Bass pickups
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Mandmeisterx
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Bass pickups
This is a subject that I find myself absolutely clueless on. I'm looking to replace the pickups in my Fender Aerodyne jazz bass. It has both a P and J pickup. I've been pretty pleased with the tone that I have, and I'm starting to get some buzzing and am looking to upgrade the stock pickups. Could anyone give me some advice on what to look for and what separates one set of pickups from another? Any help at all would be great. Thanks.
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lonewolf
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If those are single coils, you could try a cable that has the shield grounded on the amp side only. Proco makes a model called Lifelines. It reduces 60 cycle hum on single coil pickups. I have 3 of them that I have gigged with for 4 years and they're still going strong.
They use quad mic cable and connect 2 conductors to the sleeve & 2 conductors to the tip at both ends of the cable. The shield gets wired to ground only on the side that you plug into the amp. The noise picked up by the shield sinks to the amp's ground. This introduces less noise to the signal (hot) wires.
This is a common method for reducing noise when interconnecting small signals in electronic assemblies, like preamps.
Aside from that, I have heard a lot of good things about the Fender SCN pickups.
They use quad mic cable and connect 2 conductors to the sleeve & 2 conductors to the tip at both ends of the cable. The shield gets wired to ground only on the side that you plug into the amp. The noise picked up by the shield sinks to the amp's ground. This introduces less noise to the signal (hot) wires.
This is a common method for reducing noise when interconnecting small signals in electronic assemblies, like preamps.
Aside from that, I have heard a lot of good things about the Fender SCN pickups.
...Oh, the freedom of the day that yielded to no rule or time...
If it only buzzes with that Aerodyne bass and no other instruments thru your amp, the problem, like MeYatch said, is most likely the bass. Did it always buzz/hum or did it just start this recently? If it just started, look into a loose wire on the jack or a pot. If it always hummed or buzzed, look into shielding the cavities and double check to make sure everything is grounded and all solder joints are solid.
If it buzzes or hums with any guitar or bass plugged into your amp, like Lonewolf said, it is most likely the amp or cord. If it does it with other cords, check to make sure your amp's cord is making proper ground (or check to see if it has a ground lift switch).
Again, as MeYatch said, if you like your current tone, look into getting the hum fixed rather than buying new pickups.
If you're dead set on new pickups, Seymour Duncan's Bassline Quarter Pounders are a great replacement PJ pickup set. I'm also a big fan of active EMGs, but remember, they require a battery, so make sure you have room for a 9V in the control cavity. Lastly, Bartolini makes a very popular upgrade to stock PJ pickups.
There are dozens more manufacturers of direct replacement P and J pickups. If you're into doing some reading, look into Lindy Fralin, Nordstrand, Delano, Villex, and Dimarzio to name a few.
There are several models of Basslines (aside from the Quarter Pounders) but they are all generally a vintage style pickup, tone-wise, and will most likely have a beefier fatter tone. Bassline does have an active PJ pickup set similar to EMGs, so those too will require a battery. The active EMGs are generally a punchier brighter sounding pickup. And Bartolinis are a great all around pickup. They may not be as bright as EMGs or as fat sounding as Basslines, but they are very versatile.
Of course, there are dozens of other manufacturers of direct replacement P and J pickups. If you're into doing to reading/research, look into Dimarzio, Lindy Fralin, Nordstrand, Villex, and Delano to name a few.
Hope this helps!
If it buzzes or hums with any guitar or bass plugged into your amp, like Lonewolf said, it is most likely the amp or cord. If it does it with other cords, check to make sure your amp's cord is making proper ground (or check to see if it has a ground lift switch).
Again, as MeYatch said, if you like your current tone, look into getting the hum fixed rather than buying new pickups.
If you're dead set on new pickups, Seymour Duncan's Bassline Quarter Pounders are a great replacement PJ pickup set. I'm also a big fan of active EMGs, but remember, they require a battery, so make sure you have room for a 9V in the control cavity. Lastly, Bartolini makes a very popular upgrade to stock PJ pickups.
There are dozens more manufacturers of direct replacement P and J pickups. If you're into doing some reading, look into Lindy Fralin, Nordstrand, Delano, Villex, and Dimarzio to name a few.
There are several models of Basslines (aside from the Quarter Pounders) but they are all generally a vintage style pickup, tone-wise, and will most likely have a beefier fatter tone. Bassline does have an active PJ pickup set similar to EMGs, so those too will require a battery. The active EMGs are generally a punchier brighter sounding pickup. And Bartolinis are a great all around pickup. They may not be as bright as EMGs or as fat sounding as Basslines, but they are very versatile.
Of course, there are dozens of other manufacturers of direct replacement P and J pickups. If you're into doing to reading/research, look into Dimarzio, Lindy Fralin, Nordstrand, Villex, and Delano to name a few.
Hope this helps!
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All kinetic, no potential.
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All kinetic, no potential.
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switch to only the P pickup, and see if the hum stops, if it does, the hum is 60 cycle hum inherent in all single coil pickups. If you can't live with it, then look into a set of stacked or split humbucking pickups. Dizmarzio ultra jazz or model Js are pretty popular. There's a ton of choices.
Stand back, I like to rock out.
