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Post subject: Replacement Pickups for a Road Worn Jazz Bass
Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:40 am
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I recently purchased a new Road Worn Jazz Bass. The only real complaint I have is the noisy pickups. What kind of replacement p/up's can I get to make the noise go away or at least get a good bit better. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. One more thing, I can't figure how to post a pic! Thanks[/img]


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Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 12:03 pm
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Don't replace the pickups, sheild the bass!

Early Jazz basses were and are noisy when you solo either pickup. The answer is to start ground the bass so that the noise or 60 cycle hum in minimizeed.

There are many sites on the web that illustrate proper gounding techniques and you can use copper or aluminum sheilding tape to do the job.

It is worth it! I know your bass won't be original any more, but do you really want to put up with all of that noise?

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Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 6:35 am
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single coils tend to be noisy when solo'ed.. but if you really insist on replacing the pickups... try the noise cancelling pickups.. there are tons by the way but it would change the color (tonality) of your bass...

some suggestions... DiMarzio Area J, haven't really tried them but they say they'd replicate a vintage jazz bass sound without the hum..

DiMarzio Model J, these aren't really vintage but they're warm, less clarity and punchy..

Nordstrand NJ4SV these replicate the sound of the NJ4s but the model is hum cancelling..

well there's also the Fender SCN...

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Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 4:58 pm
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Check out Dimarzio Model J p/u's...Very high output because of ceramic magnets AND they're 'humbucking' as well, so no noise when either p/u is soloed.


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Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 10:06 pm
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one thing though.. the dimarzio model j doesn't sound purely vintage if thats what you're looking for... they are deep, big and bad... :o

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Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 10:14 pm
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If you must replace them try Bill Lawrence ( www.billlawrence.com ) Jazz Bass Pickups.

I use them in my Jazz Bass and they are great!!

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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 12:53 pm
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Thanks for all the suggestions. I recently took it to the local shop and got them to shield the cavity. It got probaly 90% of the humm gone!! :D


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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 3:16 pm
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G_RANTW wrote:
Thanks for all the suggestions. I recently took it to the local shop and got them to shield the cavity. It got probaly 90% of the humm gone!! :D


nice..

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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:46 am
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So, I got the noise down, but.... I think I wanna go with an active set. I love the vintage tone but I could be equally happy with a little change in the tone. I guess my question is what components do I need to purchase i.e. wiring, etc. Thanks.


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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 6:10 pm
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G_RANTW wrote:
So, I got the noise down, but.... I think I wanna go with an active set. I love the vintage tone but I could be equally happy with a little change in the tone. I guess my question is what components do I need to purchase i.e. wiring, etc. Thanks.


Well, you have to be thoughtful on selecting pickups. Is there a reason you specifically want an active set? If we're talking active EMG, they will sound VERY different than vintage jazz pickups.... or modern jazz pickups for that matter. Active pickups generally give you a flatter frequency response. A lot of people thing active = power = aggressive tone, but this is not necessarily the case. I think if you want to change the pickups, you should know why and how you want to change the tone.

If you decide that an active set is really what you want, you should be able to use the same parts, but alter the wiring and ground loop a little. You should be able to tuck the battery in the control cavity.


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Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 12:35 pm
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G_RANTW wrote:
So, I got the noise down, but.... I think I wanna go with an active set. I love the vintage tone but I could be equally happy with a little change in the tone. I guess my question is what components do I need to purchase i.e. wiring, etc. Thanks.
Then go with the pickups that have been mention in this thread,because I think you're real looking for a Modern-esque type tone,but understand you will lose some of the upper and lower mids with these pickups


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