Looking for J pickups with sharp articulation and good mids.

[TyBo]

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I have a set of those on my SX shorty. Articulate, snappy, with an underlying warmth. I can reccommend them too.

 

[Lesfunk]

Tom Brantley Geddy Lee signature pickups

 

[red_rhino]

I'd go for fralin singles. Standard wind.

Nice videos. I gotta say I’m definitely drawn to the Relentless J’s. Really authoritative tone. I may have to try them.

I have one question though: Did your son ever get the pasta cooked?

 

[tb-player]

I had the Aguilars on my Jazz Bass Elite and they were great! Really great!

I love the Lollar Precision pickup. I would assume their jazz pickups are equally as awesome.

 

[JimmyM]

Hadn't considered EMG, but I think I'd rather go passive.

They do make a passive semi traditional set called the JV 52. I say semi because they’re humbuckers. Not familiar with them because I’m all in on Geezers.

 

[Snake101st]

Delano JMVC are just great all around, imo

 

[birminghambass]

They do make a passive semi traditional set called the JV 52. I say semi because they’re humbuckers. Not familiar with them because I’m all in on Geezers.

I've used these, definitely not "sharp articulation" like the OP wants. Sound great on a fretless though.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Nice videos. I gotta say I’m definitely drawn to the Relentless J’s. Really authoritative tone. I may have to try them.

I have one question though: Did your son ever get the pasta cooked?

Yeah. He did

 

[Erik Turkman]

I agree with the recommendations for single coils and the standard wind Fralin set. If those are hard to come by in your area, then you might try the Seymour Duncan Heavy Weather set, which has a similar tone profile.

If you want hum canceling, then the Bartolini b-axis is good and so are the aforementioned Dimarzio Area Js.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Also a great description of the Dimarzio Model J set.

Yes to this!

 

[Richard Blair]

Barts.

 

[winegamd]

If you can deal with single coils, the clean and clear Nordstrand J-Blades sound like what you want. They have a lot of output and are very responsive. Very clean, tight, and growly without any loose or woolyness in the lows.

 

[porterbass]

Aero Jazz passive pickups but they are pricy. I had Fralins and they are good but these were the best I have ever heard.

^^^Based on the description of wanting "sharp articulate", I'm surprised only one person mentioned Aero Jazz pickups. I have a set of Aero JB4 Type 1 pickups in a jazz build and they are pretty incredible. I've only had 2 Jazz basses prior to this one... A Fender CS NOS '64 and an AVRI '62 jazz, both of which sounded great. When I got the MJT body with with Aero pickups, I was blown away by the mids articulation while maintaining a nice bottom. I used them with TI Jazz Flats and will never change anything on that bass.

 

[Strurs]

They aren't very good.

That's surprising. I've only read good things about those since I started looking yesterday. I've been ill all day so I just browsed for pickups all day long.

I have a set of those on my SX shorty. Articulate, snappy, with an underlying warmth. I can reccommend them too.

Would you be able to record a short demo? I'd really like to hear these but there aren't any demos online.

I agree with the recommendations for single coils and the standard wind Fralin set. If those are hard to come by in your area, then you might try the Seymour Duncan Heavy Weather set, which has a similar tone profile.

If you want hum canceling, then the Bartolini b-axis is good and so are the aforementioned Dimarzio Area Js.

Thank you for your suggestions. I hadn't really considered SD but if they're similar to the Fralins I'll go looking for demos.

If you can deal with single coils, the clean and clear Nordstrand J-Blades sound like what you want. They have a lot of output and are very responsive. Very clean, tight, and growly without any loose or woolyness in the lows.

I think I do quite like blade pickups. Not sure what difference the blade itself makes, but I've liked the Lollars, Delano, and Nordstrand blades.

 

[Strurs]

If you can deal with single coils, the clean and clear Nordstrand J-Blades sound like what you want. They have a lot of output and are very responsive. Very clean, tight, and growly without any loose or woolyness in the lows.

This. Try the EMG JVX pickups. They run on a standard passive jazz control set (VVT), but the pickups themselves are active. They're the most articulate jazz pickups I've played, and I only discovered them 'by accident' as they were installed in a bass I bought. My plan was to reinstall the original 60s-style single coils and I loved the JVX when the bass showed up. They're very clean and articulate, but also dynamic. Hard to explain, but they don't run overly 'hot' like traditional active pickups + preamps, but they seem to have a larger, more powerful range than any passives I've played.

This video is also a good starting point for a range of jazz pickups. The JVXs are last on the video, and you can hear the powerful lows and super articulate highs.

As much as I liked them, and finding the JHZ which I also liked, they don't seem to have any configurations for 1 master vol 1 + 1 master tone on their wiring diagrams on their website. Since this is for a Jag with pickup on/off switches and a series/parallel switch + 1 vol 1 tone, I want to keep those classic controls. I find the limitations interesting.

 

[ctmullins]

As much as I liked them, and finding the JHZ which I also liked, they don't seem to have any configurations for 1 master vol 1 + 1 master tone on their wiring diagrams on their website. Since this is for a Jag with pickup on/off switches and a series/parallel switch + 1 vol 1 tone, I want to keep those classic controls. I find the limitations interesting.

The EMGs will work with those controls, except for the series/parallel switch. Can’t do that.

 

[Clark Dark]

I've got an MIJ Fender Jaguar with J pickups in 70s pickup placement. It has the stock pickups it came with (some Fender American Vintage Single-Coil). I've been wanting to replace the pickups and I'm just not really sure about what I want, except that I like cutting through a mix, I don't want wooly bass, and I want some nice articulation for slapping.

I had been considering these (all matching neck/bridge set):

• Lindy Fralin split-coil
  
• DiMarzio Relentless (more low mids than high mids)
• Aguilar 4J-HC
• G&L CLF Research JB

One of my problems is that I don't know whether I want hum cancelling pickups or true single coils. I do mostly use the jag with both pickups on where it should be hum cancelling anyway (it isn't). There are also surprisingly few demos for these, and no comparisons.

I am in Europe, so the Fralins and the G&Ls aren't the easiest to come by here. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Have you considered Aero or Ken Armstrong (the latter I believe is in Europe also)?

 

[TyBo]

Would you be able to record a short demo? I'd really like to hear these but there aren't any .

I'm not currently set up to do that. There was a demo in an earlier thread about the Man 'O War pickups, comparing with Bartolini. Both sound good there, imo. My experience is a bit less "clickiness" than heard in the demo. Which could be just playing style or whatever. To me, the "Man 'O War" name feels a bit over the top, not really a super aggressive pickup, ime. Though plenty present.

 

[Paul New]

Serious question, what is an example of a wooly jazz bass sound?

 

[cataract]

Can’t go wrong with a set of Delano J pickups- I’ve put them in my 70s Classic Vibe not once, but TWICE and that’s where they’ll be staying foorrreeevveerr!

I’ve rolled so many sets of Jazz pickups in this thing, but the Delanos are top tier for me. Articulate, clear, LOUD, and 100% noise free. Responsive and just a joy to play!
If you’re looking for something a little more “tame” (and conventional looking) I’d recommend giving Fender’s Custom Shop 60s Jazz set a spin. They’re my second favorite, which was entirely unexpected tbh.