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"J" pickups discussion and comparisons - PART II
- Thread starter grygrx
- Start date
There was no spec sheet but the pickups are noiseless- so when I turn one or the other down, there's no 60 cycle hum like on my 07 Jazz. Don't much about them other than that- will look into it online what the specs are. They sound fine though-
So I note that current Fender Gen IV Noiseless pickups are labeled as such on their covers, whether they are sold separately or come as an option on the Mod Shop Jazz Bass. Mine are not labeled as such but nevertheless they are noiseless no matter what the volume or tone settings are. Curious indeed. Perhaps the noiseless variants were installed incognito back in 2023.
Have you taken off the cover to check, or are you going by your experience of not hearing noise? AFAIK, Fender noiseless jazz pickups use a stack arrangement like this:
I'm going by not hearing any noise as I have other basses with passive JJ pickup configurations that hum unless both pickups are played in tandem. What your picture shows is probably the case because thus far I prefer it with the tone knob, up or close to it, as it sounds pretty dull with it rolled all the way off. Truth be told I'm not curious enough to pull them out and take a look, having just spent some time adjusting the trussrod and getting the action down like I prefer it. In which case I had to remove the pickguard since the gold one does not have the relief notch for the trussrod wrench. Come to think of it I might have seen what you're talking about if I was looking for it-- I'll take a look at a picture I snapped of the guitar with the pickguard off -
This is what I found online-
"Your 2023 Fender Jazz Bass likely has Gen 4 Noiseless pickups, which are designed to be hum-free, even though they might not be explicitly labeled as "noiseless" on the pickup covers themselves
. Some models, like the American Ultra Jazz Bass, come with these noiseless pickups as a standard feature and do not have the word "noiseless" printed on the covers."
The pickups look like they might be tall enough to be the stacked coil type- this is all I have regarding photos of the exposed pickups-
"Your 2023 Fender Jazz Bass likely has Gen 4 Noiseless pickups, which are designed to be hum-free, even though they might not be explicitly labeled as "noiseless" on the pickup covers themselves
. Some models, like the American Ultra Jazz Bass, come with these noiseless pickups as a standard feature and do not have the word "noiseless" printed on the covers."
The pickups look like they might be tall enough to be the stacked coil type- this is all I have regarding photos of the exposed pickups-
Wanting a humcancelling pickup similar in character to the Nordstand Big J Blade, could I do much better than the Delano JC 4 HE/M2?
I'm only wanting a neck pickup, it's to be solo-ed.
I'm only wanting a neck pickup, it's to be solo-ed.
Hi guys, I am looking for a pickup and active electronics upgrade for my 2012 5 string Fender Jazz Bass, eyeing the Nordstrand Big J-Blade 5 and their 3 band preamp. I would have stayed with the original Fender electronics, but I am not a big fan volume and blend pots. That's why I am looking for volume/volume, bass, mid, treble electronics, optionally with no need for active/passive toggle. Is anyone using this Nordstrand duo? Or do you have any other/better suggestion?
I have a Squier Paranormal Jazz '54, and while the tone is pretty decent, it sounds a bit weak at times - even on the neck pickup there isn't much "thump". The output also seems really low, and even boosting the output using my compressor pedal, it's still so low that my overdrive pedal has to be cranked right up to get any drive at all.
I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for replacement pickups. I'd be looking for ones that can simply be swapped in, so passive and standard Jazz size (I'm assuming stacked noiseless ones might need some routing to deepen the cut-outs?). I'd want a traditional range of Jazz tones for playing rock and indie, with a good output and plenty of thump and presence, something that'll cut through. A favourite Jazz tone of mine is that of Rutger Gunnarsson (ABBA), if that helps as a reference. Any help is appreciated!
I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for replacement pickups. I'd be looking for ones that can simply be swapped in, so passive and standard Jazz size (I'm assuming stacked noiseless ones might need some routing to deepen the cut-outs?). I'd want a traditional range of Jazz tones for playing rock and indie, with a good output and plenty of thump and presence, something that'll cut through. A favourite Jazz tone of mine is that of Rutger Gunnarsson (ABBA), if that helps as a reference. Any help is appreciated!
I'd Say duncan apollo's all the way. very vintage voiced, but with some added heft
- Jun 30, 2010
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- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
Mentioned in my post #1,197 on page 60 - PV64 J pu's installed in my (Gildaxe) Ubersonic - awesome sounding pu's, understandable why so many players like them.
- Aug 21, 2003
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- A-Designs Mike Lull GK Tsunami Cables GHS Strings RMI Basswitch Nordstrand Pickups Darkglass
I'm assuming you did you digging in this thread.
I agree with @manchego_eggo that the Duncans apollos are a good vintage pickup with a more heft, the Dimarzio Model J is less vintage but even more heft then the Duncans.
Just my $.02
The Model J are my favorite passive pickups.
I've no experience with the following suggestion of mine, but i've heard Dimarzio Ultra Js are pretty good, & side by side coil for noiseless operation (vs duncan stacked).
Ok. So having rescued the neck on my Squier CV, I’m now looking at the possibility of eliminating hum. And I have questions.
1. The Squier does what it should; with both pups at equal volume, hum vanishes. But… doesn’t this just kinda make them both function as one very widely spaced humbucker?
2. As the answer to this is obviously yes, shouldn’t it be the case that a humbucker on its own should be able to get VERY close to that tone? Or is there something special about two ‘live’ pickup coils vs a live coil plus a coil whose only purpose is hum rejection?
Understand that I loooove how my bass sounds, and would be incredibly reluctant to mess with it. But it can never hurt to fully understand the available options.
1. The Squier does what it should; with both pups at equal volume, hum vanishes. But… doesn’t this just kinda make them both function as one very widely spaced humbucker?
2. As the answer to this is obviously yes, shouldn’t it be the case that a humbucker on its own should be able to get VERY close to that tone? Or is there something special about two ‘live’ pickup coils vs a live coil plus a coil whose only purpose is hum rejection?
Understand that I loooove how my bass sounds, and would be incredibly reluctant to mess with it. But it can never hurt to fully understand the available options.
1. Essentially a Jazz bass has it's pickups/controls wired in parallel. That's the iconic sound, a burpy mid scooped tone. So yes, when both are full volume, it's a "humbucker" that's wired in parallel. Some, including myself, have added a series/parallel switch (either via mini toggle, or i opted for push/push volume pot replacing the neck control). This essentially gives a bigger boost in volume & low end (compared to parallel), & while it does only give you a single volume control, since in series it bypasses the bridge volume, it's much louder overall. I've done the mod a few times, & depending on the pickups, it works great, or it's too much. Traditional Jazz bass pickups with a classic low-medium output seem to work best with that series/parallel switch. Higher wound/output pickups have their place with it (my personal Jazz bass build has a pair of Duncan Quarter Pounders) & while it's massive sounding (because 2x 13k pickups in series = roughly 26k), i don't find myself using it in series mode much if ever.
2. Not all "humbucker" Jazz bass pickups are created equally to give you the classic Jazz bass burpy mid scoop sound. Some potentially can, like Duncan's Classic Stack J pickups, Dimarzio Ultra Jazz pickups, Nordstrand & Aguilar also have a few select offerings, & i'm sure there's more out there i'm just unfamiliar with. However, in their construction they can miss a few marks of the single coil J bass sound. I would opt for Dimarzio Ultras or Nordstrand's Jazz bass pickups because the hum canceling coils are side by side, which according to them & perhaps players who've experience with, have kept that traditional mid scoop burpiness but with no noise when solo'd. Whereas Duncan's Stacked offerings, are sat on top of each other, which would require a deeper routing in the body to have the height set. It's been a long time since i played with the classic stack, & back then, i wasn't a big fan of Jazz basses to start (coming from mainly playing precision basses), from what i can remember the classic stack sounded good overall. Couldn't tell you how close they are to real Jazz bass tone without the hum, but they worked.
Another option, which is more involves but also beneficial, is shielding the cavities with copper foil. That also limits the noise floor when soloing either pickup. You may want to try that first, + it doesn't hurt to have
- Aug 21, 2003
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- 18,607
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- A-Designs Mike Lull GK Tsunami Cables GHS Strings RMI Basswitch Nordstrand Pickups Darkglass
I’m in the same camp as you with the the Model Js…I have 3 set up in 3 different tunings, all with Schaller bridges.
They have a “sound” for sure, (a sound that I don’t think is captured the way I hear when I play vs others in YouTube demos).
The only other I’m considering right now would be SD 1/4 pounders.
Donavan pickups (small pickup up building in California) is working on 5 string to get a close to the Dimarzio Model J as possible, but He is not sure can do it.
I’m thinking - IF I were to make a change - that a Model J in the neck and a Nordstrom hum-canceling in the bridge would be a good combo.
