ritch Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 (edited) Hi I have a Jaguar bass, which I have removed all active circuitry and pickups from, as I'm not a big fan and prefer to stick with fuss free simple setups. I replaced the pickups with a couple of Dimarzio Model Js, which for some reason just aren't cutting it for me - they seem quite dark, even with 500k pots, not a lot of mid range bite (compared to my 78 jazz, which I love the sound of). Does anybody have any good recommendations of some nice pickups I could put in it that might be a bit more like my 78. I'm not looking for identical, just a bit more character than the Dimarzios and a little bit more aggressive in the mids. I like a bass that drives my Ampeg a bit. Cheers Rich Edited September 6, 2014 by ritch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero9 Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 (edited) Depends how much you want to spend. I like EMG's, and have a set of JVX in my Warmoth Jazz. They give plenty of bite and a punchy midrange. For more character look at Lindy Fralins. The EMG's are completely noise free, but do need a battery. I believe you can have some pickups 'overwound' to get more oomph, but this may be at the expense of clarity. Edited September 6, 2014 by zero9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 I liked the Seymour Duncan Hot Stack, has the advantage of being hum-cancelling as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubinga5 Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 The Sadowsky single coils are great pickups. not cheap though, as you might expect. Wizard pickups.? your own spec but cheaper than most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlungerModerno Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 I just got a set of pickups from the creamery - very nice IMHO. What about the 70's fender set? seems a logical place to start! [url="http://www.fender.com/en-IE/guitar-bass-parts/pickups-and-preamps/pure-vintage-74-jazz-bass-pickup-set-black-2/"]http://www.fender.com/en-IE/guitar-bass-parts/pickups-and-preamps/pure-vintage-74-jazz-bass-pickup-set-black-2/[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ritch Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 Thanks for all of your suggestions - I'm tempted to find more out about the Lindy Fralins - they seem to get pretty good reviews! Or the vintage fender route, which may be a little cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Lots of feedback here on Entwistle pickups, the JBXN are high output and reputed to have a lot of mids available http://basschat.co.uk/topic/235314-entwistle-bass-pickups/page__hl__entwistle%20pickups Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 (edited) [quote name='PlungerModerno' timestamp='1410163512' post='2546599'] What about the 70's fender set? seems a logical place to start! [/quote] Does the Jag have the same pickups positioning as a J? If so, sixties or seventies placing? If the Jag has the sixties positioning and your '78 J has the seventies (as I believe it should...) then that may account for some of the difference in tones. As far as pickup recommendations go - I'm a fan of EMG (unless you want something more raunchy) and Wizard (who are now back up trading as HotRod - [url="http://hotrodpickups.wordpress.com/"]http://hotrodpickups.wordpress.com/[/url]). I am also quite interested in the Entwistles... Edited September 11, 2014 by Conan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fingerz Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 If it was me, I'd do some homework on the Lindy Fralin pups. Check talk bass too, there was a great review on there i seem to recall, where someone had swapped a load of pups in and out of the same Jazz bass. Fralins sound great to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrammeFriday Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 +1 for Fralins, or if you want a bit more aggression, I'd say Nordstrands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 I have Bartolinis in my MIM Jazz and they give loads of clarity and zing with light strings on, not properly experimented through a gig rig but they aren't the punchiest or deepest of pickups though I'm sure some amp tweaking could get them towards that. Got a pair for less than £200 on thomann. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger2611 Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 I have just installed a set of Fralin 5% overwounds in my Jazz bass, they sound fantastic, I was looking at selling the bass as I just couldn't get a sound I liked from it, the Fralins have transformed the bass, it has more power and bite but has a proper full range sound to it. I highly recommend them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jensenmann Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I´ve recently installed Rockinger PUs in my Jazz Bass. They sound incredible and were a big improvement over the stock PUs. The cool thing is that they have a bridge PU with more windings hence more mids. That makes the difference in terms of cutting through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 My favourites are probably Aguilars. Never really heard a bad one and lots of high end US builders are starting to offer them as a standard option now. They have a 60's and 70's voiced J set available Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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