Hi folks,
I noticed that the topics in this section were all about guitar pickups and none about a bass pickup. So please let me be the first to change that
While I played guitar for most of the time I actually started out on bass (because there were enough guitar players in the first band already). Since then I only played bass on one gig where the bass player could not attend. A few months ago I picked the bass up again. My four string bass is a partscaster with a precision ash body (maker unknown), a Jazz bass neck from Allparts, a solid brass bridge (maker unknown) and PJ routes. The bass is acoustically on the bright side and originally came with a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound P and a Hot Jazz. Both sounded OK but the Hot Jazz hummed which is a no go in my instrument world. Controls are VVT (initially all 250k log but I replaced the volume for the P with a 500k linear later) with a 0.027uf tone cap.
Enter the Ultra Jazz bridge. Here is what DiMarzio says about it:
"The hum-cancelling Ultra Jazz™ takes a traditional Fender® Jazz Bass® sound and really opens it up. Lows are deeper, highs are more percussive, and the mid-range is round but not muddy. Harmonic overtones jump off the strings. It’s also quick; with instant response to either fingers or pick-style playing."
After having the pickup in the bass for about a month now I have to agree to this description. It sounds much clearer and brighter than the Hot Jazz it replaced. No hum whatsoever. The big surprise was how responsive this pickup is to EQ adjustments on the amp - turn up the mids and it gets honky, turn up bass and turn down mids and treble, and you get a solid low end whereas the Hot Jazz seemed to be honky no matter where the EQ was set. It also sounds very good together with the P. Since the QP sounded quite boomy and dull next to it, I replaced that pickup as well (the new pickup is a Delano PMVC FE4/M2 which sounds a lot more open than the QP).
I still have to adjust the EQ on the amp when changing from the P or both to the J but it is manageable by adjusting the bass control - up for the J, down for the others. Mids and treble can stay the same.
Conclusion: the Ultra Jazz is a great pickup and a lot of fun to play.
Cheers Stephan
