Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

J Tone PU's, which one and why?


Maude
 Share

Recommended Posts

I'm probably going to be getting a J tone PU for my DB, I've seen various threads with folks giving different reasons for getting or not getting the varying types that J tone do, reds, single wing, double wing, single plus clicky, etc and thought it would be good to have all the info in one place.
So which ones have you tried and what are your thoughts?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought the red one a couple of weeks ago. Easy to fit and seems to work fine although I haven't gigged it yet. I've got it through a preamp but it also seems to work ok direct into the amp.

The bloke that sells them on ebay is open to "offers" and for what it's worth I got mine for £28.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The single sided black one with the neutric type jack works for me. Cost £24 I have them on both my DBs for Bluegrass and Rockabilly, I use an old Rocktek graphic eq to boost the signal and don't suffer any feedback problems.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

have had quite a bit of contact with the guy at J-tone so could find his email correspondence and put it up here if people are interested?

i have had the rockabilly duo (paddle and a clicky) and the big bass double.

rockabilly duo was great, quite a high-mid biased sound but not annoying. actually a pretty good tone. the clicky was highly dependent on placement on back of fingerboard, the lower you put it, the louder and more pronounced the click. i ended up putting it quite high for a very subtle effect. didnt really play any slap so was the wrong choice. i think on reflection, a clicky should be separate so you can control volume and eq as an individual signal. also think it increased feedback. always struggled with feedback and often had to rely on magnetic pickup on particularly loud stages.

i replaced this with the big bass twin. according to the j-tone guy the piezo units are the same as underwoods? i found them to be much thicker than the rockabilly and needed alot of sanding of my bridge wings, just be aware and check your measurements. once in they sound great. very much more bass focussed response. big fat sub and nice top end click. perhaps lacking in the mids? not alot of articulation but this suits me for the kind of gigs im doing that require lots of signal and lots of sub. much better feedback resistance too. im happy with these for the time being so would highy recommend for those who need loud volume and big bass, clue is in the title!!

from conversations with him, the "Reds" are very popular. an all rounder but originally designed for cello i believe so you can imagine its bass response might be a little meagre. think this one is the choice for quiet players who need a more "acoustic" sound.

the other models are all variations on these 3 units. single paddle versions, or combinations etc.


would highly recommend messaging the seller. he has always been very helpful and approachable with my annoying questions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, thanks Bassinmyface, just the sort of answer I wad hoping for, not that I don't appreciate everyone elses.
I agree about the clicky being separately controlled, I had wondered if you could put a small passive volume control under the fingerboard for it. I do a bit of slapping but would like to do more which is why I was leaning towards the single with clicky but I'm sure I saw a post with someone saying their bridge PU picked up the string slap quite well.
I supposed I could use a big bass and a clicky and merge the signals using my Line 6 X3, you can run two instruments through it and tailor the signals independently, switch the clicky off when not needed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1369169571' post='2085870']
Wow, thanks Bassinmyface, just the sort of answer I wad hoping for, not that I don't appreciate everyone elses.
I agree about the clicky being separately controlled, I had wondered if you could put a small passive volume control under the fingerboard for it. I do a bit of slapping but would like to do more which is why I was leaning towards the single with clicky but I'm sure I saw a post with someone saying their bridge PU picked up the string slap quite well.
I supposed I could use a big bass and a clicky and merge the signals using my Line 6 X3, you can run two instruments through it and tailor the signals independently, switch the clicky off when not needed.
[/quote]

definitely recommend that. could never get it to sound quite "right". need to eq it and balance the volume just so. guess a very consistent slap technique couldnt hurt either!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1369169571' post='2085870']
Wow, thanks Bassinmyface, just the sort of answer I wad hoping for, not that I don't appreciate everyone elses.
I agree about the clicky being separately controlled, I had wondered if you could put a small passive volume control under the fingerboard for it. I do a bit of slapping but would like to do more which is why I was leaning towards the single with clicky but I'm sure I saw a post with someone saying their bridge PU picked up the string slap quite well.
I supposed I could use a big bass and a clicky and merge the signals using my Line 6 X3, you can run two instruments through it and tailor the signals independently, switch the clicky off when not needed.
[/quote]

I'm using a Bassmax, which mounts in the bridge and it doesn't pick up any fingerboard click that i can hear. I had to add a clicky.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 years later...

Hi there
i have the j-tone big double bass pickup single Element on my bridge and the slap bass pickup i have them both into two seperate preamps they sound awsome and i dont seem to get any feedback problems i would highly recommend them and a great price too

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the Big Double pickup (same as Stingraypete I think). I like it because it's feedback-proof and gives a very consistent tone. I've had a Bass Max in the past but I prefer the J-tone, it's more even and it sounds better to my ears. I also have a Revolution Solo which can sound more natural than the J-tone but it's ridiculously sensitive to placement and therefore too much hassle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...