Ideas For Passive Jazz Bass Pickups

[Matt R.]

Wanted to get some ideas and thoughts on PASSIVE jazz pickups for a build I'm working on. What are you guys using and really digging? Also, I'd entertain offers if anyone has any in great condition for sale. Thanks!

[belinmad]

Fralins. Have them on both my jazz's now, love them

[Jeroen]

Over here people seem to be digging Wizard pickups. They're a small English company. Their Sixty-Fours and Eighty-Fours are very popular models. A lot of people on the basschat.co.uk forum are using them and raving about them.

[Matt R.]

Hm, will check Wizard out. Never heard of them.

[Frenchy-Lefty]

I tried a huge amount of jazz pickups before settling for the Frailins. They work well with a pick and the neck pickup too since it seems you play a lot of rock stuff. They retain a good amount of lows but sound like a vintage Jazz Bass. I have never tried the Aguilar 60's but they seem very good too from the discussions on TB. Or you can try the Fender Custom shop 60's since it is what the new US Jazz bass comes with. They have a nice crunch. I thought the neck pickup was a little thin though. IMO pickups with a lower output level have a better tone (such as Fender Original 60's) but often require to be paired with a preamp or you don't get enough lows.

[danomite64]

I tried a huge amount of jazz pickups before settling for the Frailins. They work well with a pick and the neck pickup too since it seems you play a lot of rock stuff. They retain a good amount of lows but sound like a vintage Jazz Bass. I have never tried the Aguilar 60's but they seem very good too from the discussions on TB. Or you can try the Fender Custom shop 60's since it is what the new US Jazz bass comes with. They have a nice crunch. I thought the neck pickup was a little thin though. IMO pickups with a lower output level have a better tone (such as Fender Original 60's) but often require to be paired with a preamp or you don't get enough lows.

I have a set of these on ebay right now; you can have them for $50 if you want them. Me, I'm into the Duncan QP's.

[Matt R.]

Do the CS 60s have the raised pole pieces?

[Addison]

The Fender pickups I had didn't have raised pole pieces.

Another flavor you might consider are the Duncan Antiquity series... I think they're really underrated.

Antiquity I pickups are more like traditional late 50's/early 60's wound, and the Antiquity II Jazz pickups are supposed to emulate the custom shop pickups that he wound for Jaco.

I've tried both styles in P and J configuration... the Antiquity I's seem to be a really balanced and solid representation of that tone you hear in your head... a lot like Lollars and Fralins, I suppose. The II's seem to be a hot-rodded version of the same pickup... they're hotter and more open in the high end, with a really punchy low-mid voice.

Seymour himself inspects, tests, and signs every pickup.

I would also say that Seymour Duncan has AMAZING customer service... and they offer a 15 day trial on all of their pickups. So, if you get something you're not thrilled about, you can call them and they'll exchange them with any other set you want, even after they've been installed.

[Matt R.]

Yeah Chris I'm considering Antiquity IIs. I have a set in my Jaco fretless and love them. I'm pretty much a fan of most things Seymour Duncan.

[bigevilrobot]

I run the IIs in my main Jazz bass and I love them. Great for pick tone, lots of punch and clarity. Solid finger sound, but can get a little too murky sounding if you're really digging in near the neck pickup.
They definitely sound more "rock voiced" than a lot of vintage styled pickups.

[Malfunct8]

+1 on the Antiquitys. I have 2's in my P bass and 1's in my Jazz.
They just sound right

[Matt R.]

Yeah Antiquities are really really nice. It's going to be between them and a set of over wound Fralins I've decided.

[Frenchy-Lefty]

Matt if you get the Frailins, don't get them overwound. Their output is at 9.5 ohms which is already pretty high. For refernce the Fender CS60's are around 7.5 ohms.You will lose in clarity.

[bajito]

Hepcat, an amazing craftman from Paris. All my basses are mounted with this stuff. Artisanal conception, with great respect to original specs. Also, customization is welcome.

[slybass3000]

Also I like my Jazz pu to be free of noise for more tonal possibilities.

Fralin and Seymour Duncan are making stack-coils or split-coils. I would go with something like that. There is also Villex PU with its passive mid-boost worth considering.

[Frenchy-Lefty]

If you spend several hours reading the sticky Jazz Bass thread on TB, and you might have done that already, you can learn a lot from it but... you'll end up pretty confused. It is a mix of great knowledge and uneducated interjections.
IMO The type of pickups you need depends of the type of music you play truly and the tonal characteristics of you Jazz Bass. Personally I love the crunchy/upper-mid of vintage pickups (usually with less wire) such as SD Antiquity I. They have less lows than Antiquity II but if you play in a blues/rock type of setting I think they will be more aggressive and won't get lost in the mix. They would fit particularly well a bass that has naturally a good amount of low-end when played unplugged especially if it has an ash body (which often has more lows than alder). If you use an Ampeg-style tube amp it is perfect. Think Geddy Lee type of bass sound (I like his tone although I am not a Rush fan). IMO the Antiquity II's are better for slapping and the R'n'B stuff but are darker sounding and more polite sounding than the I's.
I read at several occasion than Antiquity pickups are inconsistent. Seymour Duncan says it is in accordance with the Fender
way of making pickups during the 60's...

[Matt R.]

Well, today I went ahead and got a set of Fralins. I didn't go with the overwound ones. I ordered a set of vintage spec ones. I'll let you all know how it goes once I get this beast all together. It'll be a little while down the road, probably late next month. Thanks for all the input!

[KingOfAmps]

...I ordered a set of vintage spec ones. I'll let you all know how it goes once I get this beast all together. It'll be a little while down the road, probably late next month....

So far so good on the Fralins?

[Matt R.]

I'll let you know ASAP. As a matter of fact, my Warmoth neck & body came in today, so I'll have this thing together hopefully sometime next week.

[Frenchy-Lefty]

Matt,

Are you building a Warmoth Jazz Bass? I am actually contemplating ordering an ash body with pickups in the 70's position and a rosewood neck with block inlays to build a 70's jazz. What did you order? Also let me know how satisfied you are.