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Please educate me about Fender Jazz pups

ejaggers

ejaggers

Aug 18, 2009
2,728
2,681
Fort Worth, TX
#1
My neck pup went out on my ’72 MIA Fender Jazz, and I’m looking on ebay for a replacement. I see ’62, ’75, standard jazz, etc. Does this mean difference in sound, or size? I always thought my pups were weak compared to other basses, so I really don't want the exact same pups. But I’d like to know as much as I can about Fender so I can make a decent decision. Would you go back with Fender if you were me? Oh yeah, Fender’s prices are right!!!
 
#2
Is it an actual 1972, or a RI ? If it's an oldie you probably could get it rewound. Or, either way the US-V 75 or 62 sets are very good. I have a set of the 62's and I like them they sound like a classic J to me, haven't tried the 75's but I hear good things about them. I'm sure others will chime in on those (75's) and as to weather or not fit will be an issue.
 
#3
You have lots of choices. Rewind it if you want to keep the bass original and you're concerned about resale. If it was mine though, I'd probably take the opportunity to try something else and keep the dead pickup safely stored for future consideration. Maybe a Fralin?
 
#5
The state of the art in pickups has come a long way in 35+ years. If it were me, I'd be looking at some good replacement pickups. But that's just me: I'm not so interested in preserving the "vintage" original equipment or any of that. I just want the best player I can get... :hmm:

Since it's a Jazz, you have LOTS of options. Look at Fralin, DiMarzio, Seymour Duncan, Nordstrand. And that's just for starters...

You want vintage in particular? Fralins. And DiMarzio has a new model called the "Area J".

Check 'em out...

MM
 
#6
PJRL , It’s an actual ’72. Thanks for the tip on the 75s and 62s. In ’79 I replaced the bass player in a band in Seattle. He had a J that I’m thinking was a 60ish that was the best sounding/ playing J I’ve ever heard. Although it looked like someone had tied a rope to it and pulled it behind a truck for 200 miles.

Derridiandrift, I never resale my stuff, beside I did a refin on this bass when I was a kid, since it wasn’t vintage back then.

MysticMichael && Derridiandrift,

I’m a strong believer in Fralin’s, here’s my story about those:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=662334

But I’m not familiar with the others you name at all (except for name recognition). Thanks for the tips.

Any advice from the weekend crew???
 
#10
ejaggers said:
Thanks narud and LJM for the suggestions.

Any views/info on Fender pups?
Click to expand...

theyre good pickups regardless of price. ive owned the custom shop 60's and fender originals, and of the two new sets that i had, they sounded pretty close to each other. both were installed in the same bass. however, right now i have a set of cs60 from the mid 90's and theyre thin like a set of 70's pickups. maybe a little thinner. they read out at 6.8k for the neck and 7.1k for the bridge. i dont remember the new set sounding this bright, but theyre supposedly wound to around the same specs.

ive got some posts in the j bass megathread where i talked about various pickup sets. ive owned a ton of single coil sets.
 
#11
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#12
ejaggers said:
narud, there was only one post on ebay for Aero, but I'm definitely checking in to the advice I get here. Their ad claims that their pups are the finest on earth!!! Is this a good price for the best PUP ever?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Aero-Jazz-Bass-...tem&pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item3efdb1c633

Are the $100 better than these Fender’s? http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Fender-Orig...tem&pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item45f300d6e4
Click to expand...

most "boutique" replacement sets are going to run 160 whether its lollar, antiquity's, aero's or whoever. whether its worth it or not is where it gets funny. while the differences might be subtle, if a particular set of pickups does that one thing youve really been wanting, then yeah its definitely worth it. some guys dont really hear a difference though.

if you dont want to spend a lot of dough right now, try out the originals. they might be just what youre looking for and they really are a great pickup. worst case scenario is you sell them here in the classifieds and lose 15 bucks or so.

ive got some sound clips posted in the jazz megathread of a fernandes jazz 5 string with aeros in it if youre interested in hearing what they sound like. ive got some antquity 2 clips in there too. on all the clips i set my neck pickup a little higher than most people set them.
 
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#13
ejaggers said:
My neck pup went out on my ’72 MIA Fender Jazz, and I’m looking on ebay for a replacement.... I always thought my pups were weak compared to other basses, so I really don't want the exact same pups.
Click to expand...

Ahh, I've been through something like this with my '73 Jazz. The story, as told to me by Mike Lull, is that in the 70s Fender was owned by CBS, who liked to "improve" things (meaning, from their point of view, reduce manufacturing cost). The way they improved pickups was to use masking tape to wrap the pole pieces before winding the pickup coils. After a few decades, the masking tape breaks down, turns acidic, and literally dissolves the coils from the inside out.

I hadn't really noticed my pickups gradually getting weaker because I have a third pickup (big ol' Gibson humbucker) up by the neck. But when Mike worked on the bass he noticed this right away.

I took his recommendation and had the pickups rewound by Lindy Fralin. Supposedly they were rewound to original specs (presumably minus the masking tape), but I don't remember them ever sounding this good! Powerful, lots of tone. Certainly not "the exact same pups".
 

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