I have a P/J that has a narrowed string spacing such that I don't want to use a "standard" double-pole-per-string J-style pickup. I would like to use a rails type pickup. No, I don't want a JBE. Has anybody out there used or heard or have anything to say about the Seymour Duncan 5 String Stack Jazz Bass pickups? Neck, Bridge, or both? I searched the forum to no avail. If I missed a thread, please provide the link. Looking forward to replies. Thanks.
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Seymour Duncan 5 String Stack Jazz Bass Pickups: Opinions? Comments?
- Thread starter iiipopes
- Start date
how narrow? plenty (if not most) replacement 5-string J pickups are narrower-spaced than USA fender 5-strings.
the dimarzio area J 5 will sound stronger and clearer than that duncan stack;
their site is "under construction" so i don't see dimensions but from the pic the pole pairs are already close enough together that it's not all that different from just having a continuous row of magnet poles
the dimarzio area J 5 will sound stronger and clearer than that duncan stack;
their site is "under construction" so i don't see dimensions but from the pic the pole pairs are already close enough together that it's not all that different from just having a continuous row of magnet poles
Walter: very narrow. Four-string Rickenbacker narrow. Four-string Höfner narrow. Narrow enough that the pickup in the P position will be a Nordstrand Mustang, and each section will be angled at that under P pickup covers to narrow down. No, I don't want pole pieces in the J-bridge position. I want rails. Just because I am considering the Stack 5 doesn't mean the bass is a 5-string. It is a four-string. It fits Am. Std. 4-string J-bass routs. Do you have any experience with this set of pickups?
aha.
yes, having heard both plenty of times, the duncan stacks (like most stacks) will sound quiet and "polite" while the split-coil dimarzio will have a lot more output and "life".
so it's actually 4-string J size but super-narrow string spacing? i'm almost tempted to suggest something wacky like stuffing a duncan cool rails guitar pickup in there
barring that, i see that joe barden is making rails-type J pickups
side-by-side rails types like these will also not have the loss of vertical stacks, and should be much stronger.
Yes, that is the kind of feedback I am looking for. Thanks. I remember thinking the same thing when I had a regular stack in the J-bridge position of a bass about fifteen years ago. I wondered if the tone would be similar, but with different construction one never knows.
My project is not a MusicMaster or Bronco. Over the decades, starting when SD Strat Rails were new pickups, I've helped several friends wire SD rails into these basses. I've been there; done that; bought the t-shirt; good tone; going other directions now.
I said in my original post no JBE. I don't like the overly bright tone.
probably yeah, the loss happens from the fundamental design of a coil over a coil; the bottom coil "fights" the top coil and robs much of its output.
missed that; yeah, barden guitar pickups have this harsh high-mid thing i never cared for, haven't actually heard their bass pickups
reverend uses some sort of dual-rails J pickup in their basses, certainly not bardens
I agree totally. Yes, that is why I got rid of it then and now use a DiMarzio UltraJazz split coil instead on the same instrument - my custom fanned fret P-style bass.
On a similar note, I had a set of DiMarzio Model J's in a real '75 light ash bodied RW fret board J-bass in the early 80's that still had "patent applied for" stickers on the underside. Not because I wanted to, but at that point, the pickups had died a horrible death as mid-70's J-pickups are prone to do, and there was no way to get a replacement pickup out of Fender, and no reputable re-winders in my part of the country. (And the "money" frets were worn out and nobody regionally to re-fret the bass properly - so I sold it. I know where it is if I want to play it.) The Model J was about all the aftermarket that was available as a replacement pickup. Much ballsier than a stack. I liked them then, and I still have a set in another Franken-J now.
But on this bass, the reverse-P-pickup is a little farther upstream then "Fender Standard," and so is the J-bridge pickup, even proportionally a little bit north of the "60's" position. So the "polite" stack will have a little more string excursion to work with, and may fit tonally with the Nordstrand Mustang. Yes, the bridge I have put on it has a 2 1/16" string spread at the bridge; 2" over the J-bridge pickup, and 1 15/16" over the reverse P-pickup. Too bad I'm not an EB-3 fan: that would be perfect for an EB-3 setup! But that would entail a bunch of routing out and customizing pickup surrounds to cover the P & J routs. But I did think about it.
Thanks for all your comments.
Anybody else out there with comments, observations, criticisms, or other input?
Walter, I went with the SD Stack 5 neck, installed in the bridge. The "polite" nature of the pickup plays really well with the Nordstrand Mustang pickup, which is also a little less agressive than some P-pickups. The bass played the annual Mexico gig in February really, really well, indeed. Thanks again for your time and input.
