J Bass pickups? Where to start! So much choice!

[barrycreed]

Hi all, I'm in the process of gathering bits and bobs over next few months for a J bass build. Where to even start with pickups. I suppose I'll work back from the type of music I'd like to play.

Hopefully if things get back to some kind of normality, I can get into a covers band again and this time around, I'm hoping to keep it a bit more alternative, heavy. Safe to say there won't be much pop or country.

I had been thinking of Seymour Duncan quarter pounders, but have read good things about Kent Armstrong pickups as well. I don't *have* to go for a particular brand I suppose, but seems to be a lot of choice out there. Di Marzio would be next on my radar I suppose. 

Build will be a maple neck, and I haven't yet decided on a body.

Any advice?

[itu]

If you even think about preamp (John East...), you can tweak the basic sound quite some. On the other hand, if the pickups do not produce something, the preamp cannot create that either. I see a preamp as an enhancer.

bartolini, Delano, Lollar, EMG, q-tuner, SD, DiMarzio, there are so many possibilities... if you even consider individual makers, the possibilities become endless.

Body, a chambered one, if the weight is an important issue. Screw inserts, top loaded bridge helps while restringing, and lightweight tuners... remember to grease the truss rod before installation. Helps a lot in the future.

[Misdee]

 The right choice of pickup depends on what kind of a J Bass tone you want .Will you be going for the modern hifi  active Jazz Bass tone , or a more gritty traditional Fender sound, for example ? 

I favour the latter, and the best pickup for my taste has been the Fender Custom Shop 60's Jazz Bass set, and also the 74 Jazz Bass set. Both are superb.  Stating the obvious maybe, but Fender make great pickups if you want a Fender-style sound.  I thoroughly recommend either of those two sets.

[ped]

60s or 70s spacing?

[barrycreed]

39 minutes ago, ped said:

60s or 70s spacing?

Good question. Not thought of that and had a look at the stock bodies on northwest guitars but not yet sure what spacing they are? 

I’d go passive pickups too. Should have mentioned that.

[verb]

The EMG JVX pickups are worth a look.

[soldersqueeze]

I'll throw in a vote for the DiMarzio DP123 Model J set. Clear, slightly grindy warmth and a fair price. Also available in sweet, 1970s cream finish which is a bonus if you're as vulgar as I am!

[ped]

8 hours ago, barrycreed said:

Good question. Not thought of that and had a look at the stock bodies on northwest guitars but not yet sure what spacing they are? 

I’d go passive pickups too. Should have mentioned that.

On a 70s the rear pickup is in line with the tone control. 

I find it really weird how most jazz makers don’t mention the spacing (it’s not always easy to tell is the bass has non standard controls etc)

Its the single biggest thing you can do to influence the sound!

[barrycreed]

1 hour ago, ped said:

On a 70s the rear pickup is in line with the tone control. 

I find it really weird how most jazz makers don’t mention the spacing (it’s not always easy to tell is the bass has non standard controls etc)

Its the single biggest thing you can do to influence the sound!

One of the reasons I'm going to leave body and pickups as the last things to get! I think I'd go for 70s, as the pickup further back might suit more overdriven styles better? (work back from that then with pickups...)

[ped]

I much prefer the 70s spacing myself, you might also find a manufacturer who makes a rear pickup that can do both settings (I know Sadowsky do one) but then things start getting complicated!!

I'd say that the rear pickup being nearer the bridge might give your overdriven sound a bit more 'bite' and definition... sounds like an afternoon on YouTube for you, sir.

[gjones]

I have Lindy Fralins in one of my Jazz basses, which are pretty expensive, Wilkinsons in another, which are at the cheap end of the scale, and a Squier Jazz with the Seymour designed pickups. They all sound great.

The DiMarzio DP123 Model J set I tried were good but a bit too dark sounding for me. 

The only pickups I didn't like, were some old fender MIM ones that I picked up for a tenner on Ebay. They were pretty dull and characterless.

My point is, that you don't need to spend stupid money on pickups to get a good sound.

[barrycreed]

33 minutes ago, ped said:

I much prefer the 70s spacing myself, you might also find a manufacturer who makes a rear pickup that can do both settings (I know Sadowsky do one) but then things start getting complicated!!

I'd say that the rear pickup being nearer the bridge might give your overdriven sound a bit more 'bite' and definition... sounds like an afternoon on YouTube for you, sir.

Yeah, that's what I was going to plump for....

[ead]

You're going to get loads of different views.  I've experimented a little and my preference so far have been the Wizard '84s.  Not sure you can still get these so that was massively unhelpful, sorry about that.

Also a fan of EMGs but I've only had the active variety.

[Misdee]

If you are going for a more aggressive tone, Di Marzio Ultra Jazz are a great choice. High output, raw tone but still very pleasing and musical. Would be my pick for heavier rock styles. 

Edited September 15, 2020 by Misdee

[Misdee]

There is always the overwound pickup option too, the more overwinding you go for usually giving  proportionately higher output and more pronounced midrange, but at the expense of treble extension. Aguilar do  an overwound 70's Jazz Bass set that is well worth checking out.

[barrycreed]

Update. Northwest guitars specs for J bodies are 60s. Probably wouldn't make a huge difference to my ears but will have a look around over next few months and see what pops up for 70s specs.

[Chopthebass]

I just put Bartolini B-Axis pickups and an East Uni Pre in my Mayones bass. What an improvement over the Delano's!

I have EMG JAX in another bass and thought these were nice until I heard the Barts! Recommended.

[LukeFRC]

60's and 70's jazz are fairly different sounding to my ears. 

See if you can find someone who's done loads of pickup recordings. I downloaded a set  from Talkbass about 10-15 years ago of P bass pickups recorded in the same bass - it's really interesting and I can crank them through headphones/stereo/bass rig to hear a rough guesstimate of the differences or at least the broad sound of them. 

Buy a nice set of something second-hand from here, and then if you're using a preamp or a wiring loom use a chocolate box connector or similar so you can swap pickups if you want without a soldering iron. 

[Nickthebass]

The correct answer is anything from Nordstrand. They’re also the best pickups for metal. 😁

Seriously though - they do a wide variety of Js including split-coil humbuckers. I have both their SV and SE winds. The first are more traditional sounding and the later are a bit thicker. TBH though I think you’d be pushed to tell much difference once the band is blasting away. 
 

Their pre-amps are great too. I have a 3 band version with switchable mids. 

[Lozz196]

I’ve just ordered a set of Fender Vintage Noiseless for one of my Jazzes, so I’ll update on here once they’re in and been out to task. 

[Hellzero]

Here are the exact placements for the 3 classic bass pickups.

It's way more precise than relying on anything else.

Measures are taken from the inner edge of the nut (one border of the scale length) to the middle of the pickup (this way, the line of symmetry is in the center).

These measurements are only valid for a standard scale length (863,6 mm or 34")

- Jazz Bass neck : 708 mm (27 7/8").

- Jazz Bass bridge (60's) : 800,1 mm (31 1/2").

- Jazz Bass bridge (70's) : 809,6 mm (31 7/8").

- Precision Bass : 727 mm (28 5/8").

- Music Man : 778 mm (30 5/8").

If you want to use another scale length, just convert these measurements (remember your mathematical rule of three 😉 ).