# Best Jazz bass pickups for metal?



## MrSleepwalker

What is the best replacement for stock Fender American JB pickups?
I want to get a "humbucker-style-sound". I really dig the sound of EBMM Stingray, but I prefer convenience and appearance of Jazz Bass.

Any ideas?


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## iron blast

I'm a big fan of the Bartolinis


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## MaxOfMetal

I thought the pickups in my American JBass worked wonderfully. That being said, I did swap them out a few times. 

Bartolini 9J#1: Sounded a lot fuller, with tons of mids and bass. The treble was really smooth, but I had to raise the highs on my amp a bit to even things out. Absolutely silent, even with tons of gain and volume. I also tried these in a couple other bases and found they can be a little dark. 

Bartolini 9CBJD3: I only tried the bridge version, but I absolutely loved this pickup. Clear and clean as a bell with plenty of that "clang" you want in the highs and high mids for rock and metal bass. Not as deep sounding, or warm, but they cut like a knife. 

DiMarzio Ultra Jazz: Great all around pickup. The wide response gives off a hi-fi kinda tone, but it's not overly sterile like some pickups. I found these to sound like a supercharged version of the stock pickups. Clear, deep, reasonable mids, plenty of "ummf" when pushed through a gained up amp.


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## TemjinStrife

I really like the EMG J set for metal. Great clarity, bite, and punch, and with a good preamp you make it far more versatile than you will ever need. I have this set in my Lodestone with a 2-band pre and it sounds awesome.


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## Rusty-Quad

MrSleepwalker said:


> What is the best replacement for stock Fender American JB pickups?
> I want to get a "humbucker-style-sound". I really dig the sound of EBMM Stingray, but I prefer convenience and appearance of Jazz Bass.
> 
> Any ideas?



Easy...
dimarzio...model Js

Humbucking, thick and full with a slight touch of nasty.


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## erotophonophilia

TemjinStrife said:


> I really like the EMG J set for metal. Great clarity, bite, and punch, and with a good preamp you make it far more versatile than you will ever need. I have this set in my Lodestone with a 2-band pre and it sounds awesome.



+1. I've heard that EMG's where originally designed for jazz musicians.


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## MrSleepwalker

Is it possible to put EMGs into my passive JB? Just watched few videos on youtube, and can say that EMG JAs sound very bright and aggressive. Bartolini 9CBJDs are pretty awesome too.

Also what about Bare Knuckle pickups? I'm in love with their Aftermath pickups but never heard anything about bass ones.


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## TemjinStrife

MrSleepwalker said:


> Is it possible to put EMGs into my passive JB? Just watched few videos on youtube, and can say that EMG JAs sound very bright and aggressive. Bartolini 9CBJDs are pretty awesome too.
> 
> Also what about Bare Knuckle pickups? I'm in love with their Aftermath pickups but never heard anything about bass ones.



It'll work just fine. You will need to make sure you have a stereo jack and swap out the volume and tone pots for 25k ones, but you should have plenty of space to put a battery in the control cavity.


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## Espresto

I'd consider Delanos, they have a pretty large frequency range and a bigger aperture than most J pickups. They'd get a lot closer to the Stingray humbucker sound than any other pickup I can think of.

http://delano.de/

Look at the JMVC's


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## Dionysian

I second Delanos. They came stock in my Sandberg and it sounds immense. From what I can gather, they're designed to be as 'transparent' as possible - as in that they have an extremely wide spectrum and a very clear tone. But this would obviously also mean that their results vary greatly depending on your bass.

As for BKP's I've had the pleasure of borrowing a Warwick Streamer with a PJ set for a while. Body was all maple, I believe, and it sounded REALLY good. Extremely bright and cutting, but there was also a very present low-end.


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## KhzDonut

+1 for EMG's. I've got a J in the neck and TW in the bridge, which has both CS and JCS sounds, and they're both great.

Not a lot of experience outside of that, but the Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounds are another viable option for metal, though I tend to prefer EMG.


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## HaMMerHeD

MrSleepwalker said:


> Is it possible to put EMGs into my passive JB? Just watched few videos on youtube, and can say that EMG JAs sound very bright and aggressive. Bartolini 9CBJDs are pretty awesome too.
> 
> Also what about Bare Knuckle pickups? I'm in love with their Aftermath pickups but never heard anything about bass ones.



Yeah, no problem. EMG pup sets actually come with the pots, battery clip, and output jack...so it should be a pretty simple *solderless* installation.


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## CaptainLuckeyBeard

+1 on all the EMG love. I have the TW set in my bass and absolutely love it. Lately all it seems that everyone on here loves to rip em, but they're easily the most reliable pickups I've ever played. You can't go wrong with em. Definite props for the J+TW set combo, uber versatile \,,/


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## pushpull7

Just make sure you have enough room for the battery and you are golden with Emg's. Really easy swap imho.


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## TemjinStrife

chrisharbin said:


> Just make sure you have enough room for the battery and you are golden with Emg's. Really easy swap imho.



EMG generally includes the small-sized pots with their pickups. A battery should fit right in the control cavity.


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