Jazz Bass V options

Two hands31 · #1 07-07-2004, 08:41 PM

I have a question regarding my Fender Jazz Bass V 5-string. Are there any companies that make direct replacement pickups (i.e. wouldn't require routing) for 5-string Jazz basses? What kind of pickups would you recommend? Are there any humbucking-type bridge jazz bass pickups made for 5-strings that'd give me a sound closer to an Ernie Ball bass if I wanted it, but that are the standard jazz bass pickup size?

The sounds I'm looking for is everything from Dirk Lance and Ben Kenney from Incubus, to Mark Hoppus of Blink-182, to Justin Chancellor of Tool, to Danny Lohner of NIN/The Damning Well, to Bruce Gordon from I Mother Earth, to *whatever his name is right now* from Mudvayne, etc. Basically everything from Warwick, to Fender P and J-basses, EBMM Stingray, to whatever the guy from Tool uses.

I think what I'm looking for is a neck pickup that can sound like a great J-bass pickup or a great P-bass pickup, and a bridge pickup that can sound like a great J-bass pickup, or an EBMM humbucking-type pickup.

Am I screwed?

Petie · #2 07-08-2004, 01:51 AM

Trade it in and get the Jazz Bass Active V instead, if that's not what you already have. I put my brother's new one through its paces the other day, and it can go from Tool to Billy Sheehan to Geddy Lee to Geezer Butler to Sting with a few knob-twiddles. And the size and shape of the next were especially good for over-the-top-of-the-neck left hand techniques. Hehee.

Two hands31 · #3 07-08-2004, 03:21 AM

Nope, I don't have the Active, I have the Standard (Made In Mexico), which would be far from an even trade, and I'd have to order one in too.

Petie · #4 07-09-2004, 02:27 AM

My brother's one is Mexican. What happened is Fender upgraded the electronics of their American-made active Jazz basses but they still had heaps and heaps of pickup/preamp rigs already made up, so they shipped them down to Mexico. So the Mexican active jazz bass has USA guts. They're really quite special and won't be around for much longer once the guts runs out.

Petie · #5 07-09-2004, 02:36 AM

Seymour Duncan have a bunch of active and passive Jazz Bass pickups that might meet your needs. But maybe all you need is a SansAmp bass preamp.