Pickup swap that made the biggest difference in your tone?

[mojomike001]

I had assembled a jazz bass using a Warmoth body, a spare precision neck, and some Mexican jazz parts including the pickups. I then swapped the pickups for some Dimarzios which are dual coils. This really makes this jazz bass flexible since you can easily solo either pickup with no noise. Now it can convincingly cop a P bass sound with the neck pickup soloed or can sound like a jazz with the bridge pickup dialed in. It can pretty much be used for anything.

 

[Mike Romanowski]

The Bill Lawrence/Wilde P46 and J45s in my Precision and Jazz Basses are the best passive pickups I've ever played in any Fender Bass bar none. They have exceptional clarity and punch without losing their warmth and "old school" flavor.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Bill's guitar pickups are legendary but for some reason his bass pickups are somewhat overlooked. They shouldn't be. In the world of name brand boutique pickups they are as good as it gets and priced far below many others in their class.

Here are two TalkBass thread in which these exceptional passive pickups are discussed at length by those of us who play them.

The Official Bill Lawrence/Wilde Pickups Club

Bill Lawrence P-46 Pickup mini review (BEST P Pickup I've EVER tried)!

Never have actually heard or heard of the BL Pickups. So I'd like to know—In the J-45 series do you have any idea of difference in Flush Pole pieces and Stagger Pole pieces? Is one necessarily better than the other or is it a use determinate type of situation?

 

[Mike Romanowski]

I had assembled a jazz bass using a Warmoth body, a spare precision neck, and some Mexican jazz parts including the pickups. I then swapped the pickups for some Dimarzios which are dual coils. This really makes this jazz bass flexible since you can easily solo either pickup with no noise. Now it can convincingly cop a P bass sound with the neck pickup soloed or can sound like a jazz with the bridge pickup dialed in. It can pretty much be used for anything.
View attachment 3271134

Is there more than one type of dual coil available in SD's? Do you know model numbers? Where did you get the faux leather look pickguard or did you make it?

 

[mongo2]

The most interesting tonal change I've heard by changing pickups was when I installed a Duncan Antiquity II pickup in a P bass.

 

[soulman969]

Never have actually heard or heard of the BL Pickups. So I'd like to know—In the J-45 series do you have any idea of difference in Flush Pole pieces and Stagger Pole pieces? Is one necessarily better than the other or is it a use determinate type of situation?

The stagger is intended to provide better string to string balance in volume output in that the middle pole pieces are raised slightly to accommodate the fret board radius.

I can't really say whether one is better or not but I can hear the difference between raised and flush even though the volume drop on the D and A is very very small.

Which someone would order may depend on their setup. If you typically adjust saddle heights to conform with the fret board radius the raised pole pieces should be more effective. But some don't set up their basses that way. In that case the flush pole pieces may be the way to go.

But in all other respects the pickups are identical.

 

[bigtone23]

Biggest difference?
Any time I went from EMG to anything passive or vice versa.

 

[dkelley]

MEC MMs to Nordstrand Bigmans, Big Blademan, and SD Alnico MM.

Spector whatever junk they put in the NS-2A to EMG PJs and EMG GZRs....I hate GZRs but the stock Spector branded whatevers were unuseable.

Mim P to Dimarzio Model P.

What?? LoL

Nearly every player raves about the stock passive spector pj pickups when combined with the haz in the ns2a or the kramer forum series (which, incidentally, are also all maple, sound identical to, and feel quite similar to the ns2a.... played both quite a bit and worked on the forum iii extensively).

I have that pickup setup in my forum iii and it's an amazing sounding instrument. Not as bright as with active emgs, but that doesn't make them bad sounding. I love the tone.... no desire to mod the pickups.

 

[Diesel Kilgore]

Squier Affinity Stratocaster/Bronco Bass pickup to a Cool Rail humbucker style pickup with double the K ohm resistance.

 

[rockinrayduke]

What pickup swaps have had the most dramatic effect on your Basses tone?

Took the N3s out of my Jazz Deluxe and replaced them with Aguilar 70s. Opened up the tone in both passive and active, even with the stock preamp. Has now become my go to bass.