beegee Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 I am a long time lover of the Fender Jazz Bass. I love the jazz tones, especially the bridge pickup Jaco tone, but want my bass to have more sonic flexibility and an expanded tonal range, as well as more power. So I had this crazy idea for my 2012 Fender Jazz: take the neck pickup, and move it to right behind the bridge pickup, put P bass pickups where the the neck pickup used to be, and then to top it all off, right up against the neck add a telecaster bass amoeba pickup. All the tone and volume controls would have the same look as the would for each bass (precision nobs for the P-bass pickups, telecaster nobs for the amoeba pickup etc.) I can't stop thinking about and I know it would cost a fortune but when I make some more money I will seriously consider going ahead with the mod. Just wanted to hear some thoughts about it. Quote
beegee Posted January 22, 2014 Author Posted January 22, 2014 And every one else feel free to talk about real or hypothetical mods on their own basses. Quote
Delberthot Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 I would like to have my precision routed for a mudbucker but as I run EMGs and there isn't an EMG version of it, I imagine it would be a PITA to wire up. I think a 35CS would look a tad silly Quote
hamfist Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 I'm very much into modding, routing etc etc my own basses. Get yourself a Dremel 3000 and the routing accessories and you're away. £50 expenditure and you then have the kit to do anything like that free of charge ! You can make you're own scratchplates with a Dremel too. It really isn't that difficult. Quote
Immo Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 You want to have 4 pickups in one bass? You must be aware of some serious wiring issues, comb filtering effect (pickups dampening each other because of generating similar frequencies) and other problems. In general, to insure proper sound, you can run two PUs at once. Some time ago I was wondering about a 3+ PU configuration, but now I know about the problems it can deliver. Besides, each pickup = magnetic force at work with the metal in strings, which means a slight sustain reduction. It's better to have two tonally different basses than turning one into a 3+ pickup platform. I bought an Encore P-Bass copy and [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/223971-immo-custom-shopencore-twinsplit-p-bass/"]modded it by adding a second split coil PU[/url]. It added to versatility and tone. Adding another PU would only complicate things. For muddy tones I have my Tele bass with neck humbucker. [b][/b] Quote
Ou7shined Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 I bought a similar beat up old Encore to the one above and turned it into this.... Quote
hamfist Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1390472945' post='2345713'] I bought a similar beat up old Encore to the one above and turned it into this.... [/quote] Lovely job ! new neck, or re-shaped headstock ? Quote
Ou7shined Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 [quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1390485797' post='2345922'] Lovely job ! new neck, or re-shaped headstock ? [/quote] Reshape and refret. I had no tools back then so it was all hand worked. This how it looked when I bought it. Quote
Conan Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 [quote name='beegee' timestamp='1390411863' post='2345191'] I am a long time lover of the Fender Jazz Bass. I love the jazz tones, especially the bridge pickup Jaco tone, but want my bass to have more sonic flexibility and an expanded tonal range, as well as more power. [/quote] I think you could maybe get both by fitting a John East J retro. No routing needed and you could return your bass to original condition very quickly and easily if you wanted to sell it. [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/East_Preamps_J_Retro.html"]http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/East_Preamps_J_Retro.html[/url] I realise this may not be what you want to hear though... Quote
hamfist Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1390486728' post='2345937'] Reshape and refret. I had no tools back then so it was all hand worked. This how it looked when I bought it. [/quote] Cool ! Quote
alyctes Posted January 25, 2014 Posted January 25, 2014 I bought a router - not a Dremel, a proper woodworker's tool - and it's too big and scary for me to do anything with... Should have got a Dremel Quote
DarkHeart Posted January 25, 2014 Posted January 25, 2014 I did this to my jazz and added a concentric pot so i have control over each coil, got loads of tonal variation and plenty of bite, this is my go to gig bass. [URL=http://s80.photobucket.com/user/jeffhop/media/SNV80401_zps83a7e450.jpg.html][IMG]http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j186/jeffhop/SNV80401_zps83a7e450.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Quote
beegee Posted February 2, 2014 Author Posted February 2, 2014 [quote name='Immo' timestamp='1390471178' post='2345684'] You want to have 4 pickups in one bass? You must be aware of some serious wiring issues, comb filtering effect (pickups dampening each other because of generating similar frequencies) and other problems. In general, to insure proper sound, you can run two PUs at once. Some time ago I was wondering about a 3+ PU configuration, but now I know about the problems it can deliver. Besides, each pickup = magnetic force at work with the metal in strings, which means a slight sustain reduction. It's better to have two tonally different basses than turning one into a 3+ pickup platform. I bought an Encore P-Bass copy and [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/223971-immo-custom-shopencore-twinsplit-p-bass/"]modded it by adding a second split coil PU[/url]. It added to versatility and tone. Adding another PU would only complicate things. For muddy tones I have my Tele bass with neck humbucker. [b][/b] [/quote]Fender already made a three pickup bass, the urge bass Quote
Immo Posted February 2, 2014 Posted February 2, 2014 [quote name='beegee' timestamp='1391360702' post='2356178'] Fender already made a three pickup bass, the urge bass [/quote] Of course they had, but it has a predefined set of pickups meant to work together. I'm sceptic about the mismatched sets of 3+ pickups, that's all. Quote
JapanAxe Posted February 2, 2014 Posted February 2, 2014 [quote name='Immo' timestamp='1390471178' post='2345684'] You want to have 4 pickups in one bass? You must be aware of some serious wiring issues, comb filtering effect (pickups dampening each other because of generating similar frequencies) and other problems. In general, to insure proper sound, you can run two PUs at once. Some time ago I was wondering about a 3+ PU configuration, but now I know about the problems it can deliver. Besides, each pickup = magnetic force at work with the metal in strings, which means a slight sustain reduction. It's better to have two tonally different basses than turning one into a 3+ pickup platform. I bought an Encore P-Bass copy and [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/223971-immo-custom-shopencore-twinsplit-p-bass/"]modded it by adding a second split coil PU[/url]. It added to versatility and tone. Adding another PU would only complicate things. For muddy tones I have my Tele bass with neck humbucker. [b][/b] [/quote] Didn't Lee Sklar have a bass like this? Not an Encore mind... Quote
discreet Posted February 2, 2014 Posted February 2, 2014 (edited) I can vouch for the dual split-pickup configuration - used together they just roar! Edited February 2, 2014 by discreet Quote
Immo Posted February 2, 2014 Posted February 2, 2014 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1391366890' post='2356313'] I can vouch for the dual split-pickup configuration - used together they just roar! [/quote] They roar indeed Quote
TheGreek Posted February 3, 2014 Posted February 3, 2014 Bear in mind that any benefits you might gain would be offset by the loss in value once you've modified... You could probably get the same improvement in sound by buying some decent effects. Quote
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