fusionbassist1 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Hi everyone, I've been using a set of Wizard 84s in my pride-and-joy-spec'd-everything-that's-in-it Jazz bass but am not quite feeling the love from these pups right now so would like to replace and get a new set. The sound I want needs a defined, warm, mid-orientated sound that lets the bass growl and do its thing. What's really important to me is that I don't get a lot of the sound fo the fretboard coming through, I play with high action and close to the bridge to make the NOTE the most prominent feature in the sound (if that makes at all). *what i mean by sound of the fretboard is that speed-bump kind of vibe you get when both pickups are maxed out and you slide up/downt he neck.As an example Richard Bona nails a defined, warm, fretless sound on his bass* I take a massive influence from jaco's warm growly sound (on his fretless recordings) and find that such a sound fits in much better when I get called in to play with folk bands as well as having the added pressence and funkyness I can get from having a bit of mids boosted on the amp. I stand by the concept of trying to get the bass how I want it before going to extreme EQing as an option so this is my attempt at that. If there's any specific offers I'll set up another topic in the appropriate section on the forum. Bass has: Solid maple neck Alder J-Bass body Badass II bridge DR stainless steel strings I use an Ampeg PB-800 for everything I do. Passive is the only way I want to go please; bit of a vintage vibe would be nice. Slap/tap sound etc is not important as I only gig fingerstyley and I always have Bridge on full and neck rolled on a tiny bit, tone knob adjusted accordingly. Note : I previously enjoyed the Dimarzio UltraJazz pups I had in one of my basses but then again it was a different bass and various different amps so who's to tell....*sigh* it's always the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Sounds to me like a set of flats is required. failing that, ask Andy to overwind your current pups. More mids, less sizzle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 [quote name='wateroftyne' post='420271' date='Feb 26 2009, 06:09 PM']Sounds to me like a set of flats is required. failing that, ask Andy to overwind your current pups. More mids, less sizzle.[/quote] +1 Andy is one of the most accommodating suppliers I know. Definitely talk to him first, he really is a a wizard with pickups. If it can be done, he will know of a way to do it. He might even suggest under winding the pickup to increase the lows by reducing the impedance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusionbassist1 Posted February 26, 2009 Author Share Posted February 26, 2009 I'm really not keen on flats because of their feel and I don't really do a boomy bass end (although I'm sure there's flats outt here that don't come with such properties). As a jaco fan i do like to push out some harmonics quite a lot and I was unable to get them to jump out on the fretless I had with flats. So first port of call should be to ring Wizards themselves to see what they suggest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 [quote name='fusionbassist1' post='420284' date='Feb 26 2009, 06:20 PM']So first port of call should be to ring Wizards themselves to see what they suggest?[/quote] Definitely. I can't speak highly enough of him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 (edited) [quote name='fusionbassist1' post='420251' date='Feb 26 2009, 05:48 PM']I've been using a set of Wizard 84s in my pride-and-joy-spec'd-everything-that's-in-it Jazz bass but am not quite feeling the love from these pups right now ...[/quote] If you do talk to Wizard, I think you'll need to be a bit more specific about what the problem is. Edited February 26, 2009 by stevie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee650 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Hi mate I swear by my Nordstrand nj4's,(might be a bit too defined, they are warm but have a nice top end too) but i used to have aset of EMG jvs and they are incredibly warm, not too much high end at all thats why i replaced them, they are hum free too. i do think rewinding your current set is the way forward, or perhaps trying groundwound strings a bit of a halfway house as it were- good hunting - lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusionbassist1 Posted February 26, 2009 Author Share Posted February 26, 2009 Thanks everyone for the various suggestions, plenty of options there. I think what I'll do is ring Wizard to see what they suggest could be don to my current set and for how much. If it equals the price of buying a decent second hand replacment set then I'll go with the re-winding otherwise I'll try and check out the Nordstrands and the EMGs. Cheers guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 I've read some nice things about Villex pickups, but I'll be surprised if Andy can't sort you out something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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