JM pup in a PS Bass VI?

[Sauerkraut]

I have a Pawn Shop Bass VI that I'm quite happy with, except I really don't care for the sound of the humbucker in the bridge. As it's already sat under a Jazzmaster pickup cover, I thought.. why not just replace it with a regular JM pickup? Does anyone here have experience with JM pickups in a Bass VI? Does it sound good?

[oid]

I had bass VI strings on my Jazz Master for about a year, the sound was fantastic, especially when driving the amp hard. I would still have it that way if the string spacing was not so tight.

[Drewbertca]

Swapped my pickups out in my PSVI. I went with Rose Pickups. More Vintage Spec - A little overwound but not too much. Nice change.

[Sauerkraut]

I think I'll give it a shot then. There's a pickup builder in Croatia who makes handwound pickups for 35-40 euros, so it's not that big an investment. I'll ask him for a slightly hotter/overwound one (I suspect that might sound better with bass strings(?)). Anyways, I can always sell it again if I end up not liking it.

thanks for the encouragement!

[oid]

I would skip the overwind, the bass strings offer a great deal more mass and will have more output then the guitar strings they were designed for. When my Jazz Master had the bass strings it was quite hot, had to roll the volume back a fair amount to keep the headroom where I like it.

Not that the overwind would be bad, just keep in mind that you are already going to have hotter output then a Jazz Master.

[Embenny]

Yeah, and keep in mind that overwinding emphasizes the mids. I don't know how you use your VI, but I'm always trying to keep the mids on mine tamed enough to get the clarity I want on polyphonic passages.

[Drewbertca]

I said mine was only slightly overwound. I think I went Alnico 2 as well...It's better than the stock JZHB.

[Sauerkraut]

Aah.. I don't really understand pickups that well, so I just made some ill-informed assumptions. Thanks for correcting me there

[Sauerkraut]

A new issue cropped up.. do they wind the middle pickup in these RWRP or the neck and bridge pickups? The pickup builder I contacted is wondering about the winding direction and polarity required.

[Drewbertca]

I had my middle pickup wound RWRP and the bridge and neck the same way.

[Sauerkraut]

Yeah, that seems the most likely, though I'm not sure with the humbucker they did the same. Anyway, the internet suggests the difference would basically not be noticeable, so I'll just play it safe and go for the normal.

[Drewbertca]

Yeah, that seems the most likely, though I'm not sure with the humbucker they did the same. Anyway, the internet suggests the difference would basically not be noticeable, so I'll just play it safe and go for the normal.

I'd honestly look at replacing all 3 pickups as they are all overwound. Just my 2 cents.....I only say this as there could be balance issues...

[Sauerkraut]

Hm... that's a good point, but I'm still deciding whether to keep the guitar in the long run or not, as I've only had it for a week now. When I switch to the humbucker now there's a clear drop in volume. I think I'll ask the pickup builder to overwind it slightly and see how it sounds, I think it's bound to be better balanced than the stock situation (I never actually heard a worse balanced set of pickups). When I'm sure the guitar's a keeper I can always order two slightly overwound Jag pickups from the same builder to match the JM pup. Maybe I'll ask him to measure the DC resistance so I can remind him what he built before he makes the Jag pups

[oid]

I would expect the JM to louder then the Jags, perhaps quieter then the HB that was there. I think they should be close enough in volume that you can balance them well enough with adjusting the pickup heights. But I have never done a direct comparison between JM and Jag pickups and my knowledge of the innards of the Jags is limited.

[Sauerkraut]

That's the weird thing: The humbucker is extremely quiet. Maybe that's because of the way they wired these guitars? (as in: without giving it much thought, in true "Fender Pawn Shop" fashion)