Upgrading electronics and Pickups

[la bam]

Hi all,

My first post here!


I used to have a USA precision for 12 years when with my last band. I sold it a few years ago, when the band split up (something i said id never do!)

It was always my intention that when I got with a new band Id use a bass I put together myself.

Im with the new band now and although i love the way the bass looks and plays - but id like to upgrade the pickups and control plate/pots etc.


Its a Fender Jazz style bass, but ive 'sunk' the neck pickup into the body as i couldnt get used to it after years of playing the Precision.

Where is the best place to get either genuine Fender Jazz pickups - or are there better aftermarket ones available? they would have to be the same shape and dimensions though to fit the scratchplate.

Also any kind of control plate would be great - ive seen a few that offer loads of different tones etc - one of those would be great - but which ones are best?



Ive been out of the gear discussions etc for a good few years - so any help greatly appreciated - im going to do some digging on this subject as well - looks like this is a great forum.

Edited December 24, 2011 by la bam

[icastle]

Well Fender pickups are ok but a lot of people swear by the aftermarket ones - is there anything wrong with the current ones?

Don't be fooled into thinking that just changing pots, jack sockets and wiring will make any appreciable difference in sound though - at best all you're going to achieve is changing the way that the way that the controls respond.

[Ou7shined]

Hi welcome to the forum.

It might be handy to know a few more details. What make is the bass you are upgrading and how do you want to change it tonally?

Also can you explain a bit more why you "sunk" the neck pickup. You said it was because you are more used to the P pickup. The confusing thing is that the J neck pup and P pups are more or less in the same positions.

[la bam]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies.

The current pickups are from a Shine bass. I do quite like some of the Shine stuff, but these were from a cheapish Jazz copy.

They tonally quite good, but have low output and are quite quiet in comparison to the real Fenders (when I had the precision as my main bass and the shine as a back up the difference in volume was massive).

The control plate and pots i got were quite cheap too, but I wired everything together when I wasnt that great with a soldering iron, and had always planned to replace. So if im replacing the panel anyway Id like to see whats available - but keep everything passive. In truth, now the bass is my main bass, id like confidence that it is all wired together well, although its been no trouble it wasnt soldered together that well!

Oh, and the jack socket isnt great.


Yes, the playing aspect was quite weird - cant remember exactly what it was, but I remember really struggling to play with the neck pickup where it was, (I think the neck pickup was lower ? It just seemed to be in the way) so as i couldnt move it positionally, i simply sunk it so it was almost flush with the body, and my fingers didnt keep clashing with it.

Edited December 24, 2011 by la bam

[icastle]

You can't really compare a PB with a JB when it comes to output as they're totally different beasts with a particular tone that essentially makes them 'what they are'.

If you've sunk the neck pickup all the way back then there's half of your potential output gone straight away...

You don't need to replace the entire plate, it's just a lump of metal after all.
Sounds to me as if the soldering needs a bit of a tidy up and the jack socket contact needs a bit of a bend to make it grip nicely.