Please inform me, o wise ones

[walterw]

Who in their right mind wastes time/money rewinding ceramic MiM pickups?

+1 that's just silly with those things, and i wonder if lindy would even do it, since they're not built like "real" jazz pickups.

if the OP just wants "better" without a clear idea of how, i'd suggest that he can't lose with nice vintage-type pickups, even factory-mades like the duncan "vintage"or fender "original". (plus, they're well under $75 each.)

 

[fivestringgecko]

If it helps, there's the rather sizeable thread on "J" pickups discussion and comparisons.

In that thread, I talked about the Basslines Quarter Pounds I just put in my MIA Jazz V, the set was only $125. Granted, I started with an MIA and not a MIM, but I was quite pleasantly surprised with the difference. I wonder if the difference would be even more/better when starting with an MIM? Also, I haven't had a chance to try other brands people have mentioned in this thread, maybe I'll get around to it eventually, but I really dig that QP's.

5sg.

I just wired a set of Basslines Quarter Pounds into my '06 MIA Jazz V last weekend! I was a little worried about messing with the mojo of the bass and losing "that jazz bass sound" but they sound pretty awesome. Same great sound but with a warmer, wider low end and a bit higher output. I grabbed a couple screen shots from recordings I did with stock pickups vs. the Basslines, check them out below.

Looks like similar high end (and sounds like it to my ears), but the Basslines seem to have better frequency response in the lows. It's not boomy by any means, just more... present. The B-string seems to be more present as well. It wasn't bad before, but always struck me as a little thin. It sounds quite a bit better with the Basslines! Overall, the Basslines are warmer, but they have a touch more growl at the same time, depending on how much you dig in.

A pretty good upgrade, IMO!

5sg.

Here's the stock Fender pickups:

and here's with the Basslines!

 

[ejaggers]

+1 that's just silly with those things, and i wonder if lindy would even do it, since they're not built like "real" jazz pickups..)

Walterw and line6man,

I sent Tom at Fralins an affinity P pickup to have rebuilt, and I was so impress with what I got back that I had two other basses pups rebuilt. One was a 72 jazz that the bridge pup went out on, so he rebuilt both for me. I was really never a huge fan of my jazz until now. The other was a 67 Coronado II pup that I had rebuilt years ago that always sounded like crap afterwards until now. I only rebuilt the crappy one, but actually sent him both. He said I didn’t need to redo the original one, when he could have sold me on doing both. I am so happy with my CII because it has always been my favorite bass.

I believe that if you send him a pup, he rebuilds it to Fralin standards, so maybe that means you don’t get a ceramic pup back. The real beauty of my dealings with Fralin was that rebuilding was ½ the cost of new. Maybe someone else has a different experience w/ Franlin, but I am a BIG Fan!!!

BTW, I also considered Nordstrand NJ4, for my J, but the way I did it was less than ½ the price of NJ4's, and in my opinion, the right choice.

 

[Dr. Eagle]

I have swapped to both EMG and Bartolini's in different basses. I have one of EMG's earlier P bass pickup sets that absolutely rocks in my opinion (note the opinion, its a very subjective er subject).
There are lots of different types that you can try that have been mentioned earlier in this thread. Other than my original EMG, I just kind of jumped in and tried some after talking to the guys at bestbassgear.com and got EMGs for my buzzard and Bartolini's for my Carvins. I am pretty happy with both. you could converse with the guys at BBG by email, probably other dealers too to see what they might think is best and why. The hardest part is really describing the goal...

 

[SGD Lutherie]

So my answer is waiting on SGD to finish the Sidewinders in 5 string and hopefully in "Plus" as my output is a tad low at present. Maybe even neos if good reports come back on them. I think there are a lot of us out there who want to kill the hum but really want to try to get that single coil tone back. Especially on the MIM jazzes.

I'm finishing up the standard size Jazz sidewinders right now. I'm not sire when I'll have them in 5 string sizes, but hoping it will be soon. I haven't offered any 5 string Jazz pickups because there is no standard size for 5 string Jazz pickups. But i have a source for covers now.

Here's the bridge pickup, recorded yesterday. I'm finishing up the neck tomorrow. I got sidetracked with trying a neo version, but had some issues with that.

Link Removed

That slight whiling noise in the background is from my digital mixer being too close to the bass. It's one of those annoying sounds that even gets picked up by humbuckers.

They do sound like single coils, but I wont say they sound like vintage Jazz bass pickups, but then that wasn't the intention.

 

[Nedmundo]

If the OP just wants "better" without a clear idea of how, i'd suggest that he can't lose with nice vintage-type pickups, even factory-mades like the duncan "vintage"or fender "original". (plus, they're well under $75 each.)

That's my first thought. I'm a big fan of Fralins, but some think Duncan's SJB-1 sound as good as the boutiques, and, to be fair, stock Fender MIA pickups sound pretty close, so I'd expect the Fender "Originals" and Custom Shop '60's to sound great. The G&L Vintage Alnicos that came stock with my G&L JB are in this vein, and sound great.

Or, if you want noiseless on a budget, try DiMarzio Area J.

Edit: I see you're in Delaware. Take a trip to either Middletown Music or West Chester Music (PA), and compare your bass to the MIA Fenders they stock, and you may get a sense of what you want. Either is likely to have an AV '62 RI, which will tell you how the Fender Originals sound, and West Chester carries Lakland as well.