How to get more low end without loosing that jazz bass tone

[Malak the Mad]

Like others have said (in this eleven-month-old thread!), a series/parallel mod definitely adds a lot of sound to the whole shebang. As far as pickups go, I've found Fender's Super 55 pickups to be quite "beefy", yet they still retain their inherent Jazz "character"…plus, they're split-coil, so no 60-cycle hum!

 

[TonyP-]

(in this eleven-month-old thread!)

I think the accumulation of ideas and suggestions on this topic is a good thing.

 

[Malak the Mad]

I think the accumulation of ideas and suggestions on this topic is a good thing.

Most assuredly, especially for posterity's sake.

 

[TomB]

Most assuredly, especially for posterity's sake.

Yeah, like, how long before someone asks this question again? ...couple months, maybe

 

[butterfingers1]

There’s something about either jazz pickup changing tone and thinning when the volume is set above around 80%. The low frequencies diminish and are shifted toward the highs. When the volume goes below 80% the highs shift toward the lows, the tone fattens and darkens markedly. I saw a thread somewhere here last week that explained the physics of this. I was floored when I tried, I had never heard of this before, it’s like having a very different bass.

 

[Seth DuSith]

Could always split your signal, and make a second signal that's high in bass and low mids, with no high mids or treble. This is what I did recently on a recording of mine. It keeps my thin, clear bass tone, but gives it a nice fat boost, so I still get the "bass" in my signal

 

[jim nolte]

There’s something about either jazz pickup changing tone and thinning when the volume is set above around 80%. The low frequencies diminish and are shifted toward the highs. When the volume goes below 80% the highs shift toward the lows, the tone fattens and darkens markedly. I saw a thread somewhere here last week that explained the physics of this. I was floored when I tried, I had never heard of this before, it’s like having a very different bass.

Been playing my ‘65 Jazz for many years and learned that trick early on and it does seem to be around 80%, my general use in any song setting is 80% front and 70% rear or the reverse if I want a little more bite, no hum and over 80% things start to thin a tad, don’t know the physics of it, just works for me.