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Post subject: Neck pickup replacement????
Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 5:36 pm
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Alrighty guys. So i'm thinking about getting a jazz bass. Standard MIM. My dream sound in a bass is P bass in the neck and J bass in the bridge. So. I was wondering. Do J basses come with P bass routing behind the pickguard? or enough room? Pickguards are not relevant, this is all about the pickups. I am low on money so I'm looking for something common so I can find it used on ebay. So is there any way I can have a p bass pup in the neck with a standard j bass?? Or something else. Thank you in advance for any help. =D


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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 7:19 pm
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Standard jazz basses do not have a P routing. If you bought a J bass you'd have to get it routed.

However the Aerodyne Jazz and Deluxe active precision are both P/J basses roughly in that price range. There are also some squier basses that are P/J, including the Vintage Modified Jaguar which hasn't come out yet, but is in the works.

Also, if you were to rout a P pickup in a jazz body you should know it would not be in the usual P spot, but about 1/2" closer to the neck. Typically for P/J basses if it's on a P body than the P pickup is in the usual position and the J is in the 70's position (1/2" closer to the bridge than the usual 60's position). If it is on a J body then the J pickup is usually in the 60's position and the P about 1/2" closer to the neck. If you were to rout the P pickup in the regular position on a P body then it would go past the pickguard. It can also get a little funky when you blend the pickup if they're that close together.

Another thing is that you usually want a hotter than usual jazz pickup because the output of a normal P bass is much larger than that of the J, and a regular J pickup can't always hold it's own with both volumes at full.


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Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 7:05 am
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I see that the aerodyne uses basswood. Do you think I'll notice a big difference between basswood and alder? I'm looking at one made in Japan. Will it be just as playable? Should I replace the pickups? or maybe even the whole neck?


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Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:31 am
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Antcolony3 wrote:
I see that the aerodyne uses basswood. Do you think I'll notice a big difference between basswood and alder? I'm looking at one made in Japan. Will it be just as playable? Should I replace the pickups? or maybe even the whole neck?


Basswood isn't as bad as people say it is. I've played the Aero J, and it's a good bass. Very light. I don't think you'd need the neck to be replaced either. The biggest issues are the stock pickups. If you do get one you should hear it before making any decisions, but I just didn't care much for the stock PUP's.

There are a lot of non-export japanese basses that are P/J. You won't find them on the fender site or guitar center / musicians friend, but you can sometimes find them on craigs list and ebay.


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Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 12:55 pm
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Also........
the radius is 7.25
hows that going to play compared to 9.5 (regular jazz bass)





THANKS A BUNCH! Ur awesome. :D


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Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 9:10 pm
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Antcolony3 wrote:
Also........
the radius is 7.25
hows that going to play compared to 9.5 (regular jazz bass)



It's a mater of personal preference. To me it's not a huge difference. I would suggest trying the bass out before you buy one, and you can always compare it to a regular 9.5.


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Post subject: Re: Neck pickup replacement????
Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 12:18 am
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Antcolony3 wrote:
Alrighty guys. So i'm thinking about getting a jazz bass. Standard MIM. My dream sound in a bass is P bass in the neck and J bass in the bridge. So. I was wondering. Do J basses come with P bass routing behind the pickguard? or enough room? Pickguards are not relevant, this is all about the pickups. I am low on money so I'm looking for something common so I can find it used on ebay. So is there any way I can have a p bass pup in the neck with a standard j bass?? Or something else. Thank you in advance for any help. =D


No there is not Precision pickup routing behind the pickguard.

If you want it to look like a Jazz but sound like a P/J, you could install a Fender Noiseless Jazz pickup in the neck position and get a tone closer to a P-Bass. Not exactly a P/J but closer.

Lindy Fralin, Curtis Novak and others make a similar pickup but they call it a SPLIT COIL Jazz Bass pickup. If you put one of those in it will sound a lot more like a P-Bass and might come closer to balancing correctly.

So far as the Aerodynes go, the necks are one of the best things about them and all CIJ basses and probably the last thing you'd want to change. I'd suggest replacing ALL of the electronics and not just the pickups. One good bass to look for as a project would be the Aerodyne Precision which is discontinued but was a very beautiful P-bass. The problem you get into with CIJ basses is that the parts are not as interchangeable with MIM or USA basses.

The best solution of course would be just to buy a P/J setup in the first place. Some real good P/J's often available at bargain prices include the Fender JP90, Fender California Series Precision Bass Special and the Fender "Cowpoke" Precision Bass Special and there was also a USA made bass setup just like the MIM Cowpoke which replaced the JP90 in 1993. These were all great PJ basses and often available at reasonable prices. I saw a California Series Special go on eBay for about $350 last week. The California Series Specials were marked as made in USA and so were the JP90's.

Most, but not all, Fender basses with P/J setups are usually called SPECIALS.

To me neck radius makes a difference. But once you get used to it any radius is playable. I actually prefer a 12 inch radius...often called a "pancake" bass since it is flat as a pancake.


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Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2010 3:22 am
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just a question, the higher the radius of the neck, the flatter it is?

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Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2010 4:00 am
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eyecandy wrote:
just a question, the higher the radius of the neck, the flatter it is?

Correct.

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