My Jazz bass doesn't sound like a jazz bass

Hi all,

I still have one of my first basses. It's an ESP that I got from Dr. Sound in NYC over 20 years ago. At the time, the buzz was that the made in Japan ESPs were better than the current Fenders. I bought one and it's been a great bass.

A few months ago, I had the frets taken off and then had the neck finished.

Now I can't remember what the bass used to sound like, but now, it doesn't sound like a J-bass. Particularly when going for the Jaco sound. It's very muffled and dead sounding. I've tried different strings and even tried Fender vintage noiseless pickups. Luckily, I was able to return them after they made little difference.

So my question is: is there a PUP out there that will give me that sound or is the bass just not built for it?

My tech says my ESP is modeled after a vintage J. SO I"m hoping that I can get PUP that will give me the classic sound.

Thanks,
David

 

Thanks Marty- I didn't consider the finish. But the playing issue isn't really a factor. When I play my Geddy Lee J, It sounds Jaco-ish. I can't imagine the finish on the body could make the bass sound so dull. And even the finish on the neck doesn't make much sense since open strings sound just as dull. The roundwounds made a big difference compared to the flats but it's still very dull sounding.

 

THanks for responding.

I don't have a before/after recording but I remember that when I wanted the bridge pickup Jaco sound it was always there. But my ears weren't as developed as they are now. It's very possible that the bass sounds the same as it did with frets. I don't think the defretting has anything to do with it. So let's say that the bass always sounded the same. I've stried different strings and , as I said, compared to my other jazz, it's very dull. MAybe I'll make a video to demonstrate the difference.

I want to try another set of pickups but am concerned it will sound the same.

BTW-the neck was originally unfinished but since I was using rounds on it, I wanted to protect it. So i had my tech finish it. What's annoying, possibly because I didn't understand the process, is that the finished neck is still getting damaged from the roundwounds.

Thanks

 

THanks Mark,

I'll try the custom shop ones. They say there like the 60s ones. If they don't give me the sound I'm after, I'll give up.

I'll let you know what happens.

D

 

OMG- You guys are going to laugh!
Problem solved!
While playing my bass today, I stumbled onto something odd. I usually roll up all the knobs on the bass and then pull down the volume on the neck PUP out of habit. But today I didn't touch all the knobs and what do you know? It isn't dull anymore.

I remember now that when my tech took the frets off he said there was something wrong with one of the pots so he changed it. He must have put it in backwards or something because it's working the opposite of how it should.

The bass sounded dull since the fret job because the tone has always been all the way down.

I can't believe I installed new pickups and returned them.

THis is funny. I knew the bass used to sound better.

Thanks for all who chimed in.