Dimarzio Model J PIckups set

I had a set in my fretless J bass. These pickups have bumped-up lower midrange and subdued highs making them somewhat dark and "beefy" sounding. Probably great for a meat & potatoes sound on a fretted instrument but I found the neck PU to be too dark for good fretless usage. The fretless really benefits from clarity in the upper midrange region which this neck pickup suppresses. The bridge PU works well though, because of the naturally sound of the bass at that position is less lows and more mids & highs.

Build quality is great on these. I loved the adjustable pole pieces. The pickups were very quiet and gave good output levels. They are a bit tall so fitting them into the standard depth pickup route might be tricky. My routes were 3/4" deep (iirc) and they just fit with only a minimal amount of foam under them.

I eventually swapped Area Js into my fretless and it sounded better.

If you are looking for a traditional J sound, don't look here. These pickups are thicker sounding, but no less expressive (to me a good thing). I've used the bridge pickup forever in a variety of P deluxe type basses, and as in the title, it works really well for that, particularly as it is more powerful than the traditional single coil (balances better). Only recently did I install a full set into a fretless J and was impressed with how heavy the neck pickup sounds by itself. Allows the full Jamerson grind if you lay into it, yet it can blend to add just a little bottom to the bridge p'up for a thickened type of mwah.

Dimarzio Model Js are my favorite aftermarket J pickup. They have a flexible tone profile and offer good midrange response. They are definitely not a scooped-mid pickup. Good overall output is welcome, as is the affordable price. My only disappointment with these pickups is that they are not available for 5-string bass.