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Moon Owners Club

#181
RafBass said:
Have you thought about adding original Moon pickups? Talk to Danny from JapanBassDirect (or BassJapanDirect), and tell him you are looking for a vintage and original Moon JB pickup!
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I actually have 2 sets of Moon MJB pickups and Blackbird Preamps from JJ-4 mod projects I've done. If you're interested send me a PM!

On the topic of EMGs, one thing I consider is whether I want pole pieces or a bar magnet. The bar magnet has a smoother attack which may or may not be something you like, and the results vary bass to bass.

The EMG JVX's are some of my favorite pickups out there. You get all the benefits of EMGs but with a more "traditional sounding" J bass attack. That being said, I just popped some EMG J-X's into a JJ-4 and they sound awesome!

Some people have had really great results with the JA/JAX pickups but personally I found them to be a bit dull. I am also personally of the mind that the X series is a vast improvement over the original recipe across the board. Happy to chat more about EMGs, I've tried a ton of them!
 

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#182
Bokkie said:
I guess it's time to join this club. Last year I became the owner of this 80's ?? Moon JJ4. I haven't seen many maple neck/fretboard combinations on a Moon. Don't have any specs of this bass, but the serial on the neckplate is 10986, and the neckpocket has a stamp with PGM and the numbers 06 (or is it 08?) 11 20. The pups are non-originals active Seymour Duncans with an active EQ equalization system. With the different switch settings the sound can be altered. Not sure if I'm happy with these pups, only one setting sounds Ok (imho). Thinking of replace them with EMGs. Advise about what EMG's to use are more than welcome!!
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Wow, fabulous specimen.
Like @Les Fret Fret I can recommend EMGs without reservation. The original pickups available, from what I've been able to tell, were a choice of EMG (the original JJ model, which they still sell), Bartolini 9S (which I have in my Larry Graham) or Alembics like Mark King and Victor Bailey played for a time. Originally the Bartolini versions were passive (V|V|T|switch) and they added preamps at a later time. The EMG versions also have no preamps, just the power for the pickups.

The Bartolinis are also a great choice. I can't read the codes on your cavity shot well enough to read a date code, but I'm going to guess 83-87 maybe (?)
 
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#183
Bokkie said:
I guess it's time to join this club. Last year I became the owner of this 80's ?? Moon JJ4. I haven't seen many maple neck/fretboard combinations on a Moon. Don't have any specs of this bass, but the serial on the neckplate is 10986, and the neckpocket has a stamp with PGM and the numbers 06 (or is it 08?) 11 20. The pups are non-originals active Seymour Duncans with an active EQ equalization system. With the different switch settings the sound can be altered. Not sure if I'm happy with these pups, only one setting sounds Ok (imho). Thinking of replace them with EMGs. Advise about what EMG's to use are more than welcome!!

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This should be an 06 or 08 then. My guess is 06 since it still has the Moon stamped bridge. Although some 08 have seen to have those too.
 
#185
CatDaddyOTB said:
I'm quite sure the headstock and heel shape changed in the 90s, so the sunburst specimen in question must be prior to that.
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The serial does suggest of an older Moon. But it could also be a part bass since we know the pickups are Modified as well, meaning neck from another Moon and body from another JJ possibly. These stamped hardware was used extensively in the late 90s all the way to the early 2000s. If you mean the change from the Fender headstock to Moon original then they do still use the Fender headstock all the way to the late 2000s. My JB-4 and another member's JB-4 have the Fender headstock and the stamped hardware. Except his has the palm tree and PGM logo, mine has 'Moony' Logo. Since mine is a 00' and his is probably the super early PGM from the 00s too, that's why I suspected this JJ-4 to be of the same era as the other JB-4 from the early transition year in the 00s.

Keep in mind that Moon has always been made by PGM under the leadership of Mr. Kazuhiko Nyui. Which PGM also produce guitars for K.Nyui and Vanzandt brand. To me, the 'PGM Era' would refer to the 2000s and onward where they came back from being blacked out in the early 2000s. As I understand it, there were almost no Moon made in 2002~2004.
 
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#188
CatDaddyOTB said:
I actually have 2 sets of Moon MJB pickups and Blackbird Preamps from JJ-4 mod projects I've done. If you're interested send me a PM!

On the topic of EMGs, one thing I consider is whether I want pole pieces or a bar magnet. The bar magnet has a smoother attack which may or may not be something you like, and the results vary bass to bass.

The EMG JVX's are some of my favorite pickups out there. You get all the benefits of EMGs but with a more "traditional sounding" J bass attack. That being said, I just popped some EMG J-X's into a JJ-4 and they sound awesome!

Some people have had really great results with the JA/JAX pickups but personally I found them to be a bit dull. I am also personally of the mind that the X series is a vast improvement over the original recipe across the board. Happy to chat more about EMGs, I've tried a ton of them!
Click to expand...

What exact EMG pickups are used in the original 80's JJ4 basses?
 
#197
600 Ohms said:
As a LG5 owner, anyone who is wondering or questioning what level of ass-kicking one of these is capable of, I would confidently say 6-gazillion.
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Well said! I feel the same way. Can get everything from punchy funk jazz bass tones to huge dark tones for recording. Secret weapon in the studio for sure. Did some sessions with it and it transformed the tracks!
 

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