More umph from my jazz

[Strung_Low]

Lots of great advice here. But a jazz and a stingray are different animals. To beef up the jazz, aside from modifiying it, get a preamp pedal like aguilar darkglass sansamp etc. or even an od or any other pedal to boost the signal. Id recommend a damnation audio mbd1. Great bass pedal, u can dial in everything from clean boost to nasty nasty

 

[bassboysam]

Turn up the amp's bass EQ.

sacrelige. everyone knows that you should set your amp "flat".

 

[faulknersj]

J-Retro if you want a more modern hi-fi sound. But I love Audere pre-amps. More old school, lows, low mids, hi mids, and treble. These are so underrated.

Audere Preamps

 

[sawzalot]

I dropped a John East j-tone preamp in my jazz and tweaked the bass frequency to my liking and it's amazing.

 

[Domespeed]

another vote for an external preamp pedal.
It's just the easiest way of getting more bass out of the Jazz Bass.

 

[gt96g]

Higher output pickups and a good compressor.

 

[bbh]

What if you play with a lighter touch. This gives bigger lows.

 

[mcnach]

I dropped a John East j-tone preamp in my jazz and tweaked the bass frequency to my liking and it's amazing.

and don't forget the semiparametric mids... that alone is well worth the price.

 

[39-Bassist]

I recommend the SD STK-J2 set....they are great sounding and full.
Full tones and not boomy with a very nice attack when needed.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I just got a sterling stingray 34 and I get a bunch of low end from it but it is still slapable which I love. I love the feel of and look of my old mim Jazz. What can I do to get the same amount of low end from it? Any tips, mods, etc?

Well, stingrays are active basses. The low end is really coming from an EQed bass boost on an onboard preamp. If you want that, turn your bass active, and boost the bass. Or, simply boost the bass on your amp.

 

[TonyP-]

There are a lot of great suggestions have already been said here and I like think I have delt with this issue well.

I can tell you what worked for me and it was not just one thing.
(I know everyone can't sink a lot of money into their Jazz basses)

However with that being said...If you want Umph a 'Stock' Jazz Bass might not be the way to go.

Here is what I have done

Pickups:
Alnico J pickups have been both overwound and wired in series with with Nordstrand or Bartolini Preamps.
or
Dimarzio Model J standard wiring with Nordstrand Preamps

The below example was done with a Mike Lull M5 (Basicially its just a modern 35" Jazz)
Its with Nordstrands Big Singles (A Single coil with a ton of wire on it) and its in series.
There is some Umph here.

 

[TonyP-]

Another thing on the secret menu at Nordstrand is the El Camino wind.

The "El Camino" is wind pattern not just a pickup so it can be offered with any of the Js NJ4s or NJ5s and split coils. The split coil pattern would be a little less.

Its %10 over wind on the Single coil.

 

[pigpen1]

Dimarzio Model J's help, but to me passive J's (and I down 3) just aren't thick-sounding basses. Very weak actually.

 

[MtManiac]

DiMarzio Model J's will fatten up a Jazz nicely. More beef in the low mids for sure. But if you're looking for an "active" sound then yeah, any number of out-or-onboard pres will get you there. Alternatively, if you want still the classic J sound, but more umph and EQ control(excellent sounding EQ on it to boost the lows as you say), the Xotic RC is totally a winner. Amazing unit. Can use it on your Ray too--could be nifty (though most folks use it on passive basses).

+1 - Model J's really changed the sound of a Squier Vintage Modified Jazz I had a while back, and definitely added better bottom end and low mids to both pickups.

 

[bucephylus]

I just boost bass and treble a tad. Even without that it has more lows than my jazz tho

Not to be difficult; but, you really didn't answer the question.

Your thread is a little confusing to me, at least; because you are comparing an active instrument to a passive instrument, yet, you don't want to make the passive instrument active. Yes, of course the Sterling has more cojones. That's what active circuits do to a bass. If you are asking whether you can get the same thing in a passive bass, the answer is generally no. If you insist on keeping the Jazz passive, then you will have to address its passive output somewhere else in the signal chain. That's why players used amps like the Acoustic 360 with the passive Jazz; and even then preamps were inserted between the bass and the amp.

Taking nothing away from Sterlings and StingRays, which are very fine basses, many Jazz Bass players long ago moved to active circuits to get the Jazz to realize it's potential. Sure, some players still prefer the passive Jazz Bass. But, as I said, then you have to do other things in the signal chain. Roger Sadowsky has literally built a successful business correcting this aspect of the Jazz Bass. One of his preamps, either onboard or outboard will generally address your Q.

 

[Lava]

Two totally different beasts. The MM has an active preamp and the Jazz does not, I'm assuming, so there's definitely a different signal level coming through from the bass to the amp. I'd say a preamp, like the Sadowsky or Aguilar preamp pedals, or something on-board dropped in, like the John East as some have suggested, or the Audere, which is a little less in price but a sweet preamp as well.

 

[micguy]

DiMarzio Model J's will fatten up a Jazz nicely.

They also get rid of the blasted hum and buzz, so you can solo the neck pickup, which is where the "beef" on a J lives. If you can't make a Jazz sound beefy with a Model J in the neck solo'd, you need to look at the other parts of your rig.

 

[panzerfaust]

have you try effect di pedal ? i can play folk and country with deep low tone with labella tapewound and ampeg scr di

 

[logdrum]

I hate to repeat but John East or Audere drop in pre with knobs and plate. Also I was in Music Go Round buying cables and they had an Ampeg Classic preamp pedal that I bought on impulse. That thing had the sparkle and thump for passive basses wen you play live.

I usually will not mess with Fender pickups. But that's just me.

 

[sawzalot]

and don't forget the semiparametric mids... that alone is well worth the price.

The J-Tone is a different preamp than the J-Retro. The J-Retro has semi-parametric mids, an active blend, and fixed frequencies for the bass/treble controls. The J-Tone is a newer preamp but is a little more organic-sounding to me, with a passive blend and tone controls just like a regular Jazz wiring followed by an active preamp with bass/treble controls. You can select the frequencies of the bass/treble via little pots on the preamp board, so you can really tune those frequencies to your bass. They're both great preamps--I like the J-Tone because all the passive electronics are in-line before the preamp, so you get the interaction of the tone capacitor with the pickups, etc, and the eq is applied after all that.