• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Will Dimarzio Model J's Rob Me Of My Highs?

Govier966

Govier966

Apr 28, 2009
784
28
31
New York
primatehouse.bandcamp.com
#1
Hi all!
I am currently playing a 95 Mexican Jazz Bass. The feel of the bass is great. The tone however is just ok. It almost seems like there is a steep high pass and low pass going on. I'm hoping to get a pickup that will add some oomph to my tone without changing things too much. Some say that dimarzios are quite muddy is this the truth? Will switching to 500k pots help retain some brightness?
 
#5
seang15 said:
No.
Click to expand...

+1

Model J's are some of the "best bang for your buck pickups" you can buy.

I have had sets in two different Jazz basses (fretted and fretless) and they sounded awesome in each. Plenty of lows (freakin huge!), mids (sweet, sweet mids) and highs (they are there...) IMO anyways...

I play finger style only.

Good Luck!
 
#10
I put them in bass bass for a little bit, and while they're a really nice sounding pickup, I would not call them even remotely bright. They also don't sound anything like a traditional Jazz pickup sound. They'll definitely give you more oomph, but if you want something close to what you've got, I'd suggested looking elsewhere. The Dimarzio Area Js are really nice. No noise, and sound very much like stock Jazz pickups, but definitely with some more oomph.
 
#12
jonathanhughes said:
I would not call them even remotely bright.
Click to expand...

Not my experience at all. Here they are on a fretless bass with maple fingerboard (Hondo II P bass with added Jazz.. it's actually a DiMarzio P/J set, but still... the bass also had a Kahler tremolo) in a home recorded demo from about 1984. I'm playing all the instruments. Everything was recorded direct through a Tapco mixer, and bounced between two cassette decks. The bass probably had GHS Boomers on it.



Sounds plenty bright to me. :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: eff-clef
#14
andrew said:
I've heard that the older Model J's are brighter than the newer ones.
That could be part of the difference people are experiencing with how much high end their Model J's are giving them.
Click to expand...

The Model P and J are made exactly as they were when introduced (not counting the original Model J with non adjustable poles in 1978 which was wound to 11.5k). The J is only 6.82K. It's warmer sounding than some pickups because of the steel poles and keeper. That increases the inductance.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eff-clef
#15
I have a 98 MIM jazz and tbh, if your 95 MIM jazz has the stock pickups then nothing you do can possibly make your bass sound worse.

Govier966 said:
Hi all!
I am currently playing a 95 Mexican Jazz Bass. The feel of the bass is great. The tone however is just ok. It almost seems like there is a steep high pass and low pass going on. I'm hoping to get a pickup that will add some oomph to my tone without changing things too much. Some say that dimarzios are quite muddy is this the truth? Will switching to 500k pots help retain some brightness?
Click to expand...
 
#17
I had a set on my Jazz, and they were heavy on mid and bass, which could be interpreted as "not bright" by some. It definitely didn't sound like a Jazz to me anymore, so that would pretty much kill the "without changing things too much" requirement, in my opinion.

I really love the single coil sound, and the DP123s just simply don't do that. Given your description, my guess is that you actually want to go the other direction. You might look toward the Ultra Jazz set.
 
#18
SGD Lutherie said:
Not my experience at all. Here they are on a fretless bass with maple fingerboard (Hondo II P bass with added Jazz.. it's actually a DiMarzio P/J set, but still... the bass also had a Kahler tremolo) in a home recorded demo from about 1984. I'm playing all the instruments. Everything was recorded direct through a Tapco mixer, and bounced between two cassette decks. The bass probably had GHS Boomers on it.



Sounds plenty bright to me. :)
Click to expand...


I traded my DP123 set for a PJ set, I think the DP126 (which I absolutely love on my Foundation). All due respect, they are completely different animals. Even Dimarzio's site lists the 123 as bass- and mid-heavy.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
#20
Govier966 said:
Hmmm well if the dp123s will make my jazz no longer sound like a jazz that may not be what I am looking for. Anyone have experience with Seymour duncan SJB-2's or Rio Grande Muy Grande's for J bass?
Click to expand...

Well sgd knows his stuff when it comes to pickups he makes them
he's a great player to boot

The feed back in this thread has been good but Daves info is always dead on
 
  • Like
Reactions: eff-clef

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back