowd. And here's why. While changing PU's will make a change ranging from small to large installing a preamp will be a complete paradigm shift. I have proved this to myself on several occasions. By both changing PU's AND changing inPreamps AS WELL AS BOTH. Now for examples.
1) Fender Precision Bass Lyte
Installed Bartolini P/J PU's better but not dramatically better. Took them back out for another project and returned the originals which by the way, many say are the weakest link of that bass. Got a deal for an older Fodera 3band pre on CL for $75 !! Installed and it's become a best friend with night and day dramatically improved tone from lows to highs with sweet mids. I use it now on a regular basis.
2) Minnieweather 5 string with his own house wound pickups and I'm not really sure exactly what they are as he's passed. The bass was passive and played great but just sounded average. After much deliberation I took,a John East preamp out of another Jazz which I loved but can't play now due to weight and back issues. Installed it in the MW bass and voila' it's my main 5 out of several available excellent options. Punchy, phat, sweet mids, everything I wanted. I play it more than any other bass now.
3) early 60's P body w/Jazz neck, tried different pickups Fender, Delano, then while I had SDuncans in it I decided to look at Pre's that required no routing and settled on an Audere. Now it totally kills and I get requests to bring that bass because other players like it! I love it it goes from normal P to Super P and beyond.
4) 2009 Fender 60's classic Jazz Bass MIM. An extremely good recreation of a vintage Fender Jazz. Loved the neck, loved the weight, the look and the pickups sound good. We added a nitro 4 ply PG buffed the gloss off the finish. Perfect right, not quite. It just couldn't compete even with other passive basses. I loved the bass but wasn't playing it enough. Ok time for a game changer. Ordered the Audere Jazz bass drop in 3 band plate. Super simple installation, now every time I play it it's like wow this is Jazz bass heaven.... It, will, kill! ...(To quote the knife guys) Last night my buddy who plays mostly fretless and owns several Jazz basses sat in. As I listened I thought it sounded like Jaco on steroids, cutting mids, punchy, ballsy, growly, plenty of low end, pretty much everything you want out of a J. He was channeling Jaco. When he got off stage he was raving about this bass. He said "I love this bass, I don't want to stop playing it, it feels and sounds like a fretless!" He was blown away.
As others have said if you don't like it you can flip for little loss. I say do the Pre BEFORE you change the PU's you might decide you don't need to change them, you can still swap them if you want. If you paid attention 3 out of 4 examples STILL HAVE THE ORIGINAL PICKUPS!
I'm currently building another Jazz and already have an Audere that's slated for service in my new project.
I own and have owned a lot of basses and I stand by my suggestions. As always YMMV etc.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and go against the majority who say change the pickups. And throw my hat in with the install a preamp crowd. And here's why. While changing PU's will make a change ranging from small to large installing a preamp will be a complete paradigm shift. I have proved this to myself on several occasions. By both changing PU's AND changing inPreamps AS WELL AS BOTH. Now for examples.
1) Fender Precision Bass Lyte
Installed Bartolini P/J PU's better but not dramatically better. Took them back out for another project and returned the originals which by the way, many say are the weakest link of that bass. Got a deal for an older Fodera 3band pre on CL for $75 !! Installed and it's become a best friend with night and day dramatically improved tone from lows to highs with sweet mids. I use it now on a regular basis.
2) Minnieweather 5 string with his own house wound pickups and I'm not really sure exactly what they are as he's passed. The bass was passive and played great but just sounded average. After much deliberation I took,a John East preamp out of another Jazz which I loved but can't play now due to weight and back issues. Installed it in the MW bass and voila' it's my main 5 out of several available excellent options. Punchy, phat, sweet mids, everything I wanted. I play it more than any other bass now.
3) early 60's P body w/Jazz neck, tried different pickups Fender, Delano, then while I had SDuncans in it I decided to look at Pre's that required no routing and settled on an Audere. Now it totally kills and I get requests to bring that bass because other players like it! I love it it goes from normal P to Super P and beyond.
4) 2009 Fender 60's classic Jazz Bass MIM. An extremely good recreation of a vintage Fender Jazz. Loved the neck, loved the weight, the look and the pickups sound good. We added a nitro 4 ply PG buffed the gloss off the finish. Perfect right, not quite. It just couldn't compete even with other passive basses. I loved the bass but wasn't playing it enough. Ok time for a game changer. Ordered the Audere Jazz bass drop in 3 band plate. Super simple installation, now every time I play it it's like wow this is Jazz bass heaven.... It, will, kill! ...(To quote the knife guys) Last night my buddy who plays mostly fretless and owns several Jazz basses sat in. As I listened I thought it sounded like Jaco on steroids, cutting mids, punchy, ballsy, growly, plenty of low end, pretty much everything you want out of a J. He was channeling Jaco. When he got off stage he was raving about this bass. He said "I love this bass, I don't want to stop playing it, it feels and sounds like a fretless!" He was blown away.
As others have said if you don't like it you can flip for little loss. I say do the Pre BEFORE you change the PU's you might decide you don't need to change them, you can still swap them if you want. If you paid attention 3 out of 4 examples STILL HAVE THE ORIGINAL PICKUPS!
I'm currently building another Jazz and already have an Audere that's slated for service in my new project.
I own and have owned a lot of basses and I stand by my suggestions. As always YMMV etc.
- Sep 14, 2009
- 903
- 665
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- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: GullanskyLab pickups
I am not a gear snob, but--it's a Squier. If I had a Squier that I hated (and I have one that I like) then I would get a non-Squier and try it. Then mod the non-Squier if I still hated it, because, well--it's not a Squier. Or switch brands.
the obvious answer for your question seem to be dimarzio model j's... you can get them fairly cheap, you should wire each one in series, and about the exposed pole piece thing - if you really want to limit yourself with that - you can sink them deeper in the shell and raise the pickup if you wish...
