V-mod ii on Fender am pro ii jazz bass

[Majid]

Hi there,

 

I bought a Fender am pro ii jazz bass 2.5 months ago and got a better tone after I adjusted the bass a bit. But ultimately I found out that I’m more fan of 70’s jazz bass sounds as I love playing funk style and slap technique on jb. Since I can’t return my bass anylonger, alternatively I’m looking into upgrading the pick ups. Obviously I’m looking for PU with brighter and 70’s like sound. I know pick up poaition in 70’s playes a key role, but I’ve heard some 60’s jb with brighter sound and closer to 70’s compared to what I can hear from mine. That’s why I think it might be due to V-mod ii PU on my bass. BTW, I have SS D’addario strings 45-105 on my jb at the moment.

1- do you think that changing my PUs would help to get closer to what I like and is it worth spending money on that?
2- What PU you would recommend such as Aguilar ag 4j-70 or DiMarzio J mode or Fender 70’s single coil etc.?

I’d really appreciate your feedbacks 🙏🙏🙏

[Jonesy]

I'd have thought you could coax a decent funk/slap tone out of what you have tbh. I haven't played or even heard those pups, but I'd explore all my eq'ing options first before looking at changing pups.

 

Having said that.........I put a pair of the Fender pure vintage 74 J pups in my G&L JB Tribute and I love them. I don't play slap, but they were the brightest/gnarliest set to my ears after plodding through a load of vids on YouTube. If you were to upgrade then I'd thoroughly recommend them 👍

[Majid]

Many thanks Jonesy for your feedback. That’s a fair point and it was also suggested by one of my friends (l mean exploring eq options before buying another PU. That’s what I’m doing these days. The tone of 70’s JBs is obviously different though, thanks to PU spacing and that’s what I love. But I might be happy enough with the tone I get down the road by either eq’ing or PU upgrade on my current jb.

I’ll definitely keep your recommended PU in mind as an option.

 

Cheers!

[JohnR]

I have the same bass and had the same requirement. I tried different pickups and internal preamps but nothing worked for me. The eventual solution was using the stock pickups with an external Sadowsky SBP-2 preamp pedal. Sheer magic. 

[Majid]

3 hours ago, JohnR said:

I have the same bass and had the same requirement. I tried different pickups and internal preamps but nothing worked for me. The eventual solution was using the stock pickups with an external Sadowsky SBP-2 preamp pedal. Sheer magic. 

Hi JohnR,

 

Many thanks for sharing your experience.

Was a crispy and bright slap tone (Marcus Miller's kinda tone) your desired one as well? and did you get what you were lookin' for through the Sadowsky SBP-2 preamp? That's very important for me and your lesson learned could solve my issue as well. Cause otherwise, honestly I'm somehow thinking about selling the bass as the ultimate solution, if I can't get a tone at least close to what I like. 

[JohnR]

That is exactly the tone I was looking for and I feel using the SBP-2 with the stock pickups got me most of the way to my desired result. Strings will also be important. I use DR Strings Hi-Beams but Newtone Strings were also very close. I wanted to try Dunlop which Marcus uses but had two strings break during installation in the two sets I tried so gave up.

 

Edited to add that I found having the pickup height much lower than the Fender specification really helped get the tone I wanted.

Edited April 20, 2022 by JohnR
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[Majid]

1 minute ago, JohnR said:

That is exactly the tone I was looking for and I feel using the SBP-2 with the stock pickups got me most of the way to my desired result. Strings will also be important. I use DR Strings Hi-Beams but Newtone Strings were also very close. I wanted to try Dunlop which Marcus uses but had two strings break during installation in the two sets I tried so gave up.

 

Sounds good! I initially installed D'addario SS 45-105 but then I came across these two strings (Dunlop SS and DR Hi Beams) when I was searching about the Marcus Miller's tone. I'll buy one of these this time

Thanks again. 

[Majid]

7 minutes ago, JohnR said:

That is exactly the tone I was looking for and I feel using the SBP-2 with the stock pickups got me most of the way to my desired result. Strings will also be important. I use DR Strings Hi-Beams but Newtone Strings were also very close. I wanted to try Dunlop which Marcus uses but had two strings break during installation in the two sets I tried so gave up.

 

Edited to add that I found having the pickup height much lower than the Fender specification really helped get the tone I wanted.

 Oh really? I was trying to higher the bridge pick up, as I thought it would help having a brighter tone!!

[Majid]

@JohnR BTW, may I ask what combo/ amp head+speaker you are using?

[JohnR]

I have a Vanderkley Spartan and GR Bass cabinet. I recently switched from 4x10 to 2x10. My rig is very transparent and adds nothing to the tone. When practicing at home I mostly play through an ancient set of Event TR8 studio monitors and still get the same tone. 

 

I also found dropping down a string gauge worked for me. I now play 40-100 Hi-Beams which give a bit more snap than 45-105 strings.

[Majid]

Cool! I only use a combo Fender Rumble 100. It's not a very powerful combo though. But I'm getting an audio interface to see how the tone would sound like through that.

 

String gauge is also a good point. Thanks man. 

[Majid]

17 hours ago, JohnR said:

That is exactly the tone I was looking for and I feel using the SBP-2 with the stock pickups got me most of the way to my desired result. Strings will also be important. I use DR Strings Hi-Beams but Newtone Strings were also very close. I wanted to try Dunlop which Marcus uses but had two strings break during installation in the two sets I tried so gave up.

 

Edited to add that I found having the pickup height much lower than the Fender specification really helped get the tone I wanted.

Hi JohnR,

 

One more question: Do you know if Sadowsky SBP-1 can also provide the same tonality as SBP-2 does? I mean SBP-1 has an additional feature (DI), so although it is a little bit more expensive, I can have the DI feature additionally. However, I am not sure if SBP-1 is exactly the same as SBP-2 tone wise. 

[JohnR]

I have owned both and the tone circuits are identical with the SBP-1 having additional features such as DI and Tuner out. I went with the SBP-2 as it has a smaller footprint and takes up less space on my pedalboard.

[Majid]

Just now, JohnR said:

I have owned both and the tone circuits are identical with the SBP-1 having additional features such as DI and Tuner out. I went with the SBP-2 as it has a smaller footprint and takes up less space on my pedalboard.

 

Makes sense. Thanks JohnR