Third Pickup in Jazz Bass

[walterw]

My guitar player says this is the best sounding bass he's ever heard, FWIW.
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ah yes, @BlueTalon's famous triple J bass with those long-lost fender super 55 split-coil pickups

those things were introduced with oddly little fanfare then discontinued without ever once filtering down to anything that landed on my bench, i never even got to hear them

+1 to the idea that you want a bright, clear narrow-aperture pickup in that extreme neck position unless you're going for jack bruce fuzz bass. think hofner or rick neck pickup, they're actually useful (if a little genre-specific)

 

[BlueTalon]

ah yes, @BlueTalon's famous triple J bass with those long-lost fender super 55 split-coil pickups

those things were introduced with oddly little fanfare then discontinued without ever once filtering down to anything that landed on my bench, i never even got to hear them

That's a pity. The Super 55 is the best sounding jazz pickup Fender ever made IMO... so of course they quit making them.

I have a parts bass Fender fretless jazz. The body had the Super 55s in it. It was listed here on TB. I bought the body, and paid not much more than I would have paid for just the pickups. The body was a bonus. Even more of a bonus that it looks good.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

So I have a partscaster jazz bass that I'm considering installing a third pickup in the neck position, as close to the neck as possible to get more low end in my signal. The DiMarzio Model One/Will Power seems to be popular for a lot of good reasons, and I'm also interested in putting a TV Jones Thundertron at the neck, or maybe a Gibson Thunderbird or Ripper pickup. The jazz pickups in the bass are Dimarzio Model Js, they sound good and have fairly hot output so whatever I choose I want to be something that wouldn't be overpowered by then. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Edit: for clarification as far as the tones I'm gunning for, I'm using La Bella flats on this bass so warm, thumpy low end is my focus.

Quarter pounders aren't enough low end for you? A set is cheap, and there isn't any phasing issues.

 

[BlueTalon]

The jazz pickups in the bass are Dimarzio Model Js, they sound good and have fairly hot output so whatever I choose I want to be something that wouldn't be overpowered by then. Any suggestions?

I'd just put another DiMarzio Model J in there if it was me.

 

[Jimbowhit7]

Quarter pounders aren't enough low end for you? A set is cheap, and there isn't any phasing issues.

I have quarter pound pickups in a Highway One Jazz, not really looking to have two basses with the same pickups. Plus the point of 3 pickups is the extra tonal options they'd provide, even if it was 3 jazz pickups.

 

[Jimbowhit7]

Yes

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What kind of pickup is that at the neck? Sweet bass!

 

[BlueTalon]

I have quarter pound pickups in a Highway One Jazz, not really looking to have two basses with the same pickups. Plus the point of 3 pickups is the extra tonal options they'd provide, even if it was 3 jazz pickups.

I have three of the same type of pickup in my bass. Trust me, having three pickups in different enough positions will give you the tonal variety you're looking for. @ctmullins will back me up on this, I'm sure.

FYI, I have two neck pickups and one bridge pickup in my jazz. The strings don't line up dead center over the pole pieces, but it's so close that you can't tell without really scrutinizing.

 

[Jimbowhit7]

I have three of the same type of pickup in my bass. Trust me, having three pickups in different enough positions will give you the tonal variety you're looking for.

FYI, I have two neck pickups and one bridge pickup in my jazz. The strings don't line up dead center over the pole pieces, but it's so close that you can't tell without really scrutinizing.

I can get an old Model J neck pickup on Reverb for cheap it looks like, so that may be a good option.

 

[cm3ohana]

That's a pity. The Super 55 is the best sounding jazz pickup Fender ever made IMO... so of course they quit making them.

I have a parts bass Fender fretless jazz. The body had the Super 55s in it. It was listed here on TB. I bought the body, and paid not much more than I would have paid for just the pickups. The body was a bonus. Even more of a bonus that it looks good.
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I love the Super 55’s so I installed three of them in my Jag bass. My favorite hum cancelling jazz pickups. It was a shame that Fender discontinued them.

 

[ctmullins]

I have three of the same type of pickup in my bass. Trust me, having three pickups in different enough positions will give you the tonal variety you're looking for. @ctmullins will back me up on this, I'm sure.

Absolutely! Two of my three triple-pickup basses use identical pickups in all three positions, and the result is three distinct tones that are still related, and therefore mesh well together. I run them through a Freeway Switch for six different settings:

 

[Deleted member 365158]

Probably not for the “low end” your searching for but 3 pickups sure sound good!

 

[Deleted member 365158]

I have three of the same type of pickup in my bass. Trust me, having three pickups in different enough positions will give you the tonal variety you're looking for

basses use identical pickups in all three positions, and the result is three distinct tones that are still related, and therefore mesh well together. I run them through a Freeway Switch for six

yah! Its pretty interesting, i did a double split coil and clustered them all together pretty much splitting where the original single split coil’s center line was. Same pickups, 2 different sounds soloed but together they are fantastic!! That was after trying different positions for each… lots of different positions. Interesting to me was the magic that happened when i put them together in that particular spot.

 

[Ric5]

I am thinking of adding a 4th pickup in the neck position

 

[Ric5]

 

[Ric5]

 

[Ric5]

 

[monsterthompson]

No experience with this instrument but it came to mind when I read the thread. Posting it as a data point for reference.

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[GreyBeard]

Have you considered one of those old Gibson mudbuckers?

 

[Freekmagnet]

I’ve built a couple triple pickup basses, and the third pickup works fine. The neck pickup doesn’t necessarily sound muddy. The only position I haven’t figured out what to do with is the middle and neck position - all the others sound great.

If I were in your position, I would have a guy like Jerry Sentell wind you a custom Jazz pickup that’s maybe 7% less hot than your middle pickup. I’d talk to him about what you’re trying to do - I’m sure he’ll have some good advice. It probably wouldn’t cost that much.

 

[Fender_Bender]

There’s also the original P bass pickup, the single coil. You could have it hum cancelling with the bridge pup or go for one of the hum cancelling versions available. Sound is more beefy than the jazz single coil in my experience. Listen to some ZZ Top for an example of the scpb.