Re: Looking to Upgrade J Pickups in my Fender (Mexico) 5 string Jazz Bass

I like Carvin stacked pickups.

--- On Mon, 9/20/10, JohnL <[email protected]> wrote:


From: JohnL <[email protected]>
Subject: [Bass Place] Looking to Upgrade J Pickups in my Fender (Mexico) 5 =
string Jazz Bass
To: [email protected]
Date: Monday, September 20, 2010, 1:38 PM


=C2=A0=20



Hi Fellow Bass-Heads and Tone Freaks... Looking for Suggestions here... I b=
ought this Mexican Jazz Bass New around 1999 (Mostly choose it over the Ame=
rican Standard because it actually had 3/16" WIDER Fretboard at the Bridge =
than the American Standard! and the deep WINE color, blew away the other ch=
oices at the time) The stock pickups sounded awful (I knew this before I pu=
rchased it knowing I was going to upgrade the Pickups anyhow and since I pa=
id less than half the cost of an American Standard, should be plenty of jus=
tification in that direction.

Well over the years the 5 string hardly saw any use as my 4 string Basses a=
nd Drop D Tunings seemed to negate the use of a 5 string for me until recen=
tly... I now play in a HEAVY Modern Rock Band with a lot of Low B requireme=
nts.. Some Funk & Slap, Some Over-Drive, but a lot of punch and attack (In =
yo Face Bass!). My Main 4 Strings (and preferred tone by choice) are two ne=
ar identical Vintage G&L Basses with stock active Pickups- through a full H=
artke 8x10 XL Stack.. sometimes powered by beastly Crest Solid State and so=
metimes by '69 Ampeg V-4 (all tubes). I use a plethora of modded analog ped=
als, but the heart of my pre-amp tone comes from a Vintage Modded Boss Bass=
 EQ, and an EBS Compressor. I was also using an American Washburn 4 with si=
ngle passive P-Pickups, tuned down to C Standard (took a lot of tweaking wi=
th Truss rod and such, but trying to get it down to B kinda exceeded the "T=
hreshold"..) That's when I blew the Dust off my Jazz 5.

First of all, I hate the fact that if Both Volume Controls are not complete=
ly equal on passive single coils, it's "hum noise" from HELL (much worse on=
 cheapo stock single coil pickups, like magnified!) 1st thing I did was wir=
ed both pickups to the top Volume Control (like it is configured on my G&L'=
s) so it instantly makes them noise-canceling (for the most part anyhow). N=
ext I Shielded both P/U Cavities and control Cavity with Copper tape (this =
helped even more). Last I replaced the 2nd (no longer used) Volume Pot with=
 a "Guitar Fetish" rotary selectable, 9-volt active preamp (Hell of a time =
fitting the 9 volt in that cavity after shielding, but got that sucker pack=
ed in there). Replaced the stock knob and Walla- the Jazz Bass still looks =
completely stock and SEXY as hell. I thought the preamp would give it enoug=
h "push" to compete with my G&L's but after about the 3rd HEAVY gig using i=
t (It's way quieter now), it still lacks output and high end punch
 (the G&L's sound much like an Active Music Man Bass). So that's is where Y=
OU, my good friends, come in??
What would be the best choice to upgrade for the type of performance and to=
ne that I'm looking for??

I've always been partial towards active pickups for Bass and even 6 string.=
.. So much quieter and no dealing with Bridge Grounded system HUM. I have a=
 single Bartolini J (in the sweet spot) with active Bartolini Preamp in my =
Fretless and it kicks serious ARSE (but there are so dam many different Bar=
tolini's available now.. which one to choose? Active or Passive? I've used =
EMG's and they are better than nearly all Passive Pickups I've tried, but a=
 little on the plain vanilla side. I've heard that the 1/4 pounder's active=
s are noisy junk, and I've scrapped DiMarzio's before. I was never that int=
o passive pickups until I started using this Washburn (as noted above)sound=
s really dam good, even tuned down to Baritone C! So I was also reading abo=
ut NORSTRAND Passive Bass Pickups and praise that they are the BEST.. Okay,=
 for those that don't know, the Mexican Jazz has 2 identical sized J pickup=
s (same size as the Bridge on a US model) where as the American has
 a slightly smaller sized J Pickup at the Neck. I don't feel like messing w=
ith the pick guard so I'm going with the stock-sized set replacements. I wi=
ll be tuning it in Standard B with Heavy emphasis on low end and some slap.=
.

Suggestions, Opinions, Recommendations Folks???

Thanks Much in advance,

John LaPietra (J-man)








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