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"J" pickups discussion and comparisons.

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#761
I'm going for a sort of "Geddy Lee meets Jaco Pastorious" type vibe out of my pickups. Am looking into Fralin, Nordstrands, and DiMarzios. I play mostly over the bridge pickup, with the bridge on 100%, neck on between 50-75% and tone usually between 70-100% with DR Lo-Rider Nickel strings. I play mostly rock, but need the instrument to be versatile as I'm just getting into a folk and a jazz band also.

if you want ideas of the music I play, www.facebook.com/NoxPericulum

Thanks for your help in advance.

P.S. Smash, you da man!
 
#765
GroovinOnFunk said:
I'm going for a sort of "Geddy Lee meets Jaco Pastorious" type vibe out of my pickups. Am looking into Fralin, Nordstrands, and DiMarzios. I play mostly over the bridge pickup, with the bridge on 100%, neck on between 50-75% and tone usually between 70-100% with DR Lo-Rider Nickel strings. I play mostly rock, but need the instrument to be versatile as I'm just getting into a folk and a jazz band also.

if you want ideas of the music I play, www.facebook.com/NoxPericulum

Thanks for your help in advance.
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Any input on this?
 
#766
SMASH said:
"Vintage" Fender Pickups.

I'm fairly certain these are a pair of '74s. Doesn't matter too much what I say here since you can't readily buy them and I ain't sellin'. Given that, I'm not sure how to gauge "value" so I'll leave that blank.

In any case, these are fabulous. I was never quite sure what a "vintage" sound was until I heard these. When you hear it you know, and it is sweet indeed.

These don't work well in passive with a J-Retro (impedance mismatch?), but sound rich in passive mode with the stock passive electronics and really good & creamy in series. Superb all-around Jazz vibe to these. I wouldn't ever change 'em.

They're worn, a bit rusted, with shielding welded to the coils, and foam that's turning to powder it's so old & wretched. Cool old-school.

Single coil, two connector, ceramic (I think?), staggered exposed pole pieces. I like the staggered poles, but they can get in your way a bit depending on your neck radius and how you prefer your action. But no matter - two thumbs waaaaay up !


"Vintage" Fender Pickups.

Warmth: 4
Clarity: 4
Output: 3
Punch : 3
Amplified Sound: 5
Recorded Sound: 5
Value: ?


Warmth: 4 - These are exactly "it". So exciting to finally hear that sound that you might be inspired to riot.

Clarity: 4 - Solid lows but not boomy, rounded top, present mids.

Output: 3 - Maybe a bit weak, but should be enough to drive your stomp boxes and preamps.

Punch : 3 - More of a friendly hug from a hot babe than an impact punch.

Amplified Sound: 5 - Sweeeeeet.

Recorded Sound: 5 - No real variety, but enough character that you can manipulate it on mixdown. However, 'the' sound is right here.

Value: ? - Depends what you pay, but if you want the vintage warm sound these will certainly do it. What's it worth to you?


The bassline - why can't they make 'em like they used to? These should please everyone from purists, to finesse players, to he-men.


BP didn't rate modern or vintage stock J p'ups. For shame !
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RE: Fender Vintage pikc ups (Replacement '62s)

I put these on a MIM J Bass after my son was done with it in high school when he bought and american J-bass ( he has since gone on and now plays bass in the Marine Corp band program). While he was in Iraq, he bought an American P-bass deluxe, and requested old Murphy back in a swap. It's still his primary instrument to this day. All I can say about those Vintage picups is thay are awesome, and the best $125 improvement I've ever made in an instrument. Esspecial for orchestral work. They tie everthing together.
 
#767
Got my MIM jazz bass back this morning from the shop. Had my tech, Bill, install a Leo Quan BAII bridge and a pair of Nordstrand NJ4SEs in it. Tonewise, it's nearly a completely different bass now. After having played it for quite a while today, I can kinda tell what sound differences come from the Nordstrands and what comes from the BAII.
First, I played it clean (bass-cord-amp), then played it through my Zoom B-3. My amp is a Hartke LH500 w/ a Fender Rumble 4x10.
Overall, the bass just sounds "bigger" and more articulate. By bigger, I mean more output, character, and sustain. I thought the SEs would sound more like a modernized version of a vintage tone, but that's not really the case. It's just a modern tone altogether. You can really hear the lower mid punch right from the start, which makes for a nice, smooth, rich sound. The neck pickup is not "boomy" or muddy, just rich. The bridge pickup may be touted as having a little less on the highs, but don't let that fool you. It is extremely responsive to harmonics all over the fretboard.
The bass would probably sound smoother still without the BAII. I've noticed the new bridge brings out a much more articulate attack. Almost kinda "klanky" and very Geddy Lee-like. But again, having a high mass bridge like that brings sustain and bigness of sound.
 
#775
Jazz? Lost in the mix? Join the club! Add mids around 800hz and some 120-150hz in the low mids region. Also play with your fingers in between pickups about 1/3 of that distance from the bridge pup, that's where the growl is. I have to admit the american std. pups in that vid sounded BAD, mine don't sound like that.

GroovinOnFunk said:
I have the CS 60s pups in my new jazz bass. They sound awesome on their own, but get lost easily in a mix as they are pretty thin sounding. That's just my experience so far though.
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#777
4OnTheFloor said:
Jazz? Lost in the mix? Join the club! Add mids around 800hz and some 120-150hz in the low mids region. Also play with your fingers in between pickups about 1/3 of that distance from the bridge pup, that's where the growl is. I have to admit the american std. pups in that vid sounded BAD, mine don't sound like that.
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Cause they aren't american std. pups. It's "original Jazz bass pickup set". "OEM on the 62' American Vintage, Geddy Lee, and many others Custom shop jazz basses."
 
#780
I haven't played with my new pups in a band setting yet. Just alone in my living room. So this is a preliminary evaluation.

Delano JMVC 4 FE/M2
Very smooth sound. Crystal clear. Warm and round. Plenty of treble. Very good punch and rumble. Huge sound. Not as much growl as my Fender CS 60s pups. The highs, IMO, are much more pleasant though. Excellent low mids and lows. They are somewhat polite, but I think they're going to cut right through the mix really well. Can't wait to play a few gigs this coming week.

Will let you know how it is in a band setting soon
 
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