Miteymite soapbar: Total junk or only somewhat?

[gfen]

Not sure how to make this thread without too much information and rambling, but here goes:

I recently aquired a 32" SX jazz bass. Turns out I love 32", but I'm not so in love with the jazz bass sound. The single coil hum is annoying, and I'm pretty sure I just prefer the P bass tone. Mostly the hum, though.

So, I decide to look into cheap upgrades/replacement pickups, and discovered when I pulled the pick guard there's routed space under there for a soapbar style, 40mm by 105mm.

So, I continue to investigate and discover that soapbars are often laid out in a split/P-style humbucker design. Also, the Mitey Mite MMSP4-F/BK is dirt cheap ($35), will fit into the current route, and has the split-P style design.

Is it as simple as dropping this into the space and connecting the pickup leads where the old J pickup leads connected to the pots? Will this give me a sound closer to a proper Precision pickup? And will it function correctly with the bridge position J (although I understand that unless I replace it with a humbucking pickup, I will get hum from that when turned up)?

In other words, is this a step towards what I want, or am I just wasting time and money? I suspect a full upgrade of the pots and sheilding the cavities is on the cards, as well...

edit: Also, I'm not sold on the Miteymite by any means, but I am sold on "cheap" budget. My bigger question is will this effect the sound, or will it not really matter, and I'd be satisfied with any set of humbucking J sized pups?

 

[BlueTalon]

I wouldn't. Typically speaking, unless you run into a great deal, you kinda get what you pay for with pickups. Also, typically, with jazz basses, the two pickups are designed to cancel hum when they are at equal volume -- but with a budget brand like SX, that may not be the case.

If you like all other aspects of that bass, then I would invest in two hum canceling J pickups -- or at a minimum, a set of single coil J pickups that are designed to go together and cancel hum when at equal volume. They'll be more expensive than the Mighty Mites, but you should be able to find DiMarzios, Seymour Duncans, or Bartolinis without breaking the bank.

If you like the 32" scale but are iffy on other aspects of the bass, I'd just save up to get a better 32" bass. Actually, if it was me (and it will be me eventually, because I want a 32" bass), I'd get a body and neck from Invalid Link Removed, and put together a bass using high quality parts.

 

[gfen]

No, they're wired to cut hum when equal, but I don't care for the bridge at all. So, I'm looking at a budget way to fill out the neck PU's sound so I can keep the bridge off, hence the soap bar sized neck hum bucker.

As for a Warmoth build, I don't foresee having $500+ for an instrument for a long time, so making my $50 beater sound better is the only goal I've got. Hell, there's not even much in the way of budget 32" instruments that have the same appeal for me.

 

[BlueTalon]

Then... what the hell. Go for it!

If you run into a hum problem with the new pickup, you can just disconnect bridge pickup altogether.

 

[RobbieK]

I've had a few mighty mites and other cheapies over the years. They are fine. Actually I still have one in a MM style P bass that is really great.

As for a P bass tone, well it depends what you want to hear. Just putting any split coil series wired passive pickup in the P position is enough for some. Other guys will really need the alnico sound to be satisfied. (Are all mighty mite pickups ceramic?)

I suspect a full upgrade of the pots and sheilding the cavities is on the cards, as well...

The pots there are fine. Make sure you use heatsink clips when you re-solder them. And using shielded wire for any hot signal wire over an inch is fine with a humbucker for most people.

The part that you should certainly replace is the jack. IME, cheap chinese guitars have very unreliable sockets.

 

[gfen]

The model I'm looking at is listed as ferrite,

If this puts me closer to the sound that I want, I'm fine with that. Again, I'm dealing with budget, and I'm fine with just being in the ballpark, as long as its closer to what I want... Honestly, I would've been fine with humbucking J pickups, except I discovered that I had space for a soapbar and figured I should take advantage of it and if it moves me towards teh sound, more power to me.

For the jack, are you suggesting that some of the interference I'm picking up is the jack, or simply the jack is low grade and thus will loosen up? I have no issues replacing the jack either way, but compared to past gear I have to say the SX jack is stout and grips the cord solid.

Back to pups, is there an advantage to opting to pick the "bridge" design over the "neck" design, despite the fact I'm putting this into the neck position? This is a whole new world to me, so I don't understand how resistance meets tone. The bridge model is listed as 13K, the neck is 7.65K.

TIA.

 

[RobbieK]

SX jack is stout and grips the cord solid.

well I haven't actually seen an SX for ages, but pretty much all of the chinese basses I have seen have a jack that I wouldn't gig with. It may be fine now, and perfectly fine for bedroom and amature playing, but if you are a professional, I'd strongly recommend a more reliable jack.

The bridge model is listed as 13K, the neck is 7.65K

well there's a bit more to tone and output than this spec (DC resistance), but if the pickups are otherwise similar, then the bridge pickup will be much hotter and more midrangey. Pairs of pickups are usually designed this way because the strings by the bridge are not moving as far and produce less output.

If you don't plan to use the bridge pickup, and the bass is already fairly bright in tone acoustically (unplugged, in a quiet room), then there's no reason you can't go with the bridge pickup in the neck position. Personally, I'd probably go with the neck one. It will match the existing J that you have a bit better and will be a little brighter in tone.

 

[gfen]

Nah, nothing professional about me.

Thanks for your input. It's been very helpful.

 

[Toptube]

Get some used Dimarzio Model J. I've seen many say those cop the P-bass tone better than other J pickups and are otherwise great pickups (in my experience) with a different tone than most J-pickups. Are hum canceling, for not much money. Especially used. The two coils in each pickup can be wired parallel for more clarity or in series for serious fatness.