Low action to get that clanky punch tone?

[gjones]

[quote name='badboy1984' timestamp='1367507607' post='2066150']
i no longer have those stock pickup ...... change them for dimarzio dp123 long time ago but really regret now because i like the original pickup ......
[/quote]

I tried the DiMarzio 123 pickups but found them too dark and bassy. You won't get the sound you're looking for with those pickups. I recommend you buy these for £30 which will help you a lot in your quest. Strangely enough the guy who is selling them swopped them for Model Js 123 pickups. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/206427-fender-jazz-bass-pickups/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/206427-fender-jazz-bass-pickups/[/url]

[Gust0o]

I hear only good things about the Sansamp DI.

I didn't get one, however... I opted for the Tech 21 VT, which is a tone pedal. I was wondering if some of your issue might not come down to other areas of your set up, other than the bass itself. The VT was my way of getting to the sound I wanted, but I'd encourage plenty of experimentation to see if you already have the answer to hand.

[LawrenceH]

In various jazz basses or in my parts box I have the Model Js, the Vintage AlNiCos as well as US 70s Vintage Reissue Js, Jap standard vintage alnicos and Jap ceramics.
From my experience, they can all bring the clank out if it's there, though they'll all do it a bit differently and the 70s RIs in particular cut like an angry knife (great pickups). In my opinion/experience, it's firstly about strings/set-up/playing style as discussed already - I think frets with a broad crown make a difference too.

But to get the most out of your pickups you have to set up the electronics right to match. If you've got DP123s in particular, it's really important that you're using the right pots - at LEAST 500k,or you can try 1Meg to get progressively more of a upper-mid spike. You can also wire them individually parallel (default is serial - on my bass I have it switchable at the pots) and this will shift the frequency of the spike higher which gives a different character to the sound more like the single-coils. The default 250k Fender pots just sound too muddy with these pickups.

If you want that slightly different, old-school tone-rolled-off clank, then changing the capacitor value will change the frequency of the response 'hump' you get before cut-off with the tone off.

Btw changing the electronics around will make a noticeable difference to any pickup set, not just the DiMarzios.

My personal favourite sound, interestingly enough, is from the Jap ceramics. Not quite as versatile as the DiMarzios but with a very 'present' sound, somehow articulates the growl and clank really well whilst being nice and thick. But the DiMarzio-equipped Jazz is my main bass because with the serial/parallel switching I can get so many different sounds including plenty of clank if I dig in

[drTStingray]

Hmmm this is all sounding very technical and possibly reasonably expensive.

A simpler route would be to get a used SBMM Ray 34 or even a new Sub SBMM Stingray - you'll get the sound you're talking about straight out of the box cutting the bass a bit on your amp plus you'd have a bass that you can use in a whole lot of other situations as well

[badboy1984]

I've mention in earlier that my bass is not passive and i use J-Retro preamp.

[LawrenceH]

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1367652610' post='2067896']
Hmmm this is all sounding very technical and possibly reasonably expensive.
[/quote]

Changing the pots to match the DiMarzios is probably one of the cheapest mods you can make, and it's pretty easy too! I think many people don't realise how much the passive electronics interact as a system, and the DiMarzios are designed for 500k pots.
If you wanted to see how much potential extra bite there is without spending a penny, you could just wire the pickups straight to the output jack - that gives the maximum resonance boost to the pickups.

[Horizontalste]

Got clank with my Bb1024 on this cover. Action isn't so low as to sound clanky all the time either, if I roll off the tone it still does thud.
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh5mdB_Uh0Y"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh5mdB_Uh0Y[/url]