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"J" pickups discussion and comparisons - PART II

#361
Pantone 333 said:
I have a set of the Nordstrand NJ4SV and couldn't be happier. Fantastic pickups. I have them on my Fender Custom Shop '64 Jazz.
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Did your custom shop come with the fender CS 60's pickups or the pure vintage '64 pickups? I played a Flea signature the other day and was blown away by the pickups. Probably the best sounding jazz I have ever played, but I have not played one with Nordstrands.
 
#362
winegamd said:
Did your custom shop come with the fender CS 60's pickups or the pure vintage '64 pickups? I played a Flea signature the other day and was blown away by the pickups. Probably the best sounding jazz I have ever played, but I have not played one with Nordstrands.
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My Bass came with the vintage pickups; which I loved by the way. The only reason I switched to Nordstrand was because of the RFI and hum. To me, the NJ4SV sound exactly like the vintage pickups ... minus all of the noise.
 
#364
the Nordy J Blades I ordered on Black Friday are finally in! Looks like I'll have to warm up my soldering iron this weekend.
I'm also going to try and experiment with these wired in series. I don't think I have any push/pull pots at home (should have ordered one w/ the pickups), so I'll have to hard wire it for now to see if I like it. :)
 
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#365
Nordy Big J Blades are in. So far I think they sound clearer than the Lace Man-O-Wars they replaced. I haven't dialed in the pickup heights yet, but I've got a couple of jams this week to play around with that bass.

EDIT: I set the pickup heights using the "nickel method" last night and the string-to-string balance is much improved VS the Lace pickups.
 
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#367
Stradivarius said:
Hi, I dont want to open a new thread to ask this simple question.
Is a jazz hum cancelling pick up the same as a P bass pick up?
Do they sound similar?
Cheers!
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Some are two coils side-by-side, yes.
jb-hc.jpg


But another hum cancelling design uses two coils stacked one on top of the other.
stackedSD.jpg


As far as I know, neither one really sounds like a P bass pickup, no.
 
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#368
The wider armature and pole piece placement are big reason for the difference in the P pickup tone. With the pole pieces being spaced out on most P's, it act a little more like a bar magnet catching more vibration of the string. With the wider armature the P has more windings making it a hotter signal with less high end. If you could get a split coil J pickup with bar magnets that utilized small wire so you could cram as many turns as possible on the bobbin, then you could probably get close to the P tone. You could never get all the way there as J's just are not wide enough.
 
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#371
Stradivarius said:
Clear explanation.
So a hum cancelling pick up would be a middle point between single coil and a P pup?
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Middle point in terms of what? Sound? No, still not really.
Most makers, when developing a hum cancelling jazz bass pickup, will try to get them to sound as much like a single coil jazz bass pickup as possible.
So what they are is a hum-free jazz bass pickup. Nothing P about it.
 
#375
David Canady said:
A P/J bass is one alternative but you don't get the neck J pup tone. Another option is to have two basses. That way you can let the Jazz bass do what it is designed to do and the P bass do what it is designed to do. I have my wife convinced of that.
View attachment 1028847
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Well.....to me a P bass is the iconic instrument that has ONE pickup, thus you don't think about switching between pickups when playing a P bass....personally, I concentrate on the thumpy nature of a P bass.

Otoh, there is MUCH more to think about with a J bass (for me anyway) or most any bass or guitar with more than 1 pickup.. for me anyway.

I truly think you need both a P and a J...but I see the argument for a P/J combo which I sorta have with my Ibanez SR800, though its a modern sound and I constantly find myself fiddling with pickup settings.

Right now I am stuck on the possibilities of the J bass bridge sound...that GROWL and what happens when you use a pick and pick down by the bridge and/or with various pedals.
 
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#376
So, just a few thoughts on the Big J Blades so far...

I had a chance to play them with the band last night and everybody thought they sounded great. Also a few comments that they look cool, so that's good too I guess! Haha

I found them to be a lot more articulate than the Lace Man-O-Wars, but not lacking in low end at all. Played with a pick they were growly but not overly bright. A very nice, well balanced sound. Also very well balanced string-to-string. Definitely no complaints there. Highly recommended to anyone with a bass with a tighter fingerboard radius.

I also found the pickups very responsive to changes in technique. Growly when digging in, and softening/fattening up when played lighter. Also nicely sensitive to right hand plucking location.

When favoring the bridge pickup I didn't find the hum to be anything I'd ever worry about in a live situation.

Compared to the Lace pickups they replaced, and the Dimarzio Model Js that were in that bass before, I'd say the Big J Blades definitely lean more towards the "traditional" sound. I'm no expert on "vintage" Jazz pickup tones though, so some may argue that claim.

Overall I'm liking these pickups at first glance.
 
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#379
David Canady said:
The blue bass in my photo is an SR800 and my go-to bass for rock gigs. I normally have a SansAmp Programmable in my chain. With 3 saved settings I've got 99% of the tones I need covered. I use my custom 5 string for Country gigs.
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Yeah....the SR800 seems like a rock bass to my ears....since I found this near mint 2003 MIM J bass, I find the SR800 to be complicated to play.

Maybe I am just lazy!

The sounds are there in the SR800 but its like I would need to spend a LOT of time with it whereas the MIM J bass is so simple.

Do you favor either pickup in the SR800?
 

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