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Squier jazz pickup upgrade

T

Tunto

Oct 2, 2009
7
0
Zagreb, Croatia
#1
Hello, I'm new to talkbass, and this is my first thread so please correct me if I do anything wrong :D

Anyway, I play a Squier standard jazz bass, with no modifications. I've started playing bass three years ago, and I practice about two hours a day, and the more I play, the more I don't like the sound I'm getting. So I've come to a decision, I'm gonna change the pups.

I play mostly modern rock, love to slap, and play a bit of punk. I'm looking for some humbucking pickups, that won't make my tone stiff or "stupid" (punk music tones), rather with a strong low end, and bright higs, something like a musicman sound but with a stronger low end. I cannot decide between many pickups, and Christmas sales are here, so I would really appreciate any help anyone can give me :D

Cheers everyone!
 
#3
well if you slap a lot DiMarzios Ultra Jazz would be great for slapping... Quarter Pounders are loud and have a beefier tone.. these two pickups have round mids so they're great for heavy rock and slapping.. if you want a more midrange character well that's a different story
 
#5
I have model J's in my 70's VM and will be putting them in my VM fretless too. I would suggest adding the on-on-on switch if you can so you can switch between series/parallel/single coil. I did that modification and am very happy with it.
 
#7
hey iv got sorta the same question i was wondering if you could help me as well

im new to the forum also...

ok so i have this knock off P-bass that i'v used as an art project for school, it sounds like crap so i hardly play it.
i really really love the sound of my musicman stingray and i was wondering if i could possilby get almost the same sound out of this pbass by putting in a replacement musicman pickup, or would it just sound like crap?
 
#8
marchisgonebass said:
hey iv got sorta the same question i was wondering if you could help me as well

im new to the forum also...

ok so i have this knock off P-bass that i'v used as an art project for school, it sounds like crap so i hardly play it.
i really really love the sound of my musicman stingray and i was wondering if i could possilby get almost the same sound out of this pbass by putting in a replacement musicman pickup, or would it just sound like crap?
Click to expand...

there are many problems with that scenario...

1) A p-bass pickup is in the middle of the body, most MM are in the back near the bridge...

2) A p-bass and MM pickup are two completely different sizes...so that entails a lot of routing out a proper-sized hole pickup, which wouldnt even be in the right spot (see reason #1)

3) Musicman basses generally include an onboard preamp, which lets you shape the tone before it leaves your bass and goes to the amp. This requires more wiring and knobs than probably have room/supplies for at this time on that bass.

4) Even if you did all these mods, there is still the tone of wood from the fingerboard, the neck, and how its translated through the bridge.


If you liked the tone of the musicman, check out the Sterling by Musicman line, which is a bit more affordable than a straight-up musicman stingray. If you want to, you can look for a used OLP Stringray (they sold for really low prices brand new, but it might be more what you are looking for).

Hope that helps!
 
#9
hmmm
i know about the wood differences and everything so i wasnt expecting the tone to be exactly the same. i just like having a project bass to work on and mess with. so now i have 2 questions

if i were to put a replacement pickup right overtop of where the pbass pickup is and route it out would it sound any better or worse than routing and putting the pickup closer to the bridge like a stingray?

and

what are good replacment pickups for musicmans. i was looking at some seymour duncan basslines and i was wondering how they sound.

and im deffinitaly about to check into the OLP's and sterling line
 

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