JwK94 Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Hey there, I'm looking to throw some new pickups in a Jazz bass, its my first time upgrading things like pickups and I really am not sure what to go with. I mostly play jazz, but I like a nice bit of slap every now and then (MMish) and love the good old Jaco growl type bridge PU sound. So does anyone have any reccomendations? (Been looking at Dimarzio Ultra Jazzes and Wizard 64s) Also, Must cost less than £100 for the pair! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JwK94 Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 Just thought i'd add that its for a passive bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 I'll be putting a set of Wizard 64s in my fretless tomorrow, I'll let you know how I get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JwK94 Posted March 2, 2013 Author Share Posted March 2, 2013 Thanks, I've heard good things about them, and they are really decently priced. I just dont have any experience with things like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisw Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 jazz 62`s gold lace jazz pu`s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingus Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Fender Custom Shop 60s Jazz Bass pickups are great , as are Lindy Fralin , or if you want a slightly more hyped - up tone Aero Type 1 or Di Marzio Super Jazz pickup sets . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Wizard 64's fitted , some observations: I'm unable to do a direct comparison with my fretted bass (2006 US standard Fender Jazz) as I've put them in a home made fretless with nylon wound strings. The 64's are probably more bassy then stock Fenders and the output is higher when you go up the neck (so much so that I'll probably back the pickups off the E string a bit). The overall tone is rich in harmonics, even though it's bassy you can still hear a metalic , bell like qualty. They are certainly as good as the stock Fenders , but different. Definitely high quality pickups. The service from Wizard was great, ordered Wednesday afternoon, turned up Friday morning. The price includes UK postage , mounting screws and foam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 The Wizard 64s I fitted in my Jazz sounded very 'Jaco' if that's what you're after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JwK94 Posted March 2, 2013 Author Share Posted March 2, 2013 Hey thanks for the replies, yeah Ideally i'd get a set of fralins, but like I said, i've only got around 90 quid to spend on them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoham Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 [quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1362229020' post='1997240'] Fender Custom Shop 60s Jazz Bass pickups are great [/quote] +1 here, put a set in mine recently, great sounding. They're what the US Standard ship with these days (2012 onwards). Only a touch over your budget too. http://www.thomann.de/gb/fender_cs60jazz_set.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Ever heard of these? [url="http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-JB-Pro-Jazz-Bass-Style-Alnico-Pickups_p_318.html"]http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-JB-Pro-Jazz-Bass-Style-Alnico-Pickups_p_318.html[/url] I've got a pair in my fretless Jazz and they are brilliant. Easily as good as the DiMarzios. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanA Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 For what you want to spend you may not get a significant improvement, I would recommend saving up for a set of fralins which sound very growly, or a set of nordstrands which sound very clear and wide. Both offer superb build quality and tone. A set of decent strings can sometimes make as big an impact as a set of pick ups for a whole lot less. Take sunbeams vs Dunlop nickels, sunbeams are bright and open, dunlops have less high end but a huge low mid content, I have two nordys, one worth sunbeams, one with dunlops, they sound very different! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 This evening I fitted a pair of Aaron Armstrong's custom wound 70's jazz pickups to my Celinder J Update and it sounds phenomenal. Huge lows and a really nice woody high end. For the first three or four minutes I had to double take the bass, it sounded like a genuine 70's jazz. 75 quid per pick up though so might be out of your price range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JwK94 Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 Thanks for the advice, seeing as all the reccomendations are out of my range, it seems as though i'm just going to have to save up for a more expensive pair. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wally8 Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Keep an eye on ebay. I got a pair of unused dimarzio ultra jazz for 30 quid. Hopefully stick em in this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 (edited) [quote name='JwK94' timestamp='1362310101' post='1998114'] Thanks for the advice, seeing as all the reccomendations are out of my range, it seems as though i'm just going to have to save up for a more expensive pair. Cheers [/quote] Make sure you do your research before making what could be a very costly mistake! There have been quite a few threads on upgrading J pickups recently, and many people seem to have come to the conclusion that the differences are nowhere near as obvious as others make out, and that often there is little to be gained from going straight to the premium end of the price scale. This one for example: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/181375-are-very-expensive-pickups-worth-it/page__hl__jazz%20pickups"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/181375-are-very-expensive-pickups-worth-it/page__hl__jazz%20pickups[/url] What is your "Jazz bass"? Is it a Fender? If so, what type of pickups is it currently wearing? Also, the comments about strings are very valid too. I personally found that changing string brands can make a bigger difference than changing pickups. And then there are adjustments to the height of the pickups too.... Of course, it is your money - but you might find that you end up £200 lighter in the pocket and still yearn for "that little something extra" in your sound... Edited March 4, 2013 by Conan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I recommend the ones made by bass chatter matte_black. Very quiet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingus Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 [quote name='Conan' timestamp='1362403975' post='1999197'] Make sure you do your research before making what could be a very costly mistake! There have been quite a few threads on upgrading J pickups recently, and many people seem to have come to the conclusion that the differences are nowhere near as obvious as others make out, and that often there is little to be gained from going straight to the premium end of the price scale. This one for example: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/181375-are-very-expensive-pickups-worth-it/page__hl__jazz%20pickups"]http://basschat.co.u..._jazz%20pickups[/url] What is your "Jazz bass"? Is it a Fender? If so, what type of pickups is it currently wearing? Also, the comments about strings are very valid too. I personally found that changing string brands can make a bigger difference than changing pickups. And then there are adjustments to the height of the pickups too.... Of course, it is your money - but you might find that you end up £200 lighter in the pocket and still yearn for "that little something extra" in your sound... [/quote] This is a very good point . What kind of bass is it and do you know what pickups it has in to begin with ? A point I have made before on these threads about changing pickups in general is that if you have got a decent bass with crap pickups then it can certainly be improved by a pickup upgrade , but if you have got decent pickups to begin with and you just want to change the overall flavour of the sound then you are far more likely to get dissappointing results . It's very unwise to spend good money swapping one perfectly good set of pickups for another supposedly better set because you have read that they have whatever supposedly superior sonic attributes . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JwK94 Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 Its a Squier VM Jazz and the previous owner has put some "Reflex" pickups in it (never heard of them) and they are really quiet, so i'll be changing the pickups no matter what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 (edited) "Quiet" isn't necessarily bad. You can always boost the volume on the amp! A quick bit of online research indicates that Reflex was a British company from a few years back that tried to emulate EMG pickups but at a lower price. Opinions are mixed on them (as they tend to be with all pickups! ) but I don't get the impression that they were rubbish or anything... There are lots of threads on here about changing/upgrading pickups, and particularly J bass ones - so there should be plenty of advice available. If you really want a "Jaco" tone, how about a pair of Fender ones (like these: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/197338-fender-jazz-pickups-from-mij-1994-ri-62-jazz-japanese/page__p__1993646__hl__jazz%20pickups__fromsearch__1#entry1993646"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/197338-fender-jazz-pickups-from-mij-1994-ri-62-jazz-japanese/page__p__1993646__hl__jazz%20pickups__fromsearch__1#entry1993646[/url])? Or Wizard 64s (as previously mentioned). Have a look in the for sale section for inspiration. No need to buy new! Edited March 5, 2013 by Conan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bass Doc Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 [quote name='JwK94' timestamp='1362499390' post='2000227'] Its a Squier VM Jazz and the previous owner has put some "Reflex" pickups in it (never heard of them) and they are really quiet, so i'll be changing the pickups no matter what. [/quote] There were two types of Reflex pickups - Reds and Blues. The Blues were a bit milder but the Reds, when working properly, were definitely not quiet. Check which ones you've got in there and also check that the battery they need to power up the preamp circuit is healthy before you decide to change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 [quote name='The Bass Doc' timestamp='1362500548' post='2000260'] There were two types of Reflex pickups - Reds and Blues. The Blues were a bit milder but the Reds, when working properly, were definitely not quiet. Check which ones you've got in there and also check that the battery they need to power up the preamp circuit is healthy before you decide to change. [/quote] Great advice as usual! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingus Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 (edited) I remember Reflex pickups from the late 80s/early 90s and they were considered pretty good pickups , from what I remember . A lot of Jazz Bass -style pickups are a little bit quieter than P Bass pickups and big beefy humbuckers in my experience . I find a big difference between the output of one bass and another anyhow , and high-end pickups are not automatically louder than less expensive designs , In fact sometimes the opposite is true . Are you sure they are wired in the correct phase ? Edited March 5, 2013 by Dingus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JwK94 Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 Thanks for the advice, I'm not really sure what the issue is, but im talking Volume and Gain both on full on a 180w amp, and the volume is about what I would get with a standard fender jazz with the volume at about 40%. And if they were made to emulate EMG's, thats not really the sound im going for. But if the pickups are active and require batteries as someone mentioned, this is a passive bass and whoever put these pickups in did not rout a battery cavity, which could be why they are so quiet. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 [quote name='JwK94' timestamp='1362515203' post='2000697'] this is a passive bass and whoever put these pickups in did not rout a battery cavity,[/quote] Have you checked that there isn't a (flat) battery lurking in the control cavity under the bell plate? That's where mine used to be... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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