P/J-Pickup for that "woody" fretless sound?

[SixTh]

Hi all,

I'm looking into changing out the stock pickups in my fretless bass to lose the hum of my single Jazz bridge-pickup and get a bit better sound out of it. I really fell in love with this kind of sound: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/0m4RBR59-3k

Now, I know the guy likely uses active ASB-6s with a preamp and I want to stay passive. However, I can't figure out what pickup would come close to this or even how to describe that sound. Is it vintage? Modern? Jazz-like?

I'm considering getting either the Classic or Hot Jazz Stacks. Which one would you imagine could get me closest?

Kind regards!

 

[ICTGoober]

My guess as a former fretless bassist, is it doesn't matter what pickups as long as they are quiet and you have good gear. But if I had to choose, I'd go with Classic Stacks.

And that guy is good. I wasn't bad on a 4 string Jazz, but 6? No thank you.

 

[Mincer]

To me, that sound is more J than P, and I'd use the Apollos. While the sound in the video is very modern, the woodiness is typical of traditional fretless basses, although it sounds like roundwound strings.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

DiMarzio Model J. I put a set in my fretless Warwick, and they compliment every quality of a fretless. My bass has two J pickups, and the neck is very P like soloed. I can’t comment on the Model P, though.

 

[SixTh]

Thank you all so much for the quick replies!

Three people, three different answers. Out of two possibilities, heh..

My guess as a former fretless bassist, is it doesn't matter what pickups as long as they are quiet and you have good gear. But if I had to choose, I'd go with Classic Stacks.

And that guy is good. I wasn't bad on a 4 string Jazz, but 6? No thank you.

"Quiet" sounds a bit more like Classic, yes. They have a little less resistance.. I thought about the importance of that, too. However, I don't know how much that difference really is.

Yes, he's a great player, also on stage. I'm nowhere as good either, but you just have to start somewhere.

To me, that sound is more J than P, and I'd use the Apollos. While the sound in the video is very modern, the woodiness is typical of traditional fretless basses, although it sounds like roundwound strings.

As far as I know, he uses roundwound Elixirs, I don't know about that particular audio, but you may be correct.

I've looked at the Apollo, but they have no sound samples at all and I couldn't make anything of the description. Also, that model is pretty hard to find over here..

DiMarzio Model J. I put a set in my fretless Warwick, and they compliment every quality of a fretless. My bass has two J pickups, and the neck is very P like soloed. I can’t comment on the Model P, though.

Recommending a DiMarzio pickup on an SD forum? How rebellious.

I saw the DiMarzios while shopping around, but the reviews seemed a bit unimpressed. I also had the impression that the neck pickup was received better than the bridge pickup, which is unfortunate, since I really only need a new bridge-pu. How do you feel about the bridge version?

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Recommending a DiMarzio pickup on an SD forum? How rebellious.

I saw the DiMarzios while shopping around, but the reviews seemed a bit unimpressed. I also had the impression that the neck pickup was received better than the bridge pickup, which is unfortunate, since I really only need a new bridge-pu. How do you feel about the bridge version?

If you check out TalkBass, you’ll see a lot of love for the DiMarzio Model series. Maybe it’s a little on the dark side for a J bridge pickup, but for a fretless with rounds, I like that. I typically don’t play on either pickup by itself, but rather with the blend in the middle or a little in either direction.

That said, it was the first set of pickups I tried (aside from the stock MEC) in that bass, and I’ve never had a desire to change them.

 

[alex1fly]

Thank you all so much for the quick replies!

Three people, three different answers. Out of two possibilities, heh..



"Quiet" sounds a bit more like Classic, yes. They have a little less resistance.. I thought about the importance of that, too. However, I don't know how much that difference really is.

Yes, he's a great player, also on stage. I'm nowhere as good either, but you just have to start somewhere.




As far as I know, he uses roundwound Elixirs, I don't know about that particular audio, but you may be correct.

I've looked at the Apollo, but they have no sound samples at all and I couldn't make anything of the description. Also, that model is pretty hard to find over here..




Recommending a DiMarzio pickup on an SD forum? How rebellious.

I saw the DiMarzios while shopping around, but the reviews seemed a bit unimpressed. I also had the impression that the neck pickup was received better than the bridge pickup, which is unfortunate, since I really only need a new bridge-pu. How do you feel about the bridge version?

Don't sweat reviews too much. The Dimarzio is a great pickup.

For getting that fretless sound you posted with a PJ, I recommend playing with that EQ. Having multiple mid bands will help a ton since your P pickup is beefier in the mids than a J neck pickup would be. And in my experience, you do want to run both pickups for the fretless sound. You want to do some mid level reduction, and it helps to have more choices than a single "all mids" band. Any extra EQ control you can get would really elevate your fretless tone: https://www.musiciansfriend.com/ampl...8aAjqmEALw_wcB

If you don't have extra EQ, boost your mids and cut your lows and find the sweet spot to pluck.

Talkbass.com is a great resource with many more active bassists than the SD forum.

 

[Mincer]

The Apollo sounds like a great vintage Jazz pickup, but with no noise. It uses side-by-side coils that cancel the hum.

 

[Benjy_26]

I use Aeros in my fretless jazz with DR Sunbeams and get a clean, clear, woody tone out of them. The output is sort of low and they still hum (real singles), but they sound GREAT.

FWIW, I think strings make a huge difference on fretless basses. If you're using flats now and chasing that tone, you may want to switch over to rounds first and see how close you get with that change alone.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

FWIW, I think strings make a huge difference on fretless basses. If you're using flats now and chasing that tone, you may want to switch over to rounds first and see how close you get with that change alone.

Agreed, and I’ll say strings on a bass are more important than pickups. I tried Chromes on my fretless, hated them. Tried some Tapes on my fretted single humbucker bass, and it’s glorious.