OutSpoon Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Hi all, Am new here (yes, thankyou) and have a question for your collective knowledge / experience... Thinking about changing the pickups / electronics on my 2006 Fender Jazz 5 (just a Mex, nothing flash) to give it some more umph... have a Stingray and a BB615 and am finding I prefer the sting of active over passive... Any advise to which pickups to choose? EMGs? Basslines? Also pre-amps into the Jazz... easy to do etc? Appreciate your help... Ciao. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Only one word you need to know, Villex. [url="http://www.villex.com/dealers_europe.html"]http://www.villex.com/dealers_europe.html[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh3184 Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 and wizard... [url="http://wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass"]http://wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutSpoon Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 [quote name='josh3184' post='310512' date='Oct 20 2008, 03:28 PM']and wizard... [url="http://wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass"]http://wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass[/url][/quote] Okay - I'm diggin it... but do any of these work with a 5-string? The Wizard stuff looks cool; but I also want to replace the pots etc. some DIY-type tomfoolery has left my controls in need of some TLC... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huge Hands Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 [quote name='josh3184' post='310512' date='Oct 20 2008, 03:28 PM']and wizard... [url="http://wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass"]http://wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass[/url][/quote] I recently bought a set of Wizards for my Squier Precision V as it uses Jazz pickups. The difference is amazing. Just make sure you know the width of each pickup and the distance between the screw holes on each before contacting them (they're often different sizes). It should be fairly easy with Fender stuff but it was a nightmare with my cheapy Squier! Luckily with Andy at Wizard, he was happy to work with me until they were right. I can't recommend them enough. He reckons the final set I ended up with would have a drop in output to compensate for the extra pickup width required, but I A/B'd it with the Squier I bought off Shockwave on Saturday (that has Seymour Duncans) and the output is still much louder (and fatter) in comparison. That's all my opinion anyway.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huge Hands Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 [quote name='OutSpoon' post='310520' date='Oct 20 2008, 03:37 PM']Okay - I'm diggin it... but do any of these work with a 5-string? The Wizard stuff looks cool; but I also want to replace the pots etc. some DIY-type tomfoolery has left my controls in need of some TLC...[/quote] Wizard can advise on pot values, you just have to get them from somewhere. My original Squier pickups are actually the same size as the neck pickup on my JV four string (bridge is wider!!) and Andy managed to get something to work (his original set didn't have a wide enough pickup pattern). I would imagine Fender use wider pups. If Andy can get hold of the same size casing, then he should be able to make you a pup to fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutSpoon Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 [quote name='Huge Hands' post='310525' date='Oct 20 2008, 03:42 PM']Wizard can advise on pot values, you just have to get them from somewhere. My original Squier pickups are actually the same size as the neck pickup on my JV four string (bridge is wider!!) and Andy managed to get something to work (his original set didn't have a wide enough pickup pattern). I would imagine Fender use wider pups. If Andy can get hold of the same size casing, then he should be able to make you a pup to fit.[/quote] Looking good. So - how do these products (Wizard ad Viller) compare with EMG / Bartolini / Seymour Duncan etc.? Am I being a brand-snob? Quality just as good (if not better?) cheaper and better made? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huge Hands Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 [quote name='OutSpoon' post='311838' date='Oct 22 2008, 09:56 AM']Looking good. So - how do these products (Wizard ad Viller) compare with EMG / Bartolini / Seymour Duncan etc.? Am I being a brand-snob? Quality just as good (if not better?) cheaper and better made?[/quote] I can only comment on what I have experience of, which is not a lot. I have recently bought a second P5 with Seymour Duncans in it from Shockwave. There is no comparison to me. I want a big, fat, no teeth sound which the Wizards provide at a much higher output level - although admittedly this is mainly using the neck pickup only to get it. I originally asked Andy for 84's which he says are designed to provide this sound more than the 64's - but they did have to be modified due to the pickup area problem already mentioned so probably aren't true 84's. However, I would imagine the Seymours would suit someone who wants a bit more attack and bite in their sound. I would imagine several people on here will give you reasons for and against each. Maybe it's worth watching the for sale section on here and seeing if you can pick up some second hand bargains to mess around with? I eventually intend to strip and mod the Seymour one and use something completely different for pickups, so they might end up on there at some point. However, they may not fit your Jazz and I am a bit slow at getting round to these things so I wouldn't hold your breath! I would have said you probably are paying for what you get. The depth of the stock Squier pickups is about half of the Wizards, which would suggest Andy is fitting some much heftier magnets and more quality components in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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