I bought a bass made in ‘84 with those pickups in it and I just love the tone. I ask because I would consider putting the EMG Js in any J bass at this point.
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"J" pickups discussion and comparisons - PART II
- Thread starter grygrx
- Start date
Hi every one.
I read through the whole thread, hoping to find info on the wooly Big J Blades 5s. There not much really, even searching The rest of the forum didnt spit much out. I dont have much experience with Pups, back then I got a 2006 Vic Bailey Fender. the Pickups sucked and the pre also. So I got my self a Flexcore and a set of Nordstrands NJ5FS and threw it in. Worked well sounded good. Played it for 6 or more years now.
When the Big J Blade came out, I heard the sound in that Video Its a Tokay, its kind of a boomy recording but sounds thick =) I liked the character, I thought about it but didnt jump on it.
My Bass is Mahogany and has a Koa top, and its very Bright and super clear, Piano like. think the fretboard increases the Brightness. Although the Flexcore can pretty much do anything from Flat to Bright Top huge Bottom Bathtub EQ, over midrange burp, to reggae dub.
It has a slim bare bones sound, I can add eq it to fatten, but it is not the same as if the bass would be thick sounding.
A the other reason, im looking around is maximum dynamics.
I cant tell for sure, but it seems that the NJ5FS Pups are compressing or the dynamic range is limited somehow.
The string height should be ok, not to close not to far away from the strings.
I tried quite a while until I found the right balance.
Do singles have a bigger dynamic range than noise cancelling PUs ?
Im guessing those J Blade Pickups could give the Bass more thick mids. So far so good, thats what I guess.
Now as I said I dont have much of an idea about pick ups. am I on the right Track ?
Im guessing again, there is so little info, are these big singles not that great ?
Thanks
I read through the whole thread, hoping to find info on the wooly Big J Blades 5s. There not much really, even searching The rest of the forum didnt spit much out. I dont have much experience with Pups, back then I got a 2006 Vic Bailey Fender. the Pickups sucked and the pre also. So I got my self a Flexcore and a set of Nordstrands NJ5FS and threw it in. Worked well sounded good. Played it for 6 or more years now.
When the Big J Blade came out, I heard the sound in that Video Its a Tokay, its kind of a boomy recording but sounds thick =) I liked the character, I thought about it but didnt jump on it.
My Bass is Mahogany and has a Koa top, and its very Bright and super clear, Piano like. think the fretboard increases the Brightness. Although the Flexcore can pretty much do anything from Flat to Bright Top huge Bottom Bathtub EQ, over midrange burp, to reggae dub.
It has a slim bare bones sound, I can add eq it to fatten, but it is not the same as if the bass would be thick sounding.
A the other reason, im looking around is maximum dynamics.
I cant tell for sure, but it seems that the NJ5FS Pups are compressing or the dynamic range is limited somehow.
The string height should be ok, not to close not to far away from the strings.
I tried quite a while until I found the right balance.
Do singles have a bigger dynamic range than noise cancelling PUs ?
Im guessing those J Blade Pickups could give the Bass more thick mids. So far so good, thats what I guess.
Now as I said I dont have much of an idea about pick ups. am I on the right Track ?
Im guessing again, there is so little info, are these big singles not that great ?
Thanks
Hi all, hooking up in this thread with a question asked before, but haven't found a satisfying answer.
I have put a set of Fender CS60 in my Fender Classic Series 60 Jazz Bass. To me they sound really weak and dull, and yes I have reversed the leads on one of them to check, which was clearly not the problem.
I read a lot of people saying they are an upgrade, high-output, vintage-yet-clear, deep-yet-crisp and whatnot.
Are there more people finding these a bit boring or do I have a friday-afternoon-set?
I have put a set of Fender CS60 in my Fender Classic Series 60 Jazz Bass. To me they sound really weak and dull, and yes I have reversed the leads on one of them to check, which was clearly not the problem.
I read a lot of people saying they are an upgrade, high-output, vintage-yet-clear, deep-yet-crisp and whatnot.
Are there more people finding these a bit boring or do I have a friday-afternoon-set?
I found them very warm if a little dark and no more output than ordinary single coil. Had to have tone dimed. Loved them finger style but not so much with a pick.
I agree....But...Have found they sound great in some basses and not so great in others.
They are not as loud and growly as I was expecting, but an ash bodied Jazz bass I have, they do sound fantastic in every way.....my 60s Mexi Jazz, not so much.
I had a set in my ash bodied American Jazz, with maple board. I like them more than the pickups the bass came with, and they certainly weren't any louder, but they had a nice tone. But, I replaced them with a set of Fralins, and that bass sounds even better now.
Thank you all for your replies. I think we're in the same spot. Dark, warm and not too much output and maybe better on an ash body with maple fretboard. My 60s is MIM like murphy's, and has alder body with Pau Ferro fretboard. I am looking for a vintage tone and feel witht flats on this one, but maybe mellow + mellow = too mellow. Think I'm going to put in some Toneriders, great budget pickups, close to Lindy Fralins in tone. Had them in a '70s Greco and loved them (the Greco too, but it was over 10pounds).
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,591
- 221,980
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
Is this a question, a statement, or what? As far as I know there is no such beast.
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,591
- 221,980
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
These are the pickups that come stock with the '66 American Vintage II Jazz bass. In my opinion, they are some of the best I've heard. Much better than those from the AV '62 Jazz, and the Klein '62 Epic Series. Maybe it has something to do with the lower resistance - mine measure 6.13 in the neck and 6.40 in the bridge, which is typical of vintage '66 Jazz basses.
Here's a great comparison of the American Vintage II '66 Jazz with a real '66 Jazz bass. I think the American Vintage II '66 Jazz is the winner here.
I put a set of fender vintage reissue pickups in my Player Jazz bass. The stock pickups had an issue so I selected these as cost effective replacements. I don't hate them but they are very... lacking in character shall we say. Very clean, and good sounding but not great and no growl ar all.
Would the custom shop jazz pickups or maybe something after market get me some of that character?
Would the custom shop jazz pickups or maybe something after market get me some of that character?
I have a set of Lindy Fralins in both of my MIA Jazz basses. Big improvement from the pickups they came with. I had a set of CS 60's but they just didn't do it for me. The Fralins have a lot of character for sure.
compared (poorly) the Relentless J to the Model J if anyone is interested.
I found the Relentless to be a welcome update with more clarity, output and more quiet!
Has anybody compared the Dimarzio Model J and Relentless J pickups?
I found the Relentless to be a welcome update with more clarity, output and more quiet!
Has anybody compared the Dimarzio Model J and Relentless J pickups?
First off, remember that the Blades are single coils where the NJ5FS are hum-cancelling. There will be some slight tonal differences between the two designs. If you look at Nordstrand’s site, they have a Tone graph for each pickup they offer. The NJ5FS’s brightness is rated as a 4 on a scale of 1-10, 10 being brightest. The Warm and Wooly Blades are also rated as 4. The Clean and Clear version is rated as a 6.
For me, the W&W would be too dark.
Also, the Blades have higher output than your average pickup. A lot of bottom and low
Mid, probably not as overwhelming as SD Quarter Pounds…
There are a few videos out
There are a few videos by this guy who likes them in Fretless basses, and they do sound great!
I almost bought a set of C&C for my Fretless but decided to try Aguilar AG5J HC’s. They have lower output and more vintage tone.
