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"J" pickups discussion and comparisons - PART II

#761
Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati said:
I think thay can be whatever without any visible markings, codes or writings on the bottom .. what did the seller tell you about them, what did you manage to understand from him? Why did you buy them? What did drive you towards buying this particular set of pickups in Japan? Did the seller tell you where he took them from more or less?
Click to expand...
I was in japan as tourist and go to the music district. There was a lot of music shops who sell aftermarket guitars and other stuff, as tuners, pickups, pickguards etc.
It was laying on the table right on the street near the enterance in the shop. I noticed that this p/u doesnt look like japan style p/u i saw earlier (i was working for a few years in japan-guitar shop in russia and saw a lot)
I ask seller is it a fender pickups? He repeated - fender - and nooded his had. Then i ask - is it USA fender? He repeated agan.
But they do it constantly:) even if they dont undarstand you:)
I thought that words “fender” and “USA” is international words and no need to be translated.
Thats all information i got.

And they have numbers on the bottom - 1091 and 2091

And the price i spend - about ¥10000 (about $100)
 
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#762
Kekcbass said:
I was in japan as tourist and go to the music district. There was a lot of music shops who sell aftermarket guitars and other stuff, as tuners, pickups, pickguards etc.
It was laying on the table right on the street near the enterance in the shop. I noticed that this p/u doesnt look like japan style p/u i saw earlier (i was working for a few years in japan-guitar shop in russia and saw a lot)
I ask seller is it a fender pickups? He repeated - fender - and nooded his had. Then i ask - is it USA fender? He repeated agan.
But they do it constantly:) even if they dont undarstand you:)
I thought that words “fender” and “USA” is international words and no need to be translated.
Thats all information i got.

And they have numbers on the bottom - 1091 and 2091

And the price i spend - about ¥10000 (about $100)
Click to expand...
Currently made Fender pickups part number for jazz bass start with 099-2xxx or 099-3xxx ... the markings you saw may refer to the part number code of old pickups ... mh .. let me see if I can help ...
 
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#764
Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati said:
Currently made Fender pickups part number for jazz bass start with 099-2xxx or 099-3xxx ... the markings you saw may refer to the part number code of old pickups ... mh .. let me see if I can help ...
Click to expand...
Here they are in attached files
 

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#766
I just pulled the trigger on a pair of Fender Original Jazz bass pickups. I'm curious to hear if these are similar to the vintage reissue '62 Jazz pickups from back in the late 90s/early 00s. They appear to have the same beveled pole pieces, and some similarities in tone, based on the description. I have two Jazz basses right now, a MiM Geddy Lee and an American Performer Jazz, not sure which one to use these on, but learning towards the American Performer right now.
 
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#767
Recently, I acquired a 1966 Jazz bass and traded a parts-Jazz for it (very good parts, though). The seller of the '66 started modding the trade parts bass and was looking for a set of Custom Shop '62 pickups for it.

Now, I have another parts-Jazz in my possession that plays and sounds good with the Duncan SJB-2 pickups. Would the '62s be a good alternative to use my parts-Jazz as a credible backup to the '66, in terms of the sound I could expect from this change? Right now, I believe the Seymour Duncans sound brighter and less saturated (more modern) than the '66.
 
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#768
crucislancer said:
I just pulled the trigger on a pair of Fender Original Jazz bass pickups. I'm curious to hear if these are similar to the vintage reissue '62 Jazz pickups from back in the late 90s/early 00s. They appear to have the same beveled pole pieces, and some similarities in tone, based on the description. I have two Jazz basses right now, a MiM Geddy Lee and an American Performer Jazz, not sure which one to use these on, but learning towards the American Performer right now.
Click to expand...

Any feedback on this? Worth trying? From couple of videos out there, they seems very nice...
 
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#772
First impressions on Original Vintage pickups... Bass originally comes with some sort of "alnico 5 vintage" pickups, so all the differences are quite subtle. There was no initial wow effect, as it was with my P bass. And they do sound as proper 60s jazz, as much as it could be achieved with instrument made beyond 2000. Refined, with bit less output, nice handling of different dynamics, more details, more grit and grind, and some pleasant sizzle. Best improvement so far is in busy playalong situations, where the bass is now strongly pronounced, rich and full with perfectly defined pitch, without being too loud. As a drawback, these are picking so much noise when singled... There is even some "lightsaber effect" I've never heard before. Have no idea if it could be fixed somehow ...
 
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#773
bozha said:
First impressions on Original Vintage pickups... Bass originally comes with some sort of "alnico 5 vintage" pickups, so all the differences are quite subtle. There was no initial wow effect, as it was with my P bass. And they do sound as proper 60s jazz, as much as it could be achieved with instrument made beyond 2000. Refined, with bit less output, nice handling of different dynamics, more details, more grit and grind, and some pleasant sizzle. Best improvement so far is in busy playalong situations, where the bass is now strongly pronounced, rich and full with perfectly defined pitch, without being too loud. As a drawback, these are picking so much noise when singled... There is even some "lightsaber effect" I've never heard before. Have no idea if it could be fixed somehow ...
Click to expand...

That light-saber effect could be an issue with the strings.
 
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#774
Hi all - I have a Fender AVRI '75 Jazz I picked up on a trade a few years back. It sounded terrible. Anemic is the best way I can describe it. When I opened it up I could tell they were not the original pickups.

So I put in Model J 's and a Gotoh bridge and it turned into a beast that has been my number 1 up until recently.

However, lately I have been craving more clarity.

Any recos on what can deliver the THUMP of the Model J but with more clarity?
 
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#775
I had some Ultra J noise cancelling pickups in a Sadowsky Metro but prefer single coils. Replaced them with Nordstrand NJ4 which were an improvement but didn’t get on with the bass so sold it.

You do get the 60Hz hum with non-noise cancelling single coils but I think it’s worth it and it’s easy enough to deal with by holding the strings or muting if there are fluorescent lights etc.

Marcus X single coils in the Sire Gen 2 V7 Vintage are excellent. However I’ve moved away from active basses and find the tone much better in passive basses with single coils. I have a Fender Jazz with CS-60 which are nice and growly. Hopefully trying out some Fralins soon.

The most growly are EMG JVX which are extremely clear due to the low number of windings. I have these in a Shuker jazz bass. Higher windings have more capacitance which makes pickups warmer (ie muddier). The EMGs are single coil but there is no hum at all. Being powered they require fewer windings so have lower capacitance and are less susceptible to electrical interference hence no hum.

In general, low string action and playing style (allowing strings to rattle a bit on the frets by pressing more lightly) help to bring out the growl as well as the pickups used IMHO.
 
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#776
SickAura said:
Hi all - I have a Fender AVRI '75 Jazz I picked up on a trade a few years back. It sounded terrible. Anemic is the best way I can describe it. When I opened it up I could tell they were not the original pickups.

So I put in Model J 's and a Gotoh bridge and it turned into a beast that has been my number 1 up until recently.

However, lately I have been craving more clarity.

Any recos on what can deliver the THUMP of the Model J but with more clarity?
Click to expand...

Have you tried Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders? Or the Hot version if you want more mids? The Apollos apparently sound great too.
 
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#777
Eatmore Punkin 1/4 pounder big cups ?

I'm not getting anything near to comparison out of some $25 Ebay alnico 5 pickups, they are cleaner than cheapo ceramics but still no magic like this.
Just a word play game, they sound great. I was getting hit hard myself during the original post the other day.
 
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#778
SickAura said:
Hi all - I have a Fender AVRI '75 Jazz I picked up on a trade a few years back. It sounded terrible. Anemic is the best way I can describe it. When I opened it up I could tell they were not the original pickups.

So I put in Model J 's and a Gotoh bridge and it turned into a beast that has been my number 1 up until recently.

However, lately I have been craving more clarity.

Any recos on what can deliver the THUMP of the Model J but with more clarity?
Click to expand...

How about a 500 ohm pots? That would allow you to get a brighter tone from those pickups which should help with clarity.
 
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#779
Hello, I’m currently looking for a decent replacement for the gen4 pickups on my fender elite 4 string jazz bass. Nothing wrong with them, the bass sounds amazing, I just feel it’s lacking a little in the harmonic department. Are the Aguilar 4J-HC pickups a good substitute or should I just leave the gen4s?
 
#780
Also, what about Rio Grande Muy Grande jazz pickups?
SickAura said:
Hi all - I have a Fender AVRI '75 Jazz I picked up on a trade a few years back. It sounded terrible. Anemic is the best way I can describe it. When I opened it up I could tell they were not the original pickups.

So I put in Model J 's and a Gotoh bridge and it turned into a beast that has been my number 1 up until recently.

However, lately I have been craving more clarity.

Any recos on what can deliver the THUMP of the Model J but with more clarity?
Click to expand...
 
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