P-ish Jazz pickup other than Model J

[eastcoasteddie]

I would guess that if it must be a J-shape, most any linear hum-cancelling pickup (split coil) would get close to a P sound. But the shape of the J coils are vastly different than the P coils, plus the P is staggered. It’ll be close, but no cigar.
I have a set of Duncan Apollo’s in my Jazz V, some good tones out of these pickups.

 

[eastcoasteddie]

I feel the same way about the Ultra...Its great pickup if you want to do that Marcus Miller thing...
I wish to hell the Model J came in a 5 string set.

Not only do I wish they did Model J’s in a 5-string, but I wish they did 5-string pickups in Fender sizes. DiMarzio Jazz 5 pickups are in short sizes, like what Sadowsky 5’s have.
I feel like they’re missing a huge market by not doing Fender sizes…but maybe they don’t want it.

 

[eastcoasteddie]

Here ya go ...

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

... these are humbucking 50's style P pickups housed in J shells. Here's a good demo of them by Andy Irvine ...

These seem kind of dark, this demo hasn’t sold me on these pickups.

 

[markanini]

Split-coil J design with a 5-6 Henry inductance is the logical answer. But you might as well consider a different design like the Model J if you if you're as far as wanting to swap. Or use what you got and add a small 270pF loading capacitor across your current J pickup, that will put the resonant frequency in the range of a Split-P.
Either makes more sense than seeking out a "P-in-J".

 

[J-Mags]

Update: My desire for "P-in-J" may not have been entirely literal. I didn't know (and perhaps still don't know) exactly what I'm looking for. What I'm looking for is a way to give my J bass some of the presence of my Mustang during gigs. My first thought was "P-Bass", and I even have a p-bass body sitting around my closet, but the J-neck isn't compatible. The Tagima has a very wide neck pocket. But P isn't the only possibility. It's been an issue with long-scale basses in general that I've been having trouble getting my sound, which is annoying, because I almost always practice on a long scale, and I'm a big guy. I had similar issues on an Ibanez RB820, which has Music Man-style pickup placement and tons of mids. I can get much closer on the Jazz.

I know that all this is largely a matter of string tension. On a longer scale bass, I don't get the splat followed by the fundamental. The sound is more uniform. I've tried foam mutes, black nylon strings, preamps, etc. I have managed to get the JB to the point where it's tolerable, but the pickups are polite. If this bass didn't play so well, I'd just let it be.

Additionally, I discussed this with my advisor/teenage daughter, and we came to the conclusion that there are only a few aesthetically-correct replacement pickups for a custard-colored punk rock Jazz Bass. 1) Black Model J with black pole pieces, 2) EMGs, 3) overt cheapos (but I already got em) 4) I'm touched by Bartolini's efforts to market themselves to punk rockers as indestructible. That leaves me with a 90% chance that I'll go for the Model Js and switch out my pots for 500s. 10% chance that I'll go for EMGs even though they're the opposite of what I say I'm looking for. Maybe I just need a bunch of highs for the click.

 

[markanini]

Newer passive EMGs bring out a a fair bit of life out of polite bases without sounding too sterile. Sadowsky Js does something similar, a touch toward a rowdier direction but I couldn't tell you where to get them. I haven't heard a Model J sounding that rowdy unless you add a dirt pedal, but if that's part of your rig by any chance then it will surely work.

 

[TonyP-]

Newer passive EMGs bring out a a fair bit of life out of polite bases without sounding too sterile. Sadowsky Js does something similar, a touch toward a rowdier direction but I couldn't tell you where to get them. I haven't heard a Model J sounding that rowdy unless you add a dirt pedal, but if that's part of your rig by any chance then it will surely work.

I’m not sure what you define as rowdy but this recording was done with a warmoth J, with broken in rounds and Model Js

 

[J-Mags]

Newer passive EMGs bring out a a fair bit of life out of polite bases without sounding too sterile. Sadowsky Js does something similar, a touch toward a rowdier direction but I couldn't tell you where to get them. I haven't heard a Model J sounding that rowdy unless you add a dirt pedal, but if that's part of your rig by any chance then it will surely work.

I’m not sure what you define as rowdy but this recording was done with a warmoth J, with broken in rounds and Model Js

I'm not sure that rowdiness is my main concern. Is a Mustang with flats rowdy? I just want them to have that ineffable thing that makes me not want to hang up the bass and pick up my Mustang when I play it with a loud band. I'm thinking power, or a certain kind of dynamics. It might not be possible from a long-scale bass, or a JB in general, but I want to try to get the most out of this bass before I give up because it plays well and looks good, and sounds good solo. The drummer in my punk band doesn't play a high hat. The click of the pick on the flatwound bass string is our high hat. It sounds brilliant when it works.

 

[JimmyM]

Update: My desire for "P-in-J" may not have been entirely literal. I didn't know (and perhaps still don't know) exactly what I'm looking for. What I'm looking for is a way to give my J bass some of the presence of my Mustang during gigs. My first thought was "P-Bass", and I even have a p-bass body sitting around my closet, but the J-neck isn't compatible. The Tagima has a very wide neck pocket. But P isn't the only possibility. It's been an issue with long-scale basses in general that I've been having trouble getting my sound, which is annoying, because I almost always practice on a long scale, and I'm a big guy. I had similar issues on an Ibanez RB820, which has Music Man-style pickup placement and tons of mids. I can get much closer on the Jazz.

I know that all this is largely a matter of string tension. On a longer scale bass, I don't get the splat followed by the fundamental. The sound is more uniform. I've tried foam mutes, black nylon strings, preamps, etc. I have managed to get the JB to the point where it's tolerable, but the pickups are polite. If this bass didn't play so well, I'd just let it be.

Additionally, I discussed this with my advisor/teenage daughter, and we came to the conclusion that there are only a few aesthetically-correct replacement pickups for a custard-colored punk rock Jazz Bass. 1) Black Model J with black pole pieces, 2) EMGs, 3) overt cheapos (but I already got em) 4) I'm touched by Bartolini's efforts to market themselves to punk rockers as indestructible. That leaves me with a 90% chance that I'll go for the Model Js and switch out my pots for 500s. 10% chance that I'll go for EMGs even though they're the opposite of what I say I'm looking for. Maybe I just need a bunch of highs for the click.

I haven't heard them yet except in a couple demos on here, but EMG sells a set of passive J pickups called the JV52's that might work for you. They're not supercharged like the Model J's so there are more highs, but they're humbucking and bright enough.

 

[J-Mags]

I haven't heard them yet except in a couple demos on here, but EMG sells a set of passive J pickups called the JV52's that might work for you. They're not supercharged like the Model J's so there are more highs, but they're humbucking and bright enough.

I actually just saw these in a YouTube vid, and I'm considering them. They upgraded from some Squier pickups, and for what they were trying to do (regular bass playing, slapping), I thought they sounded worse. At the same time, I got the impression that they may be just what I'm looking for because of the tighter, frequency response.

The only times it's ever worked out for me to buy equipment based on a YouTube demo is when I've gotten the impression that it sounds bad for them, but I could make it work for me. If someone is sounding spectacular, I get distracted by how good they sound.

 

[JimmyM]

I actually just saw these in a YouTube vid, and I'm considering them. They upgraded from some Squier pickups, and for what they were trying to do (regular bass playing, slapping), I thought they sounded worse. At the same time, I got the impression that they may be just what I'm looking for because of the tighter, frequency response.

The only times it's ever worked out for me to buy equipment based on a YouTube demo is when I've gotten the impression that it sounds bad for them, but I could make it work for me. If someone is sounding spectacular, I get distracted by how good they sound.

Gotta make every mod your own, but I do find demos good for putting together a shortlist. I also believe that you can contact EMG and get a set of pickups where both pickups are alnico 5. I think they sub out the Geezer J pickup for the bridge pickup in those sets but I could be wrong. Then again, as long as the neck pickup's an alnico 5, I think you would be pretty happy with it.

 

[J-Mags]

Gotta make every mod your own, but I do find demos good for putting together a shortlist. I also believe that you can contact EMG and get a set of pickups where both pickups are alnico 5. I think they sub out the Geezer J pickup for the bridge pickup in those sets but I could be wrong. Then again, as long as the neck pickup's an alnico 5, I think your daughter would be pretty happy with it. She sounds like the neck PU type anyway. Kinda like me but with a J instead of a PJ...the J's there if I really need it

It's not for my daughter; it's for me . She plays guitar and we talk gear, though. She's a much better musician than me, although you know what they say about old age and treachery vs. youth and talent. Any bridge pickup will be good enough for me. I generally don't turn it up over 50%.

 

[JimmyM]

It's not for my daughter; it's for me. She plays guitar and we talk gear, though. Any bridge pickup will be good enough for me. I generally don't turn it up over 50%.

Oh dang...I knew there was a daughter in there somewhere, then I went to your first post just to double check the daughter thing and saw no mention of her there, and I edited my post to change the references. Whoops!

 

[J-Mags]

Oh dang...I knew there was a daughter in there somewhere, then I went to your first post just to double check the daughter thing and saw no mention of her there, and I edited my post to change the references. Whoops!

She was saying I shouldn't get any pickups that aren't all black, including pole pieces. I'm willing to ignore that advice.

 

[Erik Turkman]

I'm thinking power, or a certain kind of dynamics. It might not be possible from a long-scale bass, or a JB in general, but I want to try to get the most out of this bass before I give up because it plays well and looks good, and sounds good solo..

If you are looking for more power and dynamics, you might consider trying an outboard preamp before swapping pickups. Something like an MXR M81 might get you there or something else with a sweepable midrange.

 

[JimmyM]

She was saying I shouldn't get any pickups that aren't all black, including pole pieces. I'm willing to ignore that advice.

Pole pieces are cool.

 

[TomB]

Black Model J with black pole pieces are cool. Just do it!

 

[Nedmundo]

Not sure this will meet the OP's goals, but I'll mention Lace Man o' War pickups, because in my experience they give my G&L JB a mix presence similar to a P-bass--so much so, in fact, that I've considered selling my G&L SB-2. They have fatter low mids than typical J-bass pickups, and slightly rolled off treble. They're also true single coils, so you keep all the J-bass bark and growl, but they have little to no single coil hum thanks to Lace's Sensor technology.

Due to the reduced treble, they might pair nicely with 500k pots or active electronics. I haven't bothered because I normally roll off the treble a bit anyway, and a boost of treble on my amps cures the issue if I want more. They also have modest output, at least compared to my other basses (especially the G&Ls with MFD pickups), so they can seem tame at first. But at higher volumes, the single coil growl/grind comes through, and they sound great. IMO they work extremely well in a band context.

They're relatively inexpensive, and they're all black with no polepieces. I know, from lots of experience, the perils of offending one's teenage daughter's sense of aesthetics!

 

[J-Mags]

After spending some high volume time with my Mustang and my Jazz, I think I have a clearer idea of what I'm looking for. This may or may not have anything to do with a P-Bass sound. My Mustang, when I play it with a pick sounds like a giant, twangy Fender guitar with a biggo fundamental underneath, and that's essentially the sound I'm looking for. It's not funky Telecaster Twang, it's big surf twang. It's got plenty of mids, but is more about upper mids and lows. It's kind of like the flat wound pick sounds in this vid. The pickups I have now are "warmer" with less definition in the lows and upper mids. I use the same strings as the player here:

 

[J-Mags]

Update: After messing around with my bass, EQ, etc. and taking both basses to band practice, I determined that the Tagima sounds pretty great the way it is, but still sounds awful compared to my Mustang in this band. I've had similar problems with another good sounding full-scale bass, an Ibanez RB 820. This caused me to conclude that I'm probably trying to make it into something that it's not. This band is just one of those bands. It also doesn't sound that good when the guitar player plays a Les Paul instead of a Jazzmaster.

Over the long haul, the Tagima could probably use better pickups, as the current ones have a bit of the non-punchy budget pickup sound, but I've put it on the back burner.

I also figured that for less than the price of a new set of EMGs, I could get the remaining parts I needed to complete a parts P-Bass, which, if it ends up working, would probably closer to the sound I'm looking for. Thanks for the input, and I'll end up using your advice when it comes time for a pickup swap in the J.