Single Coil Jazz PU's vs MM Humbucker

[Fleece3]

Can someone help me w/ the pro's and con's of having 2 Jazz single coil bridge PU's stacked together VS the pro's and con's of having a single MusicMan Humbucker in the bridge position on a custom bass (see below). I am already assuming that the coils are wired to switches to allow choosing different parallel modes between the 2 coils.

VS

Thanks

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Can someone help me w/ the pro's and con's of having 2 Jazz single coil bridge PU's stacked together VS the pro's and con's of having a single MusicMan Humbucker in the bridge position on a custom bass (see below). I am already assuming that the coils are wired to switches to allow choosing different parallel modes between the 2 coils.

View attachment 4373410
VS
View attachment 4373411

Thanks

Well, a standard MM pickup is wired how it's wired, and has positive/negative leads only. You have to buy a pickup that is specifically designed to run separately to do so.

That being said, the only differences are those found in the pickups themselves. Those particular jazz singles vs that particular humbucker. Both are 2-4 pickups wired together into one. If they were the same 2-4 pickups, there would be no difference. But as you can plainly see, those particular ones are not.

 

[bigtone23]

I had a couple passive Ibanez with JJ pickups. RB920 and RB820 with the super J6 right in the MM sweet spot. It was connected to a switch for series/split/parallel. The J6 was essentially two 9K ceramic J pickups, so it had more output and punch vs a MM pickup, especially in series or single configuration. Running this in parallel had a somewhat MM tonality. Single mode was similar to a Ric bridge pickup and series was pretty low-mid forward.
The MM pickup is usually wound not as much, around 4K per coil, configured in parallel, but does have decently strong magnets, but still somewhat relies on the preamp to get the necessary gain and output. This usually has more clarity to it vs the JJ pickup.

 

[SteveCS]

Just to add to the confusion (or maybe solve a dilemma), there is this:

DELANO THE HYBRID 4

 

[sikamikanico]

The biggest pro of the MM pickup in my mind is that there are many good replacement pickups to choose from should you want to change the pickup. Most pickup makers seem to offer an MM-sized pickup, and with various designs/architectures under the hood (single/dual coil, split/quad coil, multi coil, sidewinder). To me, that's a big advantage on a custom bass that you don't know what will sound like...

Other than that, yeah, the two pickups will sound different, tho what's better is subjective. Are you going to have a neck pickup? Some pickups blend better... and also, some pickups just look better together.

 

[dwizum]

The biggest pro of the MM pickup in my mind is that there are many good replacement pickups to choose from should you want to change the pickup. Most pickup makers seem to offer an MM-sized pickup, and with various designs/architectures under the hood (single/dual coil, split/quad coil, multi coil, sidewinder). To me, that's a big advantage on a custom bass that you don't know what will sound like...

That would be what would drive my choice as well. "Double Jazz" pickups are very rare. If you cut a pickup cavity for a double J, you're pretty much stuck with a very small number of options, and a couple of them have been out of production for years. Meanwhile, MM pickups are all over the place in different configurations.

There isn't any inherent difference between a double jazz pickup vs an MM or any other two coil, side by side humbucker - it boils down to how each particular pickup is made and how it's wired in the bass. In other words, in the generic sense, you won't get a different result by choosing one or the other. So, you might as well go with the pickup cavity shape that gives you the best range of choices.

 

[jbrew73]

Just to add to the mm shape pros, you could probably find a mm that actually has the jj configuration built into a mm shell. There are also many, many other options for coil, magnet, wire, etc. options in the mm shape.
The mm shape also looks bad ass.

 

[Wally Groove]

Just to add to the confusion (or maybe solve a dilemma), there is this:

DELANO THE HYBRID 4

WOW, looks like the best of both worlds!