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"J" pickups discussion and comparisons - PART II

#621
Pbassmanca said:
Okay my friend, so I can only speak from limited experience. I have played both those sets of pickups on a maple neck , alder body jazz bass. From recent memory I can tell you that the Duncan quarter pounder J's have a massive, ballsy, grinding tone that really does sound great. Lots of harmonics, lots of lows , and lots of mids, pretty much lots of everything. I think that if you were to play a jazz bass with the quarter pounder jazz pickups you could cover a lot of ground in terms of musical styles and really having a massive , no bull crap tone. Now having recently played a set of the Pure Vintage 74' Fender Jazz Bass pickups, I can also tell you that they have a much different tone. The way that I would describe them would be that they have a nice , fat and yet compressed tone with an open mid range and an "airy-ness" to their harmonic content. The low-end seems to be dominated by a nice complex low mid-tone, and the highs are well-rounded but not overbearing. For me, I would definitely pick the 74's over the Quarter Pounders simply based on the classic sound and well-roundedness of the tone of the 74's. If you're looking for a more versatile , modern sound, applicable to a wider variety of hardcore musical styles, with a super fat punchiness that says "f@$k the man" , then I would go for the Seymour Duncan, Quarter Pounders. Good luck and happy bass!
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That might be what I'm looking for.

My AmStd jazz sounds nice but it's a little too friendly for my tastes. I definitely want more punch and growl to my tone which my VT bass helps with. However, it would be nice to have more of that sound inherit to the bass.
 
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#623
jmattbassplaya said:
That might be what I'm looking for.

My AmStd jazz sounds nice but it's a little too friendly for my tastes. I definitely want more punch and growl to my tone which my VT bass helps with. However, it would be nice to have more of that sound inherit to the bass.
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Same as in my case ... I’d like to try a pair of Lollar or Fralin but lately I decided to keep that bass fully stock whilst continuing to mod my MIJ Marcus Miller
 
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#627
Well, for what it's worth I just installed the Dimarzio Model J's bought. These are a totally different beast, completely silent but the bass and lows mids are highly pronounced now. Quite often with jazz pickups I feel the need to roll off a bit of the highs, not with these. I think I like them (I'll try them at a gig on Saturday), but the jury is out, very very modern, I will likely replace the strings with something a bit brighter. Not nearly as much growl as the 62 jazz (fender's) I had in there.
For my money I would ask if yourself if you want classic or modern. If you want classic and noiseless I would go for the Dimarzio Area J. If you want modern and just plain in your face and growly I would look at the Bartolini B-Axis. I love the ones I have installed. I know folks have complained about delivery issues, but my other option would Reed James Neo Jazz, I have his pickups in 3 basses and love them.
 
#628
Should also consider the DiMarzio Ultrajazz... Area J are AlNiCo 2 pickups with a drive on highs ... they are defined as the most vintage sounding noiseless pickups from DiMarzio ... Ultrajazz have AlNiCo 5 and ceramic magnets combined ... the sound is also bright but not too much and very, very clear whereas bass is truly there and the result to me is that a jazz bass with Ultrajazz can easily imitate the throaty bridge pickups sound of a certain bassist who played several years with a band led by a keyboardist of Austrian origins ... ehm ... ;)
 
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#629
And I have the Ultrajazz in a number of basses as well, either as a pair or as the noiseless bridge. One set is in a custom j/p/j I built with a Noll preamp, one set is in a custom hollow-body jazz I built with a neck that claims to be a Sadowsky (long story) and a Auguilar OPB preamp. I love the Ultrajazz, but I am in the process of deciding they sound better with a preamp than passive because of the slightly scooped characteristics, and that I think they sound best with a 2 band, which is which I didn't list them for a passive install. These were the first custom pickups I ever installed (in the j/p/j) (photo attached as incarnation 1, when it was still fretless and before I converted it to active :)). Wonderful clear sound. (The P is a Nordstrand BTW). I have seen a number of folks claim the Sadowsky jazz pickup is essentially a rebranded Ultrajazz, and I have a set of 5 string Sadowkys I have never installed (as they 3.75"), and physically they look identical to me except for the logo (wiring, back etc).
j-p-j.jpg
 
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#630
My Fender has the stock 60s Customs in it. To my ear, they sound great but I find them to be a bit too polite, neutral, and maybe just a hair heavy in the highs. By that I mean the bass doesn't really punch or growl as much as I would like and the overall tone isn't very thick in the lows or mids.

I'm not 100% sure what I'm looking for at this moment, but I do love the Marcus Miller sound along with the tones that a lot of R&B guys get. I probably want something modern but in the Jazz and R&B veins.
 
#631
jmattbassplaya said:
My Fender has the stock 60s Customs in it. To my ear, they sound great but I find them to be a bit too polite, neutral, and maybe just a hair heavy in the highs. By that I mean the bass doesn't really punch or growl as much as I would like and the overall tone isn't very thick in the lows or mids.

I'm not 100% sure what I'm looking for at this moment, but I do love the Marcus Miller sound along with the tones that a lot of R&B guys get. I probably want something modern but in the Jazz and R&B veins.
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Lollar single coil, Nordstrand single coil, Fralin single coil non overwound, DiMarzio Ultrajazz dual in-line coils etc. .... one of these should do the trick .... which one? It depends on your taste .... expensive exercise but it is what it is ... didn’t mention Bartolinis for the simple reason that they haven’t got exposed poke pieces and a passive jazz bass should have pickups with exposed pole pieces IMO (ok ok aside from B-Axis which are not part of the Classic Bass and whatever lines of aftermarket pickups Bartolini originally developed)
 
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#632
Of course we haven’t mentioned the Fender Original and the Pure Vintage ‘64 and ‘74 single coils ... they are also more growly than the CS 60s ... buy them all, buy an Obsidianwire harness and try them all with the publication of a nice youtube video ... it would be the mother of all pickup tests on Am. Std. jazz basses :);)
 
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#633
jmattbassplaya said:
My Fender has the stock 60s Customs in it. To my ear, they sound great but I find them to be a bit too polite, neutral, and maybe just a hair heavy in the highs. By that I mean the bass doesn't really punch or growl as much as I would like and the overall tone isn't very thick in the lows or mids.

I'm not 100% sure what I'm looking for at this moment, but I do love the Marcus Miller sound along with the tones that a lot of R&B guys get. I probably want something modern but in the Jazz and R&B veins.
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I suggest the Nordstrand NJ4SE pickups for a punchier attack, and a slightly rolled off top end. They really have an awesome tone! I'm not a big bridge pickup player, but these found me using the bridge pickup a lot more than usual. With a little mid scoop around 500K, they also still have a great slap tone that is very present, but doesn't get glassy.

I might also suggest pairing them with the John East J-Retro pre, if you want even more versatility, though the Nordstrand boost only 2 band also is killer, if you want something a little simpler with more of an organic type tone. Of course, if you want to stay passive, then never mind at all!
 
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#634
Why should a passive bass have exposed pole pieces, I don;t see any science behind that? I have a jazz with a pair of the original Hi-As in it and it is hands down the best pair of passive pickups I have IMO. The only reason I don't recommend them more is the difficulty in finding a pair.
 
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#635
Curious to all you J bass pickup fiends out there ;)

Are any of You running your J pickups in series?

I'm running the flowing.

  • Alinco pickups in series (bypass the pan pot)
  • Alnico picups using the Audere Preamp are using the standard Audere connection and the Low Z preamp load, by Dave Meadows
  • Ceramic (Dimarzio Model J) are wired in parallel

Even my Nordstrand Big Singles are in series.
 
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#636
I have a Kelling harness in one that lets you run in parallel or series. To me series sounds a bit more modern and there is definitely an output boost, but honestly more of an evolution than a revolution. I almost never use it, if I want the more aggressive sound I have a JJ with a 2 band EQ that I can pull a knob to change to passive, that is far more useful to me.

-------------------------------------
Are any of You running your J pickups in series?
 
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#638
They make a 5 string version of the 4th generation noiseless pickups for their current 5 string basses (American Elite V) but they don't sell them. Lots of great 3rd party 5 string jazz pickups, be really careful though that you measure them. They come in two sizes, essentially 3 3.4 inch and 4 inch, and some use both pickups the same length, and some use a long short. The Sadowsky 5 strings for example are the shorter ones and both are the same size (3 3/4).

If you want absolutely authentic sounding single coil 62s I would recommend Klein 1962 Epic Series 5-String Jazz Bass Pickups, bit pricey though - $240. Dimarzio does a noise Area J that is very classic sound and noiseless, the model is a DP552 and they cost about $140, I would suggest those myself if you need noiseless.

Duncan does Quarter Pounders and Apollo jazz, Nordstrand does single coil and parallel coil, Aguilar has a sweet set. If you want modern I would go for the Bartolini B-axis. Fralin does a great set for about $200, and Reed James does a noiseless set, but make sure they a set in stock or you will wait a while for them if he custom builds them. Hanson (Lakland) also does a really sweet set, but not exactly classic.

Here is a link to the Kleins
1962 Epic Series Jazz Bass 5-String Precision (P-Bass) - Klein Pickups
 
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#639
TonyP- said:
Curious to all you J bass pickup fiends out there ;)

Are any of You running your J pickups in series?

I'm running the flowing.

  • Alinco pickups in series (bypass the pan pot)
  • Alnico picups using the Audere Preamp are using the standard Audere connection and the Low Z preamp load, by Dave Meadows
  • Ceramic (Dimarzio Model J) are wired in parallel

Even my Nordstrand Big Singles are in series.
Click to expand...

I installed a series/parallel switch on my Geddy jazz last year, with Nordstrand Jazz Blade pickups. I'm a P Bass guy at heart and I find series on a Jazz gets a little closer to P territory, but it's still a distinctly Jazz sound though, just a bit thicker (and louder). Close enough for live, but in the studio I'd just grab a P.

EDIT: I love having the switch though. It's a great mod. Can't believe it took me like 10 years to finally try it on my jazz. :p
 
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#640
NKBassman said:
I installed a series/parallel switch on my Geddy jazz last year, with Nordstrand Jazz Blade pickups. I'm a P Bass guy at heart and I find series on a Jazz gets a little closer to P territory, but it's still a distinctly Jazz sound though, just a bit thicker (and louder). Close enough for live, but in the studio I'd just grab a P.

EDIT: I love having the switch though. It's a great mod. Can't believe it took me like 10 years to finally try it on my jazz. :p
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Hi, yeah there is cerntainly a lower mid tonal response that is different that I'm not sure you can EQ that easily.

As a guy that has to cut through a ton of percussion on a regular basis, series is additcting with medium to slighty brighter pickups.
 
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