OT - New PU's for My J Bass

edski · Post by **edski** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 1:57 am

I had decided to finally get some humbuckers for my J. Been wanting to use it more, incorporate some more fretless work, but last time I played it my plucking fingers were sore. That's not supposed to happen with flats...

I realized it was a question of guitar signal output...the J with it's ******* MIJ pickups can't compete with the Laredo, thus I pulled harder on the strings to compensate. Lucky I didn't break on those rigging cables I call strings!

So I looked around, and as near as I can tell the Seymour Duncan line was the best hot PU that was direct replacement. Was getting ready to start saving up a little cash to defray the cost (expecting about $150 to get the two, they list at $100 each according to SD), but I check e-Bay...

Well, well. A set was up for auction. Reserve not met - the current bid was $20. So I say "what the heck, bid". I bid $50...reserve met!

But there are three days plus left. I decided that I'd watch it and maybe go up to $80 or 90...

Well, no else bid, so I get the pair for a total of $58 with shipping. Not sure if they were ever used much, if at all. The guy selling them said a friend had them in his studio, gave them to the seller to put in a **** bass he had. He never used them, ended up buying a P bass, so the PU's just sat around.

I'm pretty psyched, even if it's not a Rickenbacker "high"...finally getting a good deal from e-Bay is cool in its own right!

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 2:46 am

That's a great deal! They should be pretty hot. Let everyone know how they sound. I've got SD's in a 4001 & they don't sound too bad, but I had nothing to compare to: the original pups were gone/dead. I think now I'd have been better off with RIC pups: after bypassing the cap on the 4080 it sounds awesome! Best bass I've ever heard!

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 6:27 am

The first thing I do when I get a Fender bass is replace the pickups and bridge ... For a jazz bass try the Seymour Duncan 1/4 pound jazz pickups ... for a p-bass try the 1/4 pounders as well ... I like most Seymour Duncan pickups ... but not their Ric replacement pickups ...

bobcat · Post by **bobcat** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 7:49 am

I actually really like Bartolini Jazz pickups. They sound so awesome. I don't believe I've ever heard what ANY Seymour Duncan pickup sounds like other than the MM-style one.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 8:21 am

Seymour Duncan makes a whole series of pickups for guitars and basses ...

edski · Post by **edski** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 3:36 am

Here's the Basslines series (SD's Bass PU's)

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/basses.shtml

I wanted HOT and humbucking, otherwise the QP's look nice. But I knew that alone would not get the buzz out of the J.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 8:41 am

I have tried 5 or 6 different SD jazz pickups ... the 2 I prefer are the vintage and the 1/4 pounders ...

edski · Post by **edski** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:37 am

Jeff ever try the STK-J2's?

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:57 am

yep ... I had one ... I recently dismantled it for parts to be used in another pickup ... the vintage, 1/4 pound and hot single coil all sound better ...

alanz · Post by **alanz** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 11:00 am

I've got Barts in my Jazz and they sound great - even the recording studio guy was complimentary.

edski · Post by **edski** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 8:53 am

OK, I need some advice:

I just got the new PU's. I looked up the wiring (from Fender, for "Standard Fretless Jazz Bass"), and of course what's in my bass didn't even come close to what I saw on line.

Here's what I have:

Each PU has some sort of a grounding plate/pad with a black wire coming off of it. The PU's have a black and white wire; the white wires from each PU connect to the 2nd pin of the respective volume pots; all 4 black wires connect to the body of the bridge PU pot. The grounding pad on the bridge PU has the brass wire connecting to the bridge

Here's what I expected:

Each PU has a black and yellow wire; the blacks connect to the bodies of the respective volume pots, the yellows to the middle pin of the respective pots. There was an additonal ground wire from the bridge to the tone pot body

Here's what I think I should do:

The yellow wire obviously replaces the white; I'm unsure what to do with the black wires from the PU's. That is, should the black of the neck PU go to the body of the Neck Volume pot? Also, I'm guessing I should keep the grounding pads...but where should they be connected to? According to the wiring diagram I saw I would guess both grounding pads could connect to the tone pot...

I could also just go by what's there now: put all 4 black wires to the bridge volume pot body.

Some of you have wired J Basses and/or modded 4004's for VVT. Any advice would be appreciated.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 10:04 am

this might help

edski · Post by **edski** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 10:36 am

Well, I figured the wiring out...but the things don't fit! Grrrrrr...

Now I have to have about a millimeter on each side routed. What a PITA.