Best pick ups for rock in a jazz bass

[Randall jamison]

I have a nice jazz bass.  It just doesn't have the right sound for the type of music I play. I play mostly rock music.  Does anyone have any suggestions for a great set of pickups that might give me the right sound,?

[cetera]

EMG JJ set or try to get 2 EMG GZR J pickups from EMG

[Jonesy]

I think if we knew the answers to the following then we might be able to get you some more meaningful suggestions..........What have you got at the mo (complete signal chain) and what's wrong with them, what are they missing from the tone you want? Aaaand, what is the tone you want?

 

The answer might be more to do with some EQ options or a pedal rather than picking up new pups. However, not too long ago I replaced the pups in my Jazz and looked at a few, spending countless hours on YouTube to try and get a gauge of the choices out there. My favourites were......

 

- DiMarzio Model J. Hum cancelling, ceramic humbuckers. These sounded really beefy, but not quite like a trad Jazz.

- Fender Pure Vintage 74. These are one of the most middy J pups around, so will cut through and add some horrible aggression to your tone. Love em! 

 

I went for the 74s and couldn't be happier with them. You could also talk to ki0gon on here and get one of his looms (maybe even look at that first as it'd be a cheaper option), I added one of those with a tone bypass (for more agg!) and also a series/parallel push pull. That really adds more beef to the tone and my J is now a monster!

 

 

[Lozz196]

The 74s are really nice, I put a set into a Squier VM77 Jazz and they really improved it. My faves tho are the CS62s, they have a nice amount of bulk to the sound.

[Rich]

The first ones that sprang to mind were Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders. 

[Randall jamison]

I have stock pickups now. When playing the higher stuff it sounds great. I would like to keep that. With that being said when I am ride on the low E it just doesn't have the beef behind it like some of my guitars in the past.

[gjones]

9 minutes ago, Randall jamison said:

I have stock pickups now. When playing the higher stuff it sounds great. I would like to keep that. With that being said when I am ride on the low E it just doesn't have the beef behind it like some of my guitars in the past.

If you want a beefier sound, I recommend raising the neck pickup and lowering the bridge pickup and see if that makes a difference.

[paul_5]

I’d just wire them in series instead of parallel - like a Jazz bass on steroids.

[Count Bassy]

Whatever you fit it will still sound like a bass guitar to the audience.😊

[Boodang]

2 hours ago, paul_5 said:

I’d just wire them in series instead of parallel - like a Jazz bass on steroids.

I heartily concur with this. I installed a Starr Guitars dual volume/tone preamp on my jazz with a serial/parallel switch. All the tones you expect in parallel and in series mode a giant humbucker with loads of balls.

[bassbiscuits]

I had a set of Aguilar Hot J pickups in a USA jazz some years ago. Was the best bass sound I’ve ever had. 

[BassBod]

I’d suggest the DiMarzio Model J’s.  For me, the sound of the 70’s….darker and thicker, but still with the Jazz growl 😎

[FDC484950]

May I humbly suggest that unless your bass is faulty then there’s possibly nothing wrong with it? A Jazz has been used in rock (and many other genres) successfully for decades with the stock (and more often than not very basic) pickups. Which model of Jazz do you have? If it’s not a really cheap budget model with noticeably awful pickups, swapping them out for another set (plenty mentioned above already) is unlikely to magically fix whatever it is you’re not hearing. Everybody’s experience is of course different but I’ve never swapped out pickups and liked the change or noticed much of a difference. The strings, setup, pedals/effects, amp and room(s) you’re playing in make a massive difference.

[Doctor J]

How is your amp EQ'd? Are you using both pickups together or just one? If one, which one? I've used various J basses for rock over the last 30+ years and never had an issue. If you've scooped the bejesus out of the mid frequencies, on what is already a design which naturally isn't mid-biased, then it's easy to be in the position you're in.

[JohnDaBass]

On 10/10/2022 at 13:34, Lozz196 said:

The 74s are really nice, I put a set into a Squier VM77 Jazz and they really improved it. My faves tho are the CS62s, they have a nice amount of bulk to the sound.

Yup Fender CS62s are outstanding. Add a passive loom with V T and 4xswitch (neck-parallel-series-bridge) round wound strings and Rock On.

[Cat Burrito]

I have always struggled with Jazz basses so will be watching this thread like a hawk. Mine sounds weedy and I have had non players say it didn't sound so good. It's fine in a 4 piece but there's zero bottom end. I got rid of a Jazz bass in the 90s because of the pickups and this one looks great, sounds good on it's own and is rubbish in a 3 piece. I see and hear loads of other bassists using Jazzes to great effect so so wonder if I have just had a couple of duds. All my other basses sound amazing so I don't think it's me. I've tried flatwound / roundwound and picks / fingers. Good point with the EQ but I can plug into any rig and sound good - my money is on the pickups. 

[Cuzzie]

If you want beefy jazz pick ups look at Haüssel pick ups

 

You want active ones Seymour Duncan AJJ 

 

also consider speaking to Creamery pick ups in Manchester - the 58 P I have from him is probably one of the best I have ever heard/had.

 

Failing a change - a good preamp and or Amp EQ fiddle should get you there

[Jonesy]

1 hour ago, Cat Burrito said:

I have always struggled with Jazz basses so will be watching this thread like a hawk. Mine sounds weedy and I have had non players say it didn't sound so good. It's fine in a 4 piece but there's zero bottom end. I got rid of a Jazz bass in the 90s because of the pickups and this one looks great, sounds good on it's own and is rubbish in a 3 piece. I see and hear loads of other bassists using Jazzes to great effect so so wonder if I have just had a couple of duds. All my other basses sound amazing so I don't think it's me. I've tried flatwound / roundwound and picks / fingers. Good point with the EQ but I can plug into any rig and sound good - my money is on the pickups. 

 

I had the exact same problem when I first picked up a J. It took me ages and lots of playing around with pickup height, blend an EQ'ing before I got to a place where I was happy with the tone. My J is a G&L Tribute JB and I eventually upgraded the pups and loom and am now even happier with it. It sounds like a series parallel switch could be what you're after, it does change the tone of a J completely so it's almost like not having a J at all, but I like using it in certain songs where I want more bottom end. 
 

 

 

[BassBod]

The main thing with J’s is the “hollow” effect when you have both pickups mixed equally…there are designed to work as a combined humbucker, but you also get some effects on the combined frequency response.  Pickups are mainly science, but there’s a big lump of weird artistry in there too. 

If you love the bridge pickup solo, then bump up the gain and add some extra low to fill it out.  If you need to sound bigger use the neck solo, bump the upper mids to get clarity and edge.  The combined sound is more easily lost in a band setting, but if that’s your thing you’ll have to work out ways to make it stand up.  Also worth recording your bass against a test track and see what effect different eq’s have…that can really help to show the effects. 

[BassBod]

4 minutes ago, Jonesy said:

 

I had the exact same problem when I first picked up a J. It took me ages and lots of playing around with pickup height, blend an EQ'ing before I got to a place where I was happy with the tone. My J is a G&L Tribute JB and I eventually upgraded the pups and loom and am now even happier with it. It sounds like a series parallel switch could be what you're after, it does change the tone of a J completely so it's almost like not having a J at all, but I like using it in certain songs where I want more bottom end. 
 

 

 

That sounds wonderful 😎

[Lozz196]

I’ve found that having the neck pickup on full, bridge pickup on  about 25% and tone on about 75% gets me a good almost Precision type sound that works really well for classic rock on my Jazz. This setup both reducing highs and adding mids As said earlier the CS62 pickups also help nicely on this as they’re quite full sounding.

[lonestar]

12 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

I’ve found that having the neck pickup on full, bridge pickup on  about 25% and tone on about 75% gets me a good almost Precision type sound that works really well for classic rock on my Jazz. This setup both reducing highs and adding mids As said earlier the CS62 pickups also help nicely on this as they’re quite full sounding.

This works for me. Stock USA pickups, I tend to use  100% neck 75% bridge, tone in the middle. I have a jazz with the S1 switch. Switching to series really does beef up the sound and output 

[dclaassen]

Interesting about the series switch...might have to try that. 

 

I have played in rock bands with 2 different J basses. The first was a '68 (sigh) that I set up with both pickups full on and the tone in the middle. It went though a Music Man head and a Bullfrog 18. No problems with bass response. 

 

Now, I have a Korean Jazz 24. It's active, so bass is not a problem. I still keep the pickups mostly 50/50. Maybe it's personal preference, but I think a Jazz sounds better with lighter strings. 

[bagsieblue]

Toneriders.. Won't break the bank either. 

[2elliot]

On 10/10/2022 at 09:29, cetera said:

EMG JJ set or try to get 2 EMG GZR J pickups from EMG

EMG JJ! I was watching an alt rock band a couple of weeks back and the bass player had recently dropped a set of these in his jazz... it sounded great, I did say to him at the time that the sound reminded me of my old Spector, also loaded with EMG pickups... and as everyone knows, Spector are the sound of rock 😄