From Jaco to John Paul Jones, from Geddy Lee to Flea, and from Marcus Miller to Larry Graham, the J-bass formula is omnipresent in music history. Sometimes, however, that formula needs tweaking to get you where you want to be tonally. Swapping in a new set of J-style pickups like the 10 we’ve gathered here could very well be your ticket.
JC 4 AL
This single-coil replacement set balances the woody low-mid growl and warm midrange of ’60s J pickups with the funky twang of ’70s J pickups.
JB71
Reminiscent of ’70s J-bass sounds from Marcus Miller, these pickups are reported to offer a tone that’s lighter and airier than ’60s examples.
Area J
For those after a vintage-J sound, without the usual-suspect hum, this set was designed for a focused attack with clear and clean lows, and open-sounding and smooth highs.
Weather Report
Inspired by the pickups Seymour Duncan created for Jaco, this alnico-5 set promises pronounced harmonic overtones without giving up treble response.
AG 4J-60
Modeled after a set of mid-’60s Jazz pickups, this alnico 5 pair uses period-correct parts and a proprietary winding pattern meant to provide impressive string-to-string consistency.
J-Style Bass
Designed to maintain authentic Jazz-bass tone and character without fear of single-coil hum, these double-blade pickups will fit traditional J-style basses without the need to mod.
NJ4SV Vintage Hum-Cancelling
These alnico 5 pickups have laser-cut bobbins, are wax potted to contain unruly frequencies, and were designed to provide a full bottom end to complement their growl.
’60 PE J-Bass
Handwound with 42AWG plain enamel wire, which is accurate to late-’60s J-bass coils, this set boasts a defined bottom end, punchy mids, and clear highs.
Jazz Bass Vintage
Designed to deliver classic, warm bass sound, these pickups feature hand-beveled and treated magnets, and bobbins made of vulcanized rubber.
Huge shocker incoming: Zach Broyles made a Tube Screamer. The Mythos Envy Pro Overdrive is Zach’s take on the green apple of his eye, with some special tweaks including increased output, more drive sounds, and a low-end boost option. Does this mean he can clear out his collection of TS-9s? Of course not.
This time on Dipped in Tone, Rhett and Zach welcome Tyler Bryant, the Texas-bred and Nashville-based rocker who has made waves with his band the Shakedown, who Rhett credits as one of his favorite groups. Bryant, it turns out, is a TS-head himself, having learned to love the pedal thanks to its being found everywhere in Texas guitar circles.Bryant shares how he scraped together a band after dropping out of high school and moving to Nashville, including the rigors of 15-hour drives for 30-minute sets in a trusty Ford Expedition. He’s lived the dream (or nightmare, depending on the day) and has the wisdom to show it.
Throughout the chat, the gang covers modeling amps and why modern rock bands still need amps on stage; the ins and outs of recording-gear rabbit holes and getting great sounds; and the differences between American and European audiences. Tune in to hear it all.
Get 10% off your order at stewmac.com/dippedintone
Hats off to Carmen Vandenberg of Bones UK, our celebrity Question of the Month respondent.
Guest Picker - Carmen Vandenberg, Bones UK
The cover of Soft, Bones UK’s new album, due in mid-September.
A: My favorite method these days (and to be honest, from when I started playing) is to put on my favorite blues records, listen with my eyes closed, and, at the end, see what my brain compartmentalizes and keeps stored away. Then, I try and play back what I heard and what my fingers or brain decided they liked!
Bone UK’s labelmade, Des Rocks.
Obsession: Right now, I am into anyone trying to create sounds that haven’t been made before—bands like Queens of the Stone Age, Jack White, and our labelmate, Des Rocs! There’s a Colombian band called Diamanté Electrico who I’ve been really into recently. Really anyone who’s trying to create innovative and inspiring sounds.
Reader of the Month - Sam C. Schiff.
Sam spent endless hours trying to learn the solo Leslie West played on “Long Red,” off of The Road Goes Ever On.
A: The best way to learn guitar is to listen to some good guitar playing! Put on a record, hear something tasty, and play on repeat until it comes out of your fingers. For me, it was Leslie West playing “Long Red” on the Mountain album, The Road Goes Ever On. I stayed up all night listening to that track until I could match Leslie’s phrasing. I still can’t, no one can, but I learned a lot!
Smith’s own low-wattage amp build.
Obsession: My latest musical obsession is low-wattage tube amps like the 5-watt Fender Champ heard on the Laylaalbum. Crank it up all the way for great tube distortion and sustain, and it’s still not loud enough to wake up the neighbors!
Gear Editor - Charles Saufley
Charles Saufley takes to gear like a duck to water!
A: Learning by ear and feel is most fun for me. I write and free-form jam more than I learn other people’s licks. When I do want to learn something specific, I’ll poke around on YouTube for a demo or a lesson or watch films of a player I like, and then typically mangle that in my own “special” way that yields something else. But I rarely have patience for tabs or notation.
The Grateful Dead’s 1967 debut album.
Obsession: Distorted and overdriven sounds with very little sustain—Keith Richards’ Between the Buttons tones, for example. Jerry Garcia’s plonky tones on the first Grateful Dead LP are another cool, less-fuzzy version of that texture.
Publisher - Jon Levy
A: I’m a primitive beast: The only way I can learn new music is by ear, so it’s a good thing I find that method enjoyable. I’m entirely illiterate with staff notation. Put sheet music in front of me and I’ll stare at it with twitchy, fearful incomprehension like an ape gaping at the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey. I’m almost as clueless with tab, but I can follow along with chord charts if I’m under duress.
The two-hit wonders behind the early ’70s soft-rock hits, “Fallin’ in Love” and “Don't Pull Your Love.”
Obsession: Revisiting and learning AM-radio pop hits circa 1966–1972. The Grass Roots, Edison Lighthouse, the Association, the Archies, and Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds—nothing is too cheesy for me to dissect and savor. Yes, I admit I have a serious problem.
