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Post subject: USA/American Deluxe Noiseless pickups
Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 6:27 am
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First the USA Deluxe Jazz basses had noiseless pickups; then came the Samarium Cobalt version; and now the N3 version. Do they sound all that different?

My Victor Bailey Jazz is fitted with the original Noiseless pups and it all sounds pretty good to me - but could I actually "improve" the tone as I occasionally see the Samarium Cobalt pups coming up for sale (but without the gold plating)? :?:


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Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 11:01 pm
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I have the new 2010 American Deluxe Jazz V with the N3 pickups. Its my first active bass in 37 years of basses so all I can say is they rock over anything else passive Ive ever had. A thick full sound that permeates and dominates. I've owned played a BC Rich Mockingbird 80's, 3 Precisions (69,96,2002) Gibson EB0 70's, A bullet bass (USA) several other various makes and models. Nothing I've had is like this Fender Deluxe N3's and you can run them without battery in passive mode in a pinch.

It would all really be moot if I didn't have a decent stack amp to work with. 300 watt head 4 x 10 and 1 x 15 The B string really rings strong I do not need to strike it hard.

If these pickups are in fact any improvement over previous ones. I'd say the previous ones must have already been pretty good since technology doesn't leap that much in pickups.

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Posted: Tue May 18, 2010 9:26 am
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I would like to hear how these different Fender noiseless pickups sound in passive basses, or if they are primarily designed for active tone systems.

I have considered trying some vintage noiseless in my passive J bass.


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Posted: Tue May 18, 2010 10:27 pm
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I have an '03 model Victor Bailey Jazz. While the Jazz has always had way more growl than a Precision I think the active V/N's are a significant step up from typical modern passive Jazz pups in EVERY respect. I have not tried the Samarium Cobalts or N3's in a bass guitar but I can tell you that on a Strat the S/C's were NOT an improvement over the V/N's so I would naturally have my doubts in a bass situation.

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Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 2:50 pm
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Thank you all for taking the time to respond. It seems I have nothing to worry about. My VB, also an '03, is a superb bass (the best Jazz neck I have come across) and I don't think I could let a soldering iron anywhere near it now I think about .


Last edited by dberriff on Wed May 19, 2010 11:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 3:18 pm
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The Fender V/N Jazz pickups are passive, but I wonder if they were designed primarily for use with an active pre-amp, such as used in the Victor Bailey, American Deluxe, etc.

Since the new American Deluxe JB has a acitve/passive switch, I assume the N3 pickups would sound good in either mode.

Some pickup makers have designed low output passive pickups recommended for use with an active tone control system.

I currently use a set of Seymour Duncan Hot Stack for Jazz (with 500k volume pots and Fender TBX tone control), and I get a variety of good sounds. Some people were suprised when I told them the pickups and tone were entirely passive. My main amp has a graphic EQ, that helps too.

I'd love to hear opinions from anyone who has used the Fender V/N Jazz pickups in a passive JB


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