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Microphonic EMG's?

G

GabeN

Feb 27, 2006
532
4
Chugiak, AK
#1
Hi, I've been playing a jazz bass for a while that has a really old set of EMG's in it. I'd say they're late 90's model J's because the wires aren't the quick disconnect kind and the logo's are worn off and the covers have big gouges where the strings have hit them.

Here's my problem: they pick up every little clank and buzz while the low end sounds really dead and round. I've taken out the highs and boosted the lows and tried a myriad of EQ fixes but nothing I've done with the EQ has worked and I have a Yamaha amp with fully parametric EQ. I've tried everything to take out the clank and add bottom end but to no avail. They sound tinny and thin.

Part of the clank is that I run a semi-low action with a fairly flat neck so I can get a little grunt and string distortion because I play a lot of heavy rock. I also dig in really hard.

Is it just the pickups fault? I've been wanting to try Nordstrand Jazz pups for a while and I'm wondering if they would be more evenly voiced across the strings. I've also tried picking from the bridge pup instead of the neck and it made a huge difference but I think it's mostly because I didn't dig in so hard because of string tension.

Anybody have any helpful ideas? I really love this bass but hate the sound quality so any input is highly appreciated.
 
#2
I think given what you've described here that you might want to try getting/giving your bass a good setup first. Here's why.

Normally playing closer to the bridge gives a tone with less low end. This is due entirely to string physics (with a dash of psychoacoustics) and not due to any factors related to the pickups. The fact that playing close the the bridge does the opposite for you and brings out more low end tells me that its your instrument, not the electronics that's at fault.

If playing closer to the bridge made a "huge difference" and brought out more bottom & less clank/buzz in your tone, then it very well might be that when you're playing closer to the fingerboard, you're digging in a lot more than your current setup allows for. You can choke the string off by playing so far that it buzzes against the frets/fingerboard. Result? More buzz and less bottom.

Get a good setup appropriate for how hard you play the instrument. Then you can evaluate if the electronics are keeping you from the tones you really want. :)
 
#3
I don't think it's my setup. I just checked and it's got a credit card's width between the fret and bottom of the string around the 9th to 12th fret so the neck is fine. I adjusted the saddles and even with an obscenely high action so there was no buzzing when digging in it still had a dead sounding E string (D for me, I play in drop D).

I switched between my Warwick 'vette and Fender jazz and the fender had much less usable low end although both had kind of harsh highs. I think the harshness on the 'vette though is just new DR hibeams. I put slinkys on the jazz so it should be a lot less harsh on the highs.
 
#4
Okay. You've tried raising the strings obscenely high, and no dice. So it's not a string action.

Second question: How long since you've put a brand new, fresh battery in the jazz? Active pickups (preamps too, I think) can get sounding pretty thin and harsh when the battery is on the way out. If it's been a while, pop a brand new battery in there and see what happens.

For a recorded example of a set of EMG pickups with the battery going out, listen to the tune 'Higher Law' on Vic Wooten's Soul Circus album, if you have it. The bass tone in that song isn't far from what you describe here: clack/clank with a very de-emphasized bottom.
 
#10
GabeN said:
Okay, that seemed to help a lot. The battery I pulled out seemed pretty fresh though...
Click to expand...

Glad that it helped a lot!

The on/off switch for active pickups and/or active preamps is having the instrument cable plugged into the bass. So, if you leave the instrument cable plugged into the bass for long periods, like overnight, etc, then the battery will be running itself down constantly.
 

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