henry norton Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Not so long ago (well, about 9 years) the pickup choice seemed to be Precision, Jazz, soapbar humbucker plus the odd original equipment wide humbuckers like Wal and MusicMan. Since I've been getting back into bass playing I keep seeing these 'double Jazz' pickups and I'm just wondering what the deal is with them? Is it like a fatter Jazz, a cleaner Precision or a more versatile humbucker? I'm deadly curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Burpster Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 HN, Where have you seen this 'double jazz' mentioned... Sounds like pants to me! I'd like to check it out..... confused of Lincoln Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeBrownBass Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Maybe he means this?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJA Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 (edited) I put a Kent Armstrong double-jazz pickup (it has 2 J coils inside) in my Warmoth P, with a parallel/single/series toggle switch. it's placed so the bridge-most coil is where the bridge pickup would be on a Jazz, and the other coil between that and the P (an EMG select). I intended it to get a stingray-esque tone in parallel, and it does get pretty close, although a bit more brittle and middly (due to being closer to the bridge than an MM would be, and the coils & polepieces being closer together). I might swap it for a double-J with more output, as it's a bit unbalanced against the P in single-coil mode. so, I'd say the double-jazz = a fatter Jazz in series, and a scooped Jazz/MM halfway house in parallel- and the overall tone varies depending how close it's positioned to the bridge. Edited December 20, 2008 by SJA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Burpster Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 So basically this 'double jazz' is 2 J single coil pups put in 1 moulded plastic unit..... bit like an SD cool rail..... Are they set up as h-buckers then? one would presume they are, otherwise unless they are coil tapped or switchable it would appear a bit 'gimmicky' to me..... a promo tool if you will ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 [quote name='The Burpster' post='360070' date='Dec 21 2008, 09:19 AM']So basically this 'double jazz' is 2 J single coil pups put in 1 moulded plastic unit..... bit like an SD cool rail..... Are they set up as h-buckers then? one would presume they are, otherwise unless they are coil tapped or switchable it would appear a bit 'gimmicky' to me..... a promo tool if you will .....[/quote] Warwick have been using those twin jazz pups for at least 17 years and yes they are coil tapped with a push pull pot. In the down position you have full humbucker in the up you get a Jazz pup. Quite versatile and not gimmicky at all, in fact MM started doing this with the pup they fitted in the Sterling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted December 21, 2008 Author Share Posted December 21, 2008 My old Stingray 5 had a series/parallel/single switch but to be honest, the 3 band EQ had a much greater effect on the tone than the switch and I ended up keeping it in humbucking mode most of the time. Sounds like this double J is pretty similar. Thanks for the replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 Fender American Deluxe Precision has a double J humbucker in the bridge position too but without a coil tap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 [quote name='EssentialTension' post='360125' date='Dec 21 2008, 11:46 AM']Fender American Deluxe Precision has a double J humbucker in the bridge position too but without a coil tap.[/quote] I own a Warwick Infinity SN4 with a "JJ" or TwinJazz (as they're also known), and have tried a precision deluxe. I got results I liked with both. The JJ subtly thickens the sound that a single J would give, and it suits my taste perfectly. I'd love an Attitude-a-like with a the big HB at the neck for bottom end, the split "P" in the middle for the good old precision thump and growl, and a JJ at the bridge (tapped of course) for tight, smooth mid and treble. 3v 3t passive out to do it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJA Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 the Fender Roscoe Beck 5 and 4 have double-jazz pickups at the neck and bridge, with series/single/parallel select on each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leschirons Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 [quote name='jake_tenfloors' post='359816' date='Dec 20 2008, 08:29 PM']Maybe he means this?? [/quote] Or this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 would i be correct in assuming that if you are a selling a bass calling it a 'double jazz' is better than calling it a 'musicman style' or something as it doesnt reference another bass maker directly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 [quote name='LukeFRC' post='361586' date='Dec 23 2008, 12:10 AM']would i be correct in assuming that if you are a selling a bass calling it a 'double jazz' is better than calling it a 'musicman style' or something as it doesnt reference another bass maker directly?[/quote] Good point Luke and probably a lot of truth in that. However, the fact that the [u]original[/u] MM pup (and that shaped pup is synonymous with Musicman so most people call anything that general shape a MM pup) isn't coil-tapped, hence the 'W' (or any other manufacturer) doublejazz can can effectively do a Jazz job when tapped if paired with a separate pup which the traditional MM pup can't... does that make sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 [quote name='LukeFRC' post='361586' date='Dec 23 2008, 12:10 AM']would i be correct in assuming that if you are a selling a bass calling it a 'double jazz' is better than calling it a 'musicman style' or something as it doesnt reference another bass maker directly?[/quote] Well, maybe, but calling it a double 'jazz' references Fender at least indirectly because when we say 'jazz' pickup we actually mean the Fender Jazz style of pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Yes, and I believe they own 'J-Bass' as a trademark too. I'm only surprised their hawk-eyed legal vultures haven't swooped in on anyone using 'J' as a descriptive of a Jazz pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 [quote name='LukeFRC' post='361586' date='Dec 23 2008, 12:10 AM']would i be correct in assuming that if you are a selling a bass calling it a 'double jazz' is better than calling it a 'musicman style' or something as it doesnt reference another bass maker directly?[/quote] Not so much that, as the way the pick-up looks. The JJ/Twin J/Double J literally looks like (and sometimes is!) two jazz pick-ups bonded together, right down to the mounting lugs. The MM blueprint has the "2 at the top, one at the bottom" pattern for the lugs. Furthermore, the MM stereotype has exposed polepieces. 1 per string, and often has a hum-cancelling 3rd coil for when it's used in single coil mode (Sterling/Ray 5) The twin Jazz has either 2 small polepieces per string (Deluxe Precision) or blades (like the MECs in the Warwicks) The two major manufacturers who deviate from this are Bartolini, with blades in a MM housing, and Delano, who do a Hybrid with 8 poles on the rear coil and 4 big ones on the front. Again in a MMHB shaped housing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Years ago I tried two Warwick (Streamer I think) basses, one with the dual-Jazz pickup and one with a Musicman pickup, both in the same location. They sounded really really different to each other! It is about a decade ago but I remember the former sounding cleaner and sweeter which the latter had a bigger fatter sound. Now that I know more about this stuff I suspect the main difference is that normally the two coils in a dual-Jazz pickup are in parallel whilst those in a Musicman humbucker are in series. More recently at the SE Bass Bash I tried a Roscoe Beck 5, which has dual-Jazz pickups with the outer coils in the exact same place as a '60s J-Bass, and has single/series/parallel switching for each pickup, plus a 3-way pickup switch, passive volume and tone and a pull switch on the tone knob that pads back the neck pickup for that classic J-bass growl which would otherwise require dual volumes or a pan pot. Brilliant, just brilliant! If you can't get the sound you want out of that bass then consider quitting! Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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