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The DiMarzio Model J is flat-topped but has adjustable pole pieces. The DiMarzio Relentless pickups are not only made with a subtle radius that is close enough to make a positive difference in string balance, but they have adjustable pole pieces too. Lots of possibilities there. (I have no affiliation with DiMarzio and am not making a sales pitch.) I was going to buy a Relentless set for my Jazz Bass, but my supplier was out of them, so I bought the Sixties Jazz pickups. They are a similar pickup but without the adjustable pole pieces. As far as the Jazz Sixties pickups go, I'd grade them a B-/C+. Because of the built-in radius of the pickup, they have a decent string-to-string balance, but they're a little harsh in their highs, IMO. Why don't more manufacturers build their pickups with that top radius?
My guitar tech does that setup with every bass, and it’s really noticeable on the more curved fretboards like my jb2’s. The problem is the pickups are not radiused,and all the pole pieces are the same unadjustable height.
I know Demarzio makes radiused pickups that might fit, but the ones I’ve seen are very hot ouput. Not the classic J bass sound I prefer.
Edit -just saw jglunt’s post, yes, it was the Relentless pickups I had seen. Your description of the 60’s pickup sound doesn’t seem like it would be worth the expense or trouble to replace my stock pickups.
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Doing stuff like that is how I usually break things.
(Let’s just say I am not mechanically gifted
)
No, I don't recommend the Sixties Jazz pickups personally. However, I play through a preamp directly into a sound system. Through an.amp they might sound fine.
Just saw these are on Sweetwater's black Friday sale for 15% off. Thought it was worth mentioning for anyone who is interested.
I know we've all been waiting patiently for years for these to arrive, and now a sale! Obviously, these are not going to sound like your typical Jazz Bass. However, I'm curious how they'll be received even by those of us who love MFDs. After all, most of us want a Jazz Bass to look and sound like a Jazz Bass. This won't. And with the Lynx and the SB-2 ver. 1, G&L basically had a couple of souped up Jazz Basses with MFDs. One of those was discontinued and one was changed into a PJ, which doesn't have as strictly defined a sound or look. So whilst this bass is on sale, I need everybody to line up single file and buy one until they run out. Then play the heck out of it and write us an honest review right here on this channel. That is your assignment for today. I'd do it myself, but I'm even broker than usual. But being broke is no excuse for you. I'm using it myself, and I'm broke enough for everybody.
I already have one from the CS and it is hands down my favorite. As soon as SW shows one under 9lbs I will probably pounce on it .I know we've all been waiting patiently for years for these to arrive, and now a sale! Obviously, these are not going to sound like your typical Jazz Bass. However, I'm curious how they'll be received even by those of us who love MFDs. After all, most of us want a Jazz Bass to look and sound like a Jazz Bass. This won't. And with the Lynx and the SB-2 ver. 1, G&L basically had a couple of souped up Jazz Basses with MFDs. One of those was discontinued and one was changed into a PJ, which doesn't have as strictly defined a sound or look. So whilst this bass is on sale, I need everybody to line up single file and buy one until they run out. Then play the heck out of it and write us an honest review right here on this channel. That is your assignment for today. I'd do it myself, but I'm even broker than usual. But being broke is no excuse for you. I'm using it myself, and I'm broke enough for everybody.
Bass blowout sale at my house to follow soon after that 
( two or three JB4s and one SB2T )….. shameless teaser.If I end up keeping my JB2 (for sale here: https://www.talkbass.com/classifieds/g-l-jb2-jb-2-usa-quilt-maple-top-binding-1-5”.1629493/, asking price dropped by $600) it's gonna be to put MFDs in it. I like it and all, but I'm completely addicted to MFDs, now.
Someone in this thread actually owned a prototype of an G&L JB with MFDs. Apparrently they sounded great. Anyone know who this was?
Someone in this thread actually owned a prototype of an G&L JB with MFDs. Apparrently they sounded great. Anyone know who this was?
Maybe I'm the last one to the dance, but I finally got around to reading the email from G&L that I received a few days ago. In it, it says that ALL G&L Fullerton instruments are on sale for 15% off, including those new instruments sold at retail outlets.That means you can go to your favorite music store in town and get 15% off any new Fullerton-built bass (or guitar or kazoo or whatever). Of course, it also includes the instruments in the Clearance section of the G&L webstore. I've been so revved up about the G&L MFD JB (Wow, that bass has a lot of initials to live up to!) that I didn't realize I can buy an L-2000 or an LB-100 or any other G&L Fullerton-built bass and receive the same discount. Here's the line from the email in case you don't believe me. (I don't blame you. I am not very trustworthy, but don't tell anybody.) If you already knew this, please feel free to ignore this post and head to your nearest music store to check out their supply of G&Ls.
"Gear up for the season with 15% off G&L Made-In-Fullerton instruments, This Include all Fullerton Deluxe, Build to Order, and CLF Research lines! This offer is available at all participating United States dealers and also available on our G&L Webstore!"
"Gear up for the season with 15% off G&L Made-In-Fullerton instruments, This Include all Fullerton Deluxe, Build to Order, and CLF Research lines! This offer is available at all participating United States dealers and also available on our G&L Webstore!"
I'd probably be most tempted to use that on a BTO of some sort, but I've really been watching the clearance sale on the online store. There was a really sweet looking fretless JB that lasted for a couple of days before it was nabbed. They've been adding stuff fairly often since it's been happening so I'm waiting. If I do pull the trigger on something, I think it will be something I don't have, like a kiloton or an SB-2.
DiMarzio's Area J have a classic J-bass sound, similar to the stock G&L J-bass pickups. They're hum-canceling, so they don't sound exactly like true single coils, but they're close and the overall tone is very much in the vintage J-bass neighborhood.
FWIW, Lindy Fralin's fantastic pickups are available with raised poles under the A and D strings. I have a set of these (hum-canceling Split-Jazz) in my Fender J, and they provide excellent string-to-string balance. Unfortunately he doesn't make five-string pickups that will fit my Sandberg, or I would have bought some a long time ago.
I was curious about the electronic circuit in my L2000. So I checked out the unit at G&L’s site and opened up my Tribute L2000 to see.
Both look kinda similar. Me being a non-electronic person can only see the difference with wiring colours used. Opamp seems to be similar, by TI. PCB seems to be similar too.
Me thinks even the saddle on the Tribute L2000 is the same as the US models. Having its own peculiar design, it would not make that much sense to have it manufactured separately. The cost of tooling etc may not make it cheaper.
G&L US unit
Tribute unit
Both look kinda similar. Me being a non-electronic person can only see the difference with wiring colours used. Opamp seems to be similar, by TI. PCB seems to be similar too.
Me thinks even the saddle on the Tribute L2000 is the same as the US models. Having its own peculiar design, it would not make that much sense to have it manufactured separately. The cost of tooling etc may not make it cheaper.
G&L US unit
Tribute unit
A few years back I swapped the bridge pup from my 2nd gen SB-2 to the middle position of my 1st gen SB1, just to hear. Little, if any difference in output or tone and I posted about in here at the time. 3 of these would be killer and I'd put the 3rd one in the '56 P position, not by the neck heel. Anyways, who needs a jazz when you have 1st gen SB-2's or a Lynx, although a blend would be nice. When I start thinking about that too much I just pick up my Scheff.
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They used to use separate boards and components, but they appear to be using the exact same overseas-sourced preamp now. The previous US-made version would have had blue 1% metal film resistors. These are all 5% carbon resistors. The caps are probably the same. The older US pres had a different opamp, but if I recall, that opamp was obsoleted in the last few years and it was not pin-compatible with the TL061 seen here. As far as I know, the pots and switches are still different, with the US components being a little higher quality.
I wouldn't get too hung up on the differences between the old and new circuit boards, though. Both are Rev 1.3. There are specific reasons to use one type of resistor over another, depending on the application, but a preamp in a bass is not necessarily the place where those differences will ever be realized - at least not in a significant way.
Below is a wiring diagram for an L1k. I got curious one day what would happen if I rewired my jazz bass with a treble cut / bass cut pair of controls like this. A year or so ago, I had already run both pickups to a single volume control with a push / pull switch for parallel / series, so I've created a single humbucker out of the two single coils. At that time, I had installed an active EMG 2-band preamp, which I removed. After that, I wired it as in the diagram except for the treble cut pot (center). I used a .022 capacitor instead of the .047, and I eliminated the 6.8k resistor and simply grounded that lug. Everything works well, except I'm getting a slight hum from the bass, which I didn't have with the active EMG preamp in place. So two questions: (1) Can anyone tell me what that 6.8k resistor is for? (2) Could eliminating it have caused the slight hum I'm hearing in the bass? Please note: This wiring diagram shows the bass cut on the left, treble cut in the center, and the volume on the right.
