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"J" pickups discussion and comparisons.

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#321
I installed a pair of Samarium Cobalt's into my jazz last night.
They sound great! HUGE improvement over the Stock MIM Pups. My first choice was the DiMarzio Model J's and I still may get them as some point but these are really cool! Nice, full vintage tone, and guess what!! NO HUM!!! YEAH!!! I get to use my pup's at different volumes!!! hahaha
 
#322
SMASH said:
- new Fender J p'ups = 2

- old Fender J p'ups = 4.5

- Nordstrand NJ4 = 5 (if you can't get a 30 y/o set of p'ups but want the same vibe, with perhaps slightly more bottom and no breakup on the highs - nearly exact sonic replica of my '74 p'ups)
Click to expand...

so does it mean you think nj4 is better than original fender pup?? great!! i think so too! but my friends don't believe me. they said, "it f***ing impossible"

go carey nordstrand go!! i'm one of your fan!!
 
#323
Geddy Claypool said:
If I'm going for a big, punchy, mid-heavy, GROWLY tone, should I look into the Aero 1's, Aero 3's, or Dimarzio Model J's?
Click to expand...

GC

[hello again....]
Alot of guys say here that the Aeros are transparent & makes a good, solid, J bass tone. Dont know.
If you are putting the DiM's in your SX J (did it) - it will become transformed.... turn the bridge pup down past halfway and its a hungry doberman you have strapped around your shoulders!!! I love it!! :)
 
#324
blowabs said:
GC

[hello again....]
Alot of guys say here that the Aeros are transparent & makes a good, solid, J bass tone. Dont know.
If you are putting the DiM's in your SX J (did it) - it will become transformed.... turn the bridge pup down past halfway and its a hungry doberman you have strapped around your shoulders!!! I love it!! :)
Click to expand...

that's what i love to hear!
 
#326
i've never heard the model j's - i've used only quarter pounders.

i'd love to hear anyone else's experiences comparing these two! (and any suggestion how they compare to the stock lakland jazz pickups, such as in the joe osborne?)
 
#327
Bought a J bass with flat wounds and Lace pickups that sound very, very, good but, have a low output.
Both of my other J basses have roundwounds (one stock 73, one 74 with Model J's) so need to change strings to evaluate.

Anybody out there have any experience with Lace pups?
 
#330
Hey everyone, great info on the thread so far!

Not sure if this was covered, but I'm looking to get a sound like Verdine White on Earth wind and fire: Key songs: "Brazilian rhyme" [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] , "would you mind" (cant find an itunes link, they only have the guitar version) and "in the stone" [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] , on which i'm pretty sure he was playing his '65 jazz. just a sound with that perfect amount of growl and warmth (brazilian rhyme...WHAT?!?!), and THAT exact slap tone on "in the stone"...i've been craving that sound for sooo long...

I'm using a squier classic vibe 60's J-bass (cost $300 US, and which surprisingly kicked the crap out of every fender-j in the store under $1000). the bass is very solid and sounds very good acoustically but i think some better p/u will kill it. Leaning towards the Antiquity II's but if anyone else thinks differently I'd appreciate the opinion. Thanks in advance!
 
#331
Well I went through many aftermarket single coil pickups including Fenders. I had Lindy Fralins, Antiquity, etc.etc. I was looking for a real fender tone of my 1968 jazz.The original pickups gone long before I purchased my bass.:crying: Every pickup I tried was not the right one. Some of them had lot of bottom even they were suppossed to be "vintage sounding",but they was some kind of "strange" and also noisy:atoz:. Because I have read much good about vintage original fender pickups went some risky and have buyed a pair of real Fender 1971 vintage originals (1968 were not available) on Ebay. I was not sure if my decision is right (Ebay traders are different) but I expected "something better".The originals arrived and was so different of all I have before that I could not believe. They are "meaty" and almost "noisless", alow me play only one pickup (solo) without single coil noise!!! Noone of previous pickups was working this way.No matter how my flat strings are old (they are almost dead) vintages can get beautifull tones of them.For the first time I can feel tone of the bass from my fingers to the amp.Whenever I look on my jazz, I see the change before I plug it into the amp.Results are speaking (playing) for themselves.;)
I would like to advise to all old school bassists: Do compare until you are not completely satisfied.
 
#332
jobo4 said:
Hi Smash,

First of all, thanks for all of your hard work on this thread. It has been a big influence on a couple of decisions I've made recently. I decided to go with the Daryl Jones Skyline due to the inclusion of Aero type 1s that were so well reviewed here.

When it came time to buy a MIA Fender Jazz, I had an idea that the stock p'ups weren't going to hang. I wanted a bass that had a different tone from the DJ's agressive sound, so I deiced to try some Bartolini 9J1s. Here are my opinions...

Warmth: 4.5
Clarity: 4
Output: 4
Punch: 4.5
Recorded Sound: n/a
Amplified Sound: 4.5
Value: 5

The 9J1 pickups are hum cancelling J bass replacements. I still prefer the sound of single coils, but these are close enough in overall tone to allow for comparison. Of course it's nice to solo either pickup without hum. But I also noticed that the typical relative volume settings that a lot of jazz bass owners use sound very much like they do with single coils. To explain, using single coils I usually back off of the neck pup a quarter turn to get that burpy sound. Favoring the neck pup gives you an edgy bark. Happily, the same thing worked with the Bartolinis. Oh yeah, and no hum. :)

The sound of the 9J1 pair was typical Bart: warm and extremely punchy with pronounced lows and low mids and smooth but present highs. As far as value goes, these are about $100 cheaper than the Nordy hummers, and while they don't have the vintage vibe going for them, they certainly do a great job of giving a bassist lots of usable, enjoyable tones.:hyper:
Click to expand...

+1 to this older review.
Very accurate.

These pickups are in my go to Jazz and (Alder body and Graphite neck with just a boost pre) and it sounds killer.
 
#335
Hey!

I'm looking to upgrade pickups on a squier vintage mod jazz bass. The tone I'm looking for is punchy, growly and as fat as possible.
Also, I'm not a big fan of modern sounds and I tend find my sweetspots from the midrange rather than highs and lows. And I don't know how it is these days, but if hum cancelling pickups lack tone then they're not for me.

Availability in this part of the world is a question, some smaller American brands are harder to find, but all the big brands are available (seymour duncan, dimarzio, bartolini, emg and so on)
I've been mostly looking at dimarzio and duncan as their pricing and availability is pretty good, but choosing a model is pretty hard.

Any input on this would be greatly appreciated!
 
#336
Just recently heard from an old timer doing bass pup installations for years, 69 years old, started at 16, that he was highly recommending the D'marzio pups to a customer and the customer INSISTED on him installing the Fender Vintage Noisless J Bass pickups, so he did. Customers rule.

He told me that he was blown away by the sound and tone of the Fender Vintage Noisless J bass pickups and that he put them in all his J basses. He gets them wholesale for 110 a set and will do mine for 20 dollars.

I am highly considering this option after having my sights set on a set of Quarter Pounders.

The Vintage Fender Noiseless J bass pups sound like some nice vintage sounding pups.

I should researh them more though, because I like hot pups.

Duffy
 
#337
Hey guys,

This is my first post on this forum, though I have used this site on many occasions to gain information and opinions. I've read through a few posts in this discussion of j-pickups, I haven't taken the time to go through all 5 or so pages.

At any rate, I have a Warwick Corvette std. 4-string. Its got two j-style pu's, and passive electronics, the basic volume, blend tone. I love the tone, but just want a little more. I'm currently playing in an R&B, Soul band. I like the smoothness and growl from the Warwick stock MEB's, but its just lacking something, I'm not sure what. I think I want to go active. I'm thinking Barts or EMG's. I play both fingerstyle, and slap. I want volume, blend, bass +/-, treble +/-, and a sweepable mid, but, and this is a big but, i want all that in a 3-knob configuration to eliminate the need for drilling a 4th hole in my bass. Any suggestions?
 
#338
Duffy- I have not heard the noiseless bass pick-ups, but I did own a set of noiseless strat pick-ups, and I was pretty disappointed. I am a vintage nut when it comes to guitar, in a bass I like a little more modern tone however. The noiseless pick-ups were very weak and thin. I tried to add a boost, and all that did was boost what little noise was there, and turned the low end into what sounded like a blown speaker. I decided to give EMG's a try, and much to my suprise, I loved them. I got EMG SA-V, there active, with an alnico magnet, and pole pieces. They are awesome. Now, again, this is all guitar, not bass, so I don't know how much it helps. I do know though, that Fender, as much as I love them, are not known for great pick-ups these days.
 
#339
johndough247 said:
Hey everyone, great info on the thread so far!

Not sure if this was covered, but I'm looking to get a sound like Verdine White on Earth wind and fire: Key songs: "Brazilian rhyme" [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] , "would you mind" (cant find an itunes link, they only have the guitar version) and "in the stone" [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] , on which i'm pretty sure he was playing his '65 jazz. just a sound with that perfect amount of growl and warmth (brazilian rhyme...WHAT?!?!), and THAT exact slap tone on "in the stone"...i've been craving that sound for sooo long...

I'm using a squier classic vibe 60's J-bass (cost $300 US, and which surprisingly kicked the crap out of every fender-j in the store under $1000). the bass is very solid and sounds very good acoustically but i think some better p/u will kill it. Leaning towards the Antiquity II's but if anyone else thinks differently I'd appreciate the opinion. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

I have the same bass. Dropped some Seymour Duncan Hot For Jazz Bass SJB-2's into it on Monday. Gigged with it last night for the first time. Awesome. Everything was better than the stock pups. Bottom was there and much better in the mids. I felt the stock pups were missing in the mids. Highs were even better than stock. I record each gig with a Zoom H2 recorder and always had to eq the bass before mix down. It still seemed lacking in areas and although felt through my subs in the car it just wasn't heard all the time without re-eq through garage band. This morning on the way into work I listened to a couple songs still on the recorder and bass is loud and clear and cuts through the mix great. It's got to be the added mids that are the major improvement in this area. Love the pups and no complaints. I can't compare it to others pups but for the price I can't complain.
 
#340
Yes, Fender makes J bass Vintage Noiseless J bass pups. The older tech that installed them against his advice to put in D'marzio's in a customers bass, has put the Fender Vintage Noiseless J bass pups in all his J basses he personally owns.

I can give you his phone number if you want to call him. He says they are incredible and have great vintage tone.

He was going to put them in at wholesale on the pup set 110 plus 20 dollars; more if routing necessary, including caps and resistor to retain treble when rolling off the volume.

Call me at 570 764 5705 on my cell if you want the number or email me at [email protected].

Duffy
 
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