Sardonicus Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 I’ve just acquired a J&D Jazz Bass and I was thinking of replacing the pickups, what can anyone recommend for a strong output and still maintaining a warm vintage tone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 Can of worms time and a million responses. All I can say is take your time and do research from cheaper to boutique, google, you tube, sound cloud will Ben your friend for audio samples and reviews Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nilebodgers Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 Choice will come down entirely to how much you want to spend and whether you are looking for conventional or noiseless. The J&D probably has cheap ceramic pickups, so any of the Alnico pickup options will likely sound better. (check the dimensions of both the J&D pickups to see if they are standard sizes before buying anything else) Cheapest "brand" pickups I know of are the Roswell JBAs (£43-ish new the pair) and Ironstones (£48/pair) and then it is Toneriders at £70-ish and then there is a big choice at the £100-£120ish level from everyone. Then boutique pickups at £150++. Everyone has their favourite pickups though and I'd be very surprised if there is any common thread to suggestions! 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 He is not wrong, prices can vary, but also remember the second hand market if there is a particular one you fancy and are patient. Get your ball park era sound (is vintage 60s or 70s to you?) that narrows down the voicing per manufacturer, overwound or not etc. Loads of good options out there. Depends what other gear you use - if your pedals/amp give you your sound, you may just want a clean, level bass sound as a starting point. So many options and variables Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 Can I ask why you're thinking of changing the pups? Many people think - cheap bass, rubbish pickups. But this is not always the case! The stock pups on your bass are pretty hot, and I know many people who like the stock pups. Nothing wrong with them. Most "vintage" sounding (alnico) pups will have a lower output than what you have now. Wilkinson alnico pups will give you a great vintage tone for peanuts. If you want great tone and highish output look at DiMarzio. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 @Cuzzie is right, I picked up some Geddy Lee pups on eBay for peanuts because muppet seller set the auction to end at midnight. Keep your powder dry 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 (edited) I have a couple of jazz basses, one with Seymour Duncan’s and one with super cheap Entwistle ones in. The Entwistle ones were fitted after a recommendation on here. For the money they are stunning and compare very nicely with the SD ones. And if for some reason you didn’t like them you haven’t risked a lot of money. £24 gets you a pair delivered. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Entwistle-JBX-pickup-for-bass-guitar-ceramic-designed-by-Alan-Entwistle/232855804486?hash=item3637499a46:m:mOy4G8FemBuWEWzNJZWMWhA Edited May 10, 2020 by T-Bay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger2611 Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 23 minutes ago, nilebodgers said: Choice will come down entirely to how much you want to spend and whether you are looking for conventional or noiseless. The J&D probably has cheap ceramic pickups, so any of the Alnico pickup options will likely sound better. (check the dimensions of both the J&D pickups to see if they are standard sizes before buying anything else) Cheapest "brand" pickups I know of are the Roswell JBAs (£43-ish new the pair) and Ironstones (£48/pair) and then it is Toneriders at £70-ish and then there is a big choice at the £100-£120ish level from everyone. Then boutique pickups at £150++. Everyone has their favourite pickups though and I'd be very surprised if there is any common thread to suggestions! Be prepared to consider the cheaper pickups, in my Precision basses I have lots of different pickups ranging from boutique end Lindy Fralin's and Custom Shop 62's down to more budget end Kent Armstrong and Ironstone pickups and all sound great, to my ears, when compared to the cheapest ceramic pickups, however, there will likely be a few posts coming along who love those cheap ceramic pickups! I think a lot of us end up swapping stuff out purely because of clever marketing and the fact that we have disposable income, my Lindy Fralin pickups might sound fantastic (to my ears) in my bass but they won't give you exactly the same sound that I have in your bass! Sorry the above really doesn't answer your question very well! In my case case my choice of pickup I buy when building a bass is driven by how much disposable income I have at that point in time, whether I think I am going to like the completed bass I am building and whether I am likely to keep it afterwards...if I build a bass and it turns out to be a keeper then I can always swap a better pickup into it if it doesn't quite give me the sound I think I want! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 6 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said: Can I ask why you're thinking of changing the pups? Many people think - cheap bass, rubbish pickups. But this is not always the case! The stock pups on your bass are pretty hot, and I know many people who like the stock pups. Nothing wrong with them. Most "vintage" sounding (alnico) pups will have a lower output than what you have now. Wilkinson alnico pups will give you a great vintage tone for peanuts. If you want great tone and highish output look at DiMarzio. Why limited to DiMarzio? Its where the million answers comes in UK - Creamery, Bare Knuckle, Radio-Shop, Entwistle, Wizard/Hot Rod Europe - Haüssel, Kloppman, Bassculture USA - Joe Barden, Lace, Lindy Fralins, Ulyate, Seymour Duncan All have their pluses and preferences Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misdee Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 I would be hesitant to spend a lot of money on some new "boutique" pickups for a relatively inexpensive bass, and as others have pointed out, the used market is full of bargains. And as Hooky-Lowdown wisely states , don't automatically reject the stock pickups. If you are going to replace them though, don't overlook Fender pickups as an option. Despite the burgeoning market in replacement pickups' implicit suggestion that Fender are somehow inadequate or getting it wrong in some way , I have always found Fender pickups to be very good indeed. Stating the obvious maybe, but they seem to nail that Fender sound pretty well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 I would change the strings first and have a perfect set up including pickups height. Strings and set up can dramatically change the sound of your bass for a little money. That said, the Entwistle pickups will almost cost you the same as a decent set of strings... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trueno Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 The set up, as noted above. I would also consider fitting a KiOgon loom first (other looms are available???). Then reconsider how good the stock pickups sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 34 minutes ago, Cuzzie said: Why limited to DiMarzio? I didn't limit anything, I gave a suggestion. You take things too literal. Entwistles btw are not vintage voiced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 21 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said: Entwistles btw are not vintage voiced. I have a pair of the neodymium Entwistles (PBXN) in my Jazz and it is definitely not vintage voiced. With the series switch it is an aggressive beast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 40 minutes ago, Misdee said: If you are going to replace them though, don't overlook Fender pickups as an option. Despite the burgeoning market in replacement pickups' implicit suggestion that Fender are somehow inadequate or getting it wrong in some way , I have always found Fender pickups to be very good indeed. Stating the obvious maybe, but they seem to nail that Fender sound pretty well! My Harley Benton jazz is very similar to yours but I didn't like the Rosewell pickups that were fitted so got 2 Fenders and they turned a good bass into a great bass 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 I replaced the stock pickups in my Squier VM77 Jazz with Fender 74s and have been very pleased with them. They’re not as thin/toppy as some Jazz pickups can be, and quite beefy. Not sure about break up as only home use so never pushed them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 5 hours ago, Big Rich said: I’ve just acquired a J&D Jazz Bass and I was thinking of replacing the pickups, what can anyone recommend for a strong output and still maintaining a warm vintage tone? I had one, in surf green... I actually loved the pickups it came with. I was prepared to replace them, I already had a couple of different sets in my drawer (Model J and Area J sets from DiMarzio) but I left the originals on. Strong output and vintage tone don't go hand in hand, generally. I like the Area J because they sound very 'traditional J', yet they're humbucking, so no hum when soloing one pickup. They're not particularly high output (I wire them in parallel, but you can wire them individually in series for a higher output, but less of a traditional sound). Why do you want a high output pickup? Volume, you can always adjust. I'd choose a pickup based on their sound first. Personally, I would leave them, if they're anything like the ones I had. What don't you like about them? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 2 hours ago, Misdee said: I would be hesitant to spend a lot of money on some new "boutique" pickups for a relatively inexpensive bass For me, whether a bass is cheaper or not has no bearing on whether I'd choose more or less expensive pickups. Why restrict yourself to cheaper? I look at the overall cost, instead. If the total cost is reasonable for the results I get, then it works. £200 worth of pickups on a £40 bass is a bargain if the result is good: a good bass for £240! [1] Of course, price alone is not a good indication of the result you'll get. [1] My real life example was a £40 Westfield Jazz plus a £200 J-Retro preamp. I left the pickups alone because again, I liked the stock ones. That was a beast of a bass. Totally worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 Bartolini pickups are worth investigating, as are Lindy Fralin and Nordstrand NJFS pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sardonicus Posted May 10, 2020 Author Share Posted May 10, 2020 1 hour ago, mcnach said: I had one, in surf green... I actually loved the pickups it came with. I was prepared to replace them, I already had a couple of different sets in my drawer (Model J and Area J sets from DiMarzio) but I left the originals on. Strong output and vintage tone don't go hand in hand, generally. I like the Area J because they sound very 'traditional J', yet they're humbucking, so no hum when soloing one pickup. They're not particularly high output (I wire them in parallel, but you can wire them individually in series for a higher output, but less of a traditional sound). Why do you want a high output pickup? Volume, you can always adjust. I'd choose a pickup based on their sound first. Personally, I would leave them, if they're anything like the ones I had. What don't you like about them? I was just putting feelers out to hear other people’s preferences, I’ll probably stick with the stick pickups to be honest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cord.scott Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 I'll just say that my pickups of choice for any 4 string jazz bass are DiMarzio Model J, or maybe Ultra Jazz's. Been around forever and are hum cancelling too. Fairly inexpensive as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nilebodgers Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 5 hours ago, mcnach said: I had one, in surf green... I actually loved the pickups it came with. I was prepared to replace them, I already had a couple of different sets in my drawer (Model J and Area J sets from DiMarzio) but I left the originals on. Strong output and vintage tone don't go hand in hand, generally. I like the Area J because they sound very 'traditional J', yet they're humbucking, so no hum when soloing one pickup. They're not particularly high output (I wire them in parallel, but you can wire them individually in series for a higher output, but less of a traditional sound). Why do you want a high output pickup? Volume, you can always adjust. I'd choose a pickup based on their sound first. Personally, I would leave them, if they're anything like the ones I had. What don't you like about them? That's interesting. I was vaguely thinking about noiseless pickups for my MIM Jazz as I don't use it much with both pickups full on and these were my likely choice. What is the HF response like from these, do they sound noticeably duller than a single coil J pickup? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 1 hour ago, nilebodgers said: That's interesting. I was vaguely thinking about noiseless pickups for my MIM Jazz as I don't use it much with both pickups full on and these were my likely choice. What is the HF response like from these, do they sound noticeably duller than a single coil J pickup? I don't think so, no. If you wire each pickup in parallel, they sound much like a standard single coil J pickup with plenty of top end. I should install a parallel/series switch for each pickup. The bridge pickup alone, in series, is beautifully fat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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