Recommendations for Jazz pickups?

[DCCat]

i have 2 jazz parts basses ... 1 bass was a MIM fretless ... swapped that neck with my other jazz ..

the MIM body ( Warmoth P neck bound/blocked ) now has Model J pups , and will wear some sort of smoother/warmer rounds ... GHS Pressurewounds , Ti Jazz rounds on order to try next ..! the model J pups are pretty gutsy , but that's easy to tweak via pickup height ... and i do like the adjustable poles ..!

the Mim neck is on a Squire VM body w/ DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pups ... another split coil ... less volume , i forget which pups have which magnets ..?? always liked the Ultras for a fairly natural , flat kinda sound ... tried a few different string sets ... GHS Preesurewounds, Roto Monel 77's ... currently has a lightly use set of Ti flats - JF344 ... with that thinner neck and low tension strings , it is very very easy to play ... slowly adjusting to the different kinda feel for my plucking fingers ... getting there with the Ti's ... with arthritic old hands ( played piano since 1963 , bass since 73 ) i figured i'd also try the Ti jazz rounds on the other fretted neck ... it is pretty chunky , but feels nice .. the low tension strings should feel good there also ..!!?? not slapping or rocking out to hard these days ..!! ha

i do like any type of humbuckers on my J type basses , so i can mix the volume between the pups for a variety of tones without any single coil hum - especially when recording ... split coils kinda make sense to me for some reason ..!? similar to a P pup , just side by side ..

i had some standard Bart split J pups installed for a while ... the current 2 sets have more oomph and clarity ... but Barts do have a unique sound for fretless on some occasions ..!?

both basses have CTS 250 pots , orange caps ... 1 w/standard stock bridge , 1 w/ Badass ...

Thanks for that. Regarding the Dimarzios, based on what I can tell from Youtube videos, the model J seemed a little fat, the ultra J a little hot, and the area J (finally listened to some on video today) closer to just right. But who knows what you can really tell from videos.

Off topic, but since you mentioned them:
- I'd be interested to know what you think about the TIJR's, especially if you try them on your fretless, so it would be cool if you could post your impressions when you get them.
- Like you (at the outset), I have a MIM fretless jazz and a Squier VM fretted jazz. I'm curious about why you swapped the necks on them.

 

[DCCat]

Lindys. I know you said they're off the list but that just shows how badly the list needs amending.
You can get a set of LF jazz for basically $20 more. They are worth it.

Yes, fair enough, it's probably true that I'm upsetting the natural order of the universe. Alas, budgets, though arbitrary, are sometimes necessary, especially in these difficult times. But they do sound really nice, so I'll keep an eye on the used market.

 

[richntiff]

1) try different strings
2) be patient and save your money for the boutique stuff.

 

[mcnach]

I know there have been a lot of threads about this general topic, but not with my specific goals and constraints in mind, so here goes ...

I've got a MIM fretless jazz with stock pickups. I'm not particularly happy with those pups relative to others I've heard on similar basses. They seem to be kind of muddy, with not very good low and mid articulation. I'd like to replace them with something that is generally vintage-ish sounding with good balance, including a round but solid bottom, clear articulate mids, and clear/smooth but not bright/forward highs. I finger pluck and currently have D'Addario tapes on this bass, but have liked TIJFs and Sadowsky blue flats on it, and am considering LaBella copper whites and TIJRs, if any of that gives you an additional idea of what I like or what would fit. Oh, and these will be hooked up to ObsidianWire electronics.

I have a budget of up to about $120-130, so the Fralins, Nordys, Lollars, higher-end Duncans, etc., are out. Based on clips and vids I've listened to, I've eliminated some standard vintage options, including the Fender CS 60s (I can get them within my budget, but they sound a bit too bottom and low-mid heavy to me), PV 74's (seem kinda bright), Vintage Noiseless (seem a little lifeless), QPs (way too scooped), and a few others.

I'm still considering the following:

Fender Original Vintage
Duncan SJB-1
Dimarzio Area J
StewMac Golden Age

I've really only heard the Fender and Duncan and they sound like legit candidates. Some people rave about the Area J's, but I don't think I've heard them in comparison to anything. The StewMacs seem not to be used very heavily and there's little usable info on here about them, but what there is is pretty positive. Don't really care about noiseless or not, as long as the tone is right.

I guess I haven't completely ruled out the Fender V-Mods, but there are some very polarized views on them. Some say they're thin and bright, but others say they're very sensitive to things like pickup height and string position over the magnets, and when set up properly, they're really good.

So I'm curious what y'all think about the contenders (or others you think would fit), especially relative to one another. I will say, based on what I've heard, that I think the Lollars sound really good, so if you think any of the cheaper options are similar, let me know.

Probably all of those would be an improvement, but I really like the Area J, so I vote for those. Very much a traditional Jazz sound in a humbucking form. Great pickups.

 

[DCCat]

Thanks to everyone for your input, I really appreciate it.

As a result of this thread, I received an offer to buy a set of lightly-used Wildes at a very good price, so that's what I'm going to get.