Entwistle JBXN pickups - CIJ Geddy Lee Jazz

[Wilco]

Got these as a crimbo pressie & they are now installed. Only the second pickup 'upgrade' I've done, & as the first one was a big disappointment (SD Quarter Pounders into a MIM Jazz V - just made a bad bass sound just as bad but louder...), I wasn't inclined to spend much (£39.99 for these).

To be fair, the CIJ GLJ pickups sound sweet enough, but 1) after reading a couple of posts on here about their low output, 2) a 'mere' Squier Silver Series Jazz I owned for a short while sending a hotter signal to the desk than my GLJ & 3) the GLJ did not sound as 'dynamically' lively as my two MIA's, I decided to take the plunge given the reasonable cost.

The pickups came well packed in a small plain cardboard box with each pickup rolled in bubble wrap & with a clear wiring diagram. On the face of it, they looked very tidily made indeed, with neat inscribed covers & the pole pieces etc also looking well manufactured. The only give away visually on the price (other than the plain packaging) was the thin wiring, but they were neatly cut with (I think) pre-tinned ends for soldering. So far so good then.

So, after installation the moment of truth..... My God - I've gone from one extreme to the other! The output on these things is HUGE!! They've taken my GLJ to another level & it just feels 'alive' when you pick it up. Jazz's are not renowned for their 'thud', but my Jazz has now got a thud in spades! Married up to the tonal flexibility of having two pickups, it now sounds stunning. I would say it's lost a little of it's vintage sound, but I can go from a deep dubby bass right round to Geddy trebly punchiness with no problem at all, & even at lowish home volumes, my cab is moving a lot of air! The sound is very clean & with possibly more mids than before.

Very, very pleased all told then. I wouldn't say these are the pickups for every style of music & for every player, but if you are sporting a Squier, a MIM or even a CIJ/MIJ Jazz, I would suggest they are worth a punt for the modest outlay. I'm currently between bands, so I haven't tested them in a band environment yet. I think my challenge when I do, will be trying to reign things in a bit! However, Geddy's glorious Clockwork Angels bass tone finally feels within reach. (shame my standard of playing falls very well short of his though! )

Edited December 29, 2014 by Wilco

[discreet]

Good to see another positive review of Entwistle pickups - looks like the competition is grossly overpriced, then..?

[Mornats]

I've popped a pair of these in my Squier VM jazz and got the same result as yourself. Only gripes are that they're a little bit deep (!) so can't sit as low down as I'd like and they don't sound very vintage to me. But if I turn the VPF filter up on my markbass combo I can get that vintage sound.

[Maude]

I've put a pair in an Aria jazz and wired them through a switch that puts them in series when needed, like Fenders S1, masses of thump.

[Wilco]

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1419884774' post='2643646']
I've popped a pair of these in my Squier VM jazz and got the same result as yourself. Only gripes are that they're a little bit deep (!) so can't sit as low down as I'd like and they don't sound very vintage to me. But if I turn the VPF filter up on my markbass combo I can get that vintage sound.
[/quote]

A good shout on their depth - I'd forgotten about that. They were a couple of three mm's taller than the stock pups I took out. Funnily enough though, I had to pad the cavity on the GLJ to raise the stock ones closer to the strings. I actually left that extra padding in when I installed the Entwistles. I guess the routing is deeper than on your VM?

I've got a Markbass Superbooster pedal with both the VLE & VPF filters on. I've left them at the same settings for ages now, & stupidly hadn't thought of adjusting them, so that's another good shout! (although it's the VLE filter that needs to be boosted to increase the vintage tone)

[Mornats]

The routing on my VM was enough for the stock pickups to be bouncy on their springs when the screws were undone but I had to take the springs out for the Entwistles. You can see the difference in height here:

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And yeah, VLE, VPF. I keep getting them mixed up Whichever is the one that boosts the lows and highs at the same time is the one that helps with the sound. I haven't tried them both together though. Maybe tomorrow...