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That Jazz bass sound

Kmay

Kmay

Guest
Dec 18, 2011
161
27
Nashville, TN
#1
Ok,
First, I don't want to get into a discussion on pickup brands. I think I'm going to go with either DiMarzio or Seymour Duncan...

But the main question is:

I have a 5 string Jazz with the lace sensors and kubicki preamp in it.
I'm starting by ditching the pickups and replacing them with different ones, because I don't really like the sound of them.

There are tons of options out there, but I just want to confirm:

Can I use ANY pickup set (except EMG's) and they work with the existing preamp? Or is there a certain kind?
 
#3
It is possible to make a bad choice, such as really high output pickups overdriving the preamp, and causing distortion, Both of the brands you named make a few really high output passives, you might want to stay away from the hottest ones, you have the powered preamp anyway for tone shaping. If it's a great preamp, plenty of tone shaping, humbucking J's come to mind, to have a really noise free setup, but that's just a thought.
 
#7
Kmay said:
I'm not a fan of EMG's, but outside of that, the preamp has an switch that will let the pickups be passive...and from what I read emg's don't go passive. So...thats why they are out.
Click to expand...

There is no such thing as a switch that makes pickups passive. Active pickups have buffers that are not bypassable. What you are saying would also imply that your current pickups are active, and they are not.

In any case, if you are referring to an active/passive switch, the term is somewhat of a misnomer. What it really is is a true bypass switch for the preamp. In "active" mode, the preamp is in the signal path, and in "passive" mode, the preamp is removed from the signal path. Whether your pickups are active or passive has nothing to do with the switching, and hence, you may use active or passive pickups. If you choose active pickups, the only thing to watch out for is to be sure that you have the appropriate value pots.
 
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#8
Ok....sorry for writing the description of the active/passive thing wrong....
Means the same crap to me. I just know the switch is:
Off/passive/active/active w/mid boost

And I like those options built in. So I want to keep them.

In "passive" mode [by passing the pre] I want it passive. No buffers. Which is why I excluded EMG's in the beginning.
 
#9
line6man said:
There is no such thing as a switch that makes pickups passive. Active pickups have buffers that are not bypassable. What you are saying would also imply that your current pickups are active, and they are not.

In any case, if you are referring to an active/passive switch, the term is somewhat of a misnomer. What it really is is a true bypass switch for the preamp. In "active" mode, the preamp is in the signal path, and in "passive" mode, the preamp is removed from the signal path. Whether your pickups are active or passive has nothing to do with the switching, and hence, you may use active or passive pickups. If you choose active pickups, the only thing to watch out for is to be sure that you have the appropriate value pots.
Click to expand...

Good stuff, nothing to be sorry for Kmay, he's trying to arm you with more info
 

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