Which Jazz Pickups to get?

[busccini]

nordstran are really the best on the market and in passive mode are better then active the front pickup is soo pj like just read about it ,i have good result with heüsel from germany good luck

[dasbear69]

Hi Everyone

I own a Maya electric bass (jazz Bass) in the same boat as Jwk94

I use elites groundwound strings love the feel off them and the bass play amazing to me, brought it for £150 6 months ago

But when it comes to the sound it is muddy.

Was thinking delano and GLOCKENKLANG preamp but your looking at near £300 for that.

Does anyone have a cheaper solution?

[Geek99]

Bass chat member matte_black - ask him about his single coil 62 style pups -

[randythoades]

[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]


Good advice. I plumped up well over £200 for a set of custom hand wound jazz pickups for my homebuilt jazz but i didn't take into account what I played, how I played and what strings i used and was never happy with them. In the end i changed from round wound to flatwound and changed from fingers to pick playing and managed to get that sound i was craving. eventually though, it wasn't comfortable so I went back to basics (pardon the pun) and started going through traditional sets again, from the Fender Custome shop 60's to the Dimarzio Ultra jazz and didn't get on with those either. Found my favourites in an unlikely place...(please don't laugh). Wilkinson Premium range Alnico Jazz bass pickups. About £45 for the set and sound brilliant to me and for the way I play (back to fingers for the softer side but kept the flatwounds).
Oh, and made a P Bass too to accommodate the harder styles...

[Prime_BASS]

I've done a lot of pickup swapping in my time, and personally the only difference is between ceramic and alnico also whether or not they gun cancel when solo'd.

Is your pickup height set low, that cab cause a bass to be 'quiet'.

Even low output pickups can be just as loud as hot output as your input gain should be adjusted as required. Output is not the be and end all.

The fender CS 60s are nice, but too pricey, but if you have cheap bass with cheap ceramic pickups they are a good upgrade. Not hum cancelling.

Delanos with the big single magnets in are great, cab achieve the wiedest variety if sounds.

My personal preference at the minute is to Dimarzio Model Js. Ceramic and have a nice bit of bottom. Basically split could in jazz casing. Also the pole pieces are individually adjustable to accommadate radius fingervoards.
Sound like a jazz should I guess.


The biggest differences should be in strings and EQ. Want to sound like jaco? Back pickup and lots of high mids. Want Marcus Miller? Both pickups on full and lots of top end. Done.