Hi, guys - I have a lovely old Tokai JB from about 1983 which has an amazing unplugged tone, but the pickups seem weak and are I suspect the instrument's Achilles heel. I'd like to put in some pickups that really do the thing justice but am not very conversant with bass pickups on the whole; I want to stay with passives, so what would people recommend (bearing in mind that I'm on pennies above minimum wage, so the sort of hand-wound-by-elves-on-the-slopes-of-Mount-Fuji-on-the-Spring-equinox ultra boutique stuff won't be affordable for me) as pickups to get the most out of a Jazz Bass?
Comments
Don't be afraid to try active pickups and/or control electronics. Duncan Lightnin' Rods sound and feel pretty darned close to passives.
I am especially fond of the long-discontinued Duncan Active EQ series pickups - the ones with the little DIP switches.
Think they cost me about £100 second hand.
Bobby Vega can’t be wrong!
https://soundcertified.com/speaker-ohms-calculator/
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Rob
https://cziltangbrone.bandcamp.com/album/null-hypothesis-5-ep
https://cziltangbrone.bandcamp.com/album/machine-space-2
https://cziltangbrone.bandcamp.com/album/null-hypothesis-5-ep
https://cziltangbrone.bandcamp.com/album/machine-space-2
https://www.eternal-guitars.com/product-page/jb-64-jazz-bass-pickup
PA Hire and Event Management
https://www.mojopickups.co.uk/product/the-bones-jazzbass/
https://cziltangbrone.bandcamp.com/album/null-hypothesis-5-ep
https://cziltangbrone.bandcamp.com/album/machine-space-2
I've got a push/ pull pot fitted to switch between parallel and series, so lots of different tonal options.