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MGR/Golem « DiMarzio Ultra Jazz Pickups »
Published on 09/12/04 at 15:00$90 [for pair] from Daddy's Junky Music.
I bought them to get rid of the hum that
occurs with stock Fender PUs when the pair
is set other than at nearly equal levels.
They really cleaned up the hum problem,
described above, in my Fender Jazz Std.
I had to very slightly enlarge the rout
for the bridge PU. This IS mentioned in
the instruction sheet, which says that
the PU housing size is true to vintage
Fender J-bass dimensions but that newer
Fenders need very minor routing. Well,
it was so minor that I could do it with
my Dremel hand power tool. But what if
you don't have such a tool? Why is it
so important to be "vintage accurate" if
the PU being installed is not a Fender
OEM part anyway? The size difference is
so minor that I'm sure Dimarzio could
have built the same PU with a slightly
smaller housing [about 5% +/-]. Even if
you have a tool for the job, the need to
carefully enlarge the rout turns what
ought to be an easy job into a pain in
the ass. Even if you let a shop do the
installation, it turns a low price labor
charge to a mid-price labor charge.
Has no moving parts, looks OK. Dimarzio
has a very good reputation. Instruction
sheet was reasonably clear. Didn't smell
bad or anything. What can you say about
a pickup? It's black with exposed pole
pieces and each PU has 4 wires. New PU
mounting screws and bottom pads included,
but no springs. I wound up shimming to
get some extra height.
Cuts hum drastically, especially when you
solo either pickup. Tone is very similar
to original PUs on my MIJ passive J-Bass
of approx 1999 manufacture. I happen to
like that tone, but my bass is fretless,
and has a BadAss bridge, so YMMV. I did
NOT replace the pots.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
I bought them to get rid of the hum that
occurs with stock Fender PUs when the pair
is set other than at nearly equal levels.
They really cleaned up the hum problem,
described above, in my Fender Jazz Std.
I had to very slightly enlarge the rout
for the bridge PU. This IS mentioned in
the instruction sheet, which says that
the PU housing size is true to vintage
Fender J-bass dimensions but that newer
Fenders need very minor routing. Well,
it was so minor that I could do it with
my Dremel hand power tool. But what if
you don't have such a tool? Why is it
so important to be "vintage accurate" if
the PU being installed is not a Fender
OEM part anyway? The size difference is
so minor that I'm sure Dimarzio could
have built the same PU with a slightly
smaller housing [about 5% +/-]. Even if
you have a tool for the job, the need to
carefully enlarge the rout turns what
ought to be an easy job into a pain in
the ass. Even if you let a shop do the
installation, it turns a low price labor
charge to a mid-price labor charge.
Has no moving parts, looks OK. Dimarzio
has a very good reputation. Instruction
sheet was reasonably clear. Didn't smell
bad or anything. What can you say about
a pickup? It's black with exposed pole
pieces and each PU has 4 wires. New PU
mounting screws and bottom pads included,
but no springs. I wound up shimming to
get some extra height.
Cuts hum drastically, especially when you
solo either pickup. Tone is very similar
to original PUs on my MIJ passive J-Bass
of approx 1999 manufacture. I happen to
like that tone, but my bass is fretless,
and has a BadAss bridge, so YMMV. I did
NOT replace the pots.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com