Swaffle88 Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 I bought a Mexican jazz bass (fretless) a while back. I never really got on with it but I kept a hold of it anyway incase I changed my mind.. recently I decided to give fretless another go and after a good look over I noticed both the pickups are different! I should have noticed this when buying it I know.. so no need to tell me 🤐 It was pre owned when I got it from a shop, do you guys think the previous owner put a different pick up in it? I’ll post pictures. the bridge pickup has a different look to the pole pieces than on the neck pickup and the plastic looks matt compared to the neck pickups gloss plastic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 Not been ‘had’ unless it was sold as stock or someone told you it hasn’t been modified. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swaffle88 Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 ..it wasn’t mentioned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 Caveat emptor mon suet! The shop may not have known, even the previous owner may not. Unless sold specifically as stock/unmodified, not a lot you can do really. Could try having a word with the shop/seller but - - - Yes they're different pick ups, does it play OK? have you looked underneath them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 18 minutes ago, Swaffle88 said: ..it wasn’t mentioned The shop probably didn’t realise either. Always worth looking very closely at used goods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trueno Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 How do they sound? Probably cheap and easy to replace the pickup covers if the visual mismatch bothers you. The bridge pickup looks a bit more up-market, but appearances can be deceptive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 The neck pup looks original, the bridge is definitely a cheap ceramic pup (i.e not original). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegummy Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 You've been gifted the opportunity to judge the sound of the pickups honestly without any bias from prejudice you'd have if you knew what they were. That's something that few people get. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 I mean this with respect, but Max jazz pickups are about £15 secondhand, so it’s dishonest of the shop (if they knew) and poor form if they didn’t, but hardly crime of the century. Annoyingly I had a pair of Mex jazz pickups I could have sent you but I gave them away. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Burns-bass said: I mean this with respect, but Max jazz pickups are about £15 secondhand, so it’s dishonest of the shop (if they knew) and poor form if they didn’t, but hardly crime of the century. Annoyingly I had a pair of Mex jazz pickups I could have sent you but I gave them away. Thats good news. Can you show us where you buy a set of secondhand fender jazz pickups for £15 please? 😀 Edited June 28, 2020 by hooky_lowdown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 5 hours ago, Burns-bass said: I mean this with respect, but Max jazz pickups are about £15 I sold my MIM Jazz pickups on ebay a few weeks go for £30. Had them sitting around for 10 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy67 Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 Good chance to upgrade 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 5 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said: Thats good news. Can you show us where you buy a set of secondhand fender jazz pickups for £15 please? 😀 I meant each, and they’re regularly on here for figures approaching that. Exhibit A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basscabman Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 And they're still for sale! 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swaffle88 Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 6 hours ago, thegummy said: You've been gifted the opportunity to judge the sound of the pickups honestly without any bias from prejudice you'd have if you knew what they were. That's something that few people get. I think it sounds... not great. It could never be bridge only on this jazz! I’ll be favouring the neck pup until I either get new pick ups or give up and sell it.. most likely to the shop that sold it to me 👿 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swaffle88 Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 6 hours ago, Burns-bass said: Annoyingly I had a pair of Mex jazz pickups I could have sent you but I gave them away. That’s ok mate, appreciate the thought 👌 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy67 Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 (edited) The bridge pup looks like a Seymour Duncan antiquity, be worth checking under the hood to confirm one way or another. https://www.google.com/search?q=seymour+duncan+jazz+bass+pickups&rlz=1C9BKJA_enGB865GB866&hl=en-GB&prmd=svin&sxsrf=ALeKk00ANVVoBWxUy89Av-CBS4b-dAEVEg:1593400531815&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjW2rvFh6bqAhXjTRUIHdTWAh0Q_AUoA3oECA0QAw&biw=768&bih=909#imgrc=rQKYvU5L0GOqlM&imgdii=rqjV1gr3slHC2M Edited June 29, 2020 by andy67 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swaffle88 Posted June 29, 2020 Author Share Posted June 29, 2020 I don’t think it is Andy- the pole pieces have wee circles on them.. kinda looks like the bottom of a frying pan 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy67 Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 So they do. Never noticed that on first look. Hmm, the plot thickens. Where did you get the bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 (edited) OK, so the bass has pups from 2 different makers. I doubt that will exactly be responsible for the inability of the OP to get on with fretless. Pups don't make *that* much difference to how it plays, providing that they actually work. After all, the chances are, the replacement pup is almost certainly going to be an upgrade. So, get on and play it, or sell it. Edited June 29, 2020 by Grangur 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicVibes Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 Sorry to hear about this. I've dealt with a few dodgy sellers in my time and walked away when they were caught out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 (edited) 11 minutes ago, ClassicVibes said: Sorry to hear about this. I've dealt with a few dodgy sellers in my time and walked away when they were caught out. What's dodgy? So he saw it with 2 different pups and he liked and bought it. Nothing dodgy in that. Ok so he didn't notice the pups. If you sell a car, do you go round with each buyer and point out the stone chips? Edited June 29, 2020 by Grangur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicVibes Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 1 hour ago, Grangur said: What's dodgy? So he saw it with 2 different pups and he liked and bought it. Nothing dodgy in that. Ok so he didn't notice the pups. If you sell a car, do you go round with each buyer and point out the stone chips? Okay - let's break this down. What's dodgy? The fact he was sold a bass which was not stock and these modifications were not mentioned. This is false advertising. This is illegal. So he saw it with 2 different pups and he liked and bought it. Has above, he was not told that any modifications were made to the bass so was right to assume that the pickups were stock. "I bought a Mexican jazz bass (fretless) a while back. I never really got on with it but I kept a hold of it anyway incase I changed my mind.. recently I decided to give fretless another go and after a good look over I noticed both the pickups are different! I should have noticed this when buying it I know.." Nothing dodgy in that. Ok so he didn't notice the pups. Which is what makes it dodgy. He wasn't told about the pickup swap and sold something that wasn't as advertised. If you sell a car, do you go round with each buyer and point out the stone chips? The pickups in a bass are more fundamental to the sound than some chips in the body. If you're selling something, you at least owe it to the buyer to tell them if any modifications have been made and if the item is stock or not. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegummy Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 4 hours ago, Grangur said: What's dodgy? So he saw it with 2 different pups and he liked and bought it. Nothing dodgy in that. Ok so he didn't notice the pups. If you sell a car, do you go round with each buyer and point out the stone chips? That doesn't work as an analogy - you're talking about minor accidental cosmetic damage (which I definitely do point out when selling an instrument) but it's actually a deliberate swap of a key component to something else. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_S Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, Swaffle88 said: I don’t think it is Andy- the pole pieces have wee circles on them.. kinda looks like the bottom of a frying pan 😂 All the Ibanez 'Dynamix' pickups I've handled look like that - matt textured cover and circles in the pole pieces. If it's one of those then I certainly wouldn't call it an upgrade. They're not bad, but I've only ever taken them out - never installed them! Edit: Here's one I removed earlier... Edited June 29, 2020 by Ed_S Edited to add pictures 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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