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Thinking of upgrading Jazz Bass pickups...

#22
Not sure if I'm on my own with this but I think the Fender published pickup videos are worthless. They need to be redone to display alternative hand positions and pickup/tone selections. The P videos are worse. It's almost like they didn't give a crap.
 
#23
The Fender Custom Shop 60s J bass pickups are nice and they got an excellent review in Bass Player magazine about 12 years ago when they did a J Bass pickup comparison.

The top contenders were...............(not in any order)

S. Duncan Antiquities I and II
Lindy Fralin
Fender Custom Shop 60s
Aero Instruments Type 1

Since the Bass Player review of 12 years ago...................that are now other J Bass pickup available by other winders. It gets over whelming!

I've tried the Fender Custom Shop and the Aero. I like the Aero. They have a bit more warmth and are richer in sound. The Custom Shop sound very good but to me they are a bit thinner in sound than the Aero. Still, the Custom Shop pickups have excellent definition and nice clean bottom. Nicely balanced.

The Aero are a bit rolled off on the top end.................which is a plus to me because I don't like a lot of crystal clean "snap" on the high end.

The Fenders come in at about 6.8 K and 7 K ohm for the neck and bridge.

The Aero come in about about 8.2 K and 8.5 K. Thus the warmer sound.

Rio Grande's vintage J Bass pickups are around 8.5 and 8.7 and although I've not heard them, I think they would probably be really nice sounding too.

I find stock and vintage reissue J pickups to be a bit weak and thin in sound but I am guessing that really hot pickups would just be too much! That's why I like the Aero and Rio Vintage. Just a tad bit hotter than stock. Giving a little bit more "umph" without a major change to the Jazz Bass sound that we all love.

Describing sound is actually impossible. We really have to choose pickups based on what our very own ears hear and what our brains like.

Good luck.
 
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#24
I've got a set of DP149's in an MIM J and I really like the way they sound.

They still sound "jazzy" but at the same time fuller, you get a wider range of tone with the tone knob with these than with the stock MIM pups. They are also somewhat hotter and no hum.
 
#25
invalidprotocol said:
Not sure if I'm on my own with this but I think the Fender published pickup videos are worthless. They need to be redone to display alternative hand positions and pickup/tone selections. The P videos are worse. It's almost like they didn't give a crap.
Click to expand...
Really? You could be right, I didn't know that :P... Fender puts those pickups in the American Standard Jazz so here's a link to some demo's of that: https://www.google.ca/search?q=amer...6VyASlnILYBw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=1152&bih=554

If that helps :)
 
#31
I've used all 3 mentioned in the OP -- the dimarzios are nice with a more aggressive tone, which may or may no e desirable. . The CS were surprising wimpy. And the noiseless and kinda dull. So , depending on what you have now, it may not be an upgrade.
 
#36
joeyl said:
Don't like the DP149, they sound off to me.
CS60 are good but my set was wound loosely and they went microphonic after a few weeks of use. Could use better wax potting.

Favorite passive pickup: NJ4SV from Nordstrand or:


EMG JVX!!!! only slightly kidding because they are my favorite J pickups, check them out
Click to expand...


These pickups take away so much of what makes a Jazz bass a Jazz bass imo. The neck pick up soloed especially lacks all the gritty edge that gives a jazz bass its testosterone. Overall the sound is just too hi-fi and just downright sterile. Tone as always is a very subjective topic, but if this is the standard for EMG pick ups, I now understand why the OP chose to pass them over from the get go :D
 
#38
I've tried ALL of these pickups in my 74 Jazz over the years ( except for the Rio Grandes) and they all sounded fine,however I thought there was something missing musically, well I just bought a set of the RI 74 pickups and now my bass sounds like a 74 Jazz should sound. YMMV.
 
#39
Onelessfixie said:
These pickups take away so much of what makes a Jazz bass a Jazz bass imo. The neck pick up soloed especially lacks all the gritty edge that gives a jazz bass its testosterone. Overall the sound is just too hi-fi and just downright sterile. Tone as always is a very subjective topic, but if this is the standard for EMG pick ups, I now understand why the OP chose to pass them over from the get go :D
Click to expand...
Agreed.
 

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