Jazzmaster pickup comparison

[andtrea]

I have from many years on my CIJ Jazzmaster the Novak pickups JM-V and JM-90.

The JM-V is not going anywhere but I'm thinking about swapping the JM-90 with a Creamery humbucker.

My only concern is if it will sound unbalanced with the JM-V on the neck , in terms of output or darkness...
Does anybody knows JM-90 output (in kohm)?

[Embenny]

I have from many years on my CIJ Jazzmaster the Novak pickups JM-V and JM-90.

The JM-V is not going anywhere but I'm thinking about swapping the JM-90 with a Creamery humbucker.

My only concern is if it will sound unbalanced with the JM-V on the neck , in terms of output or darkness...
Does anybody knows JM-90 output (in kohm)?

Resistance is not output. Only if a pickup has otherwise identical characteristics (magnet type, construction, wire gauge) can it be used as a proxy for output.

Switching magnets from alnico II to alnico V to ceramic progressively increases pickup output without affecting resistance at all, for example. Lower gauge (thicker) wire has a lower resistance per turn and a higher output per turn, so 7k coil wound with AWG 42 has higher output than a 7k coil wound with AWG3, etc.

Inductance is the closest thing to "output" that you can measure in an inactive pickup, but almost nobody publishes inductance data on their pickups. You're not going to be able to find hard data that will be helpful.

Also, one person's idea of "imbalanced" is another person's "ideal." Lots of people like mixing humbuckers with single coils, but lots of people don't.

[andtrea]

Thanks for all the info.
Actually my pickups are unbalanced right now too. Neck pickup is a little little bit louder than the bridge one, but after a lot of height adjustment I found a good compromise, considering clean parts, the role of distortion etc etc... and it's ok.
My concern is about finding a MASSIVE difference in that combination (JM-V and Creamery humbucker). So I'm asking if someone has experienced these pickups, and giving the most common measure (the resistance) even if it's no so correct.

[JVG]

Do you already have the Creamery humbucker, or are you planning to get it made? Humbuckers vary massively in output - if you told Jaime at Creamery that it was going in a guitar with a vintage style JM pickup, i’m sure he could build something appropriate.

Cheers.

[andtrea]

Not yet, just planning. There is one on sale here in the forum.

[Mitch T]

Thought I'd add a bit to this great thread. Reading it was the first time I've heard about Q pickups. I already had experience with standard MIJ, MIA and Novaks in previous guitars. But during lockdown, I didn't want to buy overseas (I'm in the EU) and as I was modding a CV 60s, I didn't want to buy pickups that cost more than half of the guitars sales price Got them off Reverb.
I bought the Q set with hotter bridge pickup, with neck just under and bridge just over 8k. So hot is slightly exaggerated.
I must say I thoroughly like them! The neck pup is sounding very nice and round, with the exact balance between lows and highs to sound full with perfect clarity. Good output to it as well and sounding great on both the lead and the rhythm circuit. That rhythm circuit on the CV60s is really good by the way, I find myself using it a lot. But let's not digress!
The bridge pickup is plenty bright. To be honest I like bridge pickups to have just a bit more mids than this one. I know it's not a P90, not expecting that either but I think most people will like this pup a lot.
The middle position has a lot of the 'almost acoustic' qualities we all love, but for some reason it has a bit harsher highs than either pickup in single mode. I blame my wiring and soldering skills...
But all in all it's high quality parts for a good price in the EU. Recommended!

[Shadoweclipse13]

I didn't see it listed, but has anyone tried any of the pickups from the Ohio, USA-based Bootstrap pickups? Their prices are very reasonable, and I've heard good things about their Lakesurfers, but not actually heard any demos.

[ThePearDream]

I didn't see it listed, but has anyone tried any of the pickups from the Ohio, USA-based Bootstrap pickups? Their prices are very reasonable, and I've heard good things about their Lakesurfers, but not actually heard any demos.

I've tried a bunch of stuff from Bootstrap (including the Lake Surfers) and been very happy with all of them. It's not necessarily a traditional Jazzmaster sound, but it's not far off. To me, they seem to get that classic JM fullness and chime, but without the icepick. I think they are a pretty versatile, letting you get a range of tones. The bridge PU is a bit hotter than vintage, but not as much as on the stock Squier CV PUs. The price is hard to beat too. There are a few demos on youtube.

[Shadoweclipse13]

I didn't see it listed, but has anyone tried any of the pickups from the Ohio, USA-based Bootstrap pickups? Their prices are very reasonable, and I've heard good things about their Lakesurfers, but not actually heard any demos.

I've tried a bunch of stuff from Bootstrap (including the Lake Surfers) and been very happy with all of them. It's not necessarily a traditional Jazzmaster sound, but it's not far off. To me, they seem to get that classic JM fullness and chime, but without the icepick. I think they are a pretty versatile, letting you get a range of tones. The bridge PU is a bit hotter than vintage, but not as much as on the stock Squier CV PUs. The price is hard to beat too. There are a few demos on youtube.

I'm still new to Jazzmaster pickups (and everything else about them) in person. From what I've been reading from everyone for years, close to traditional sounding, classic fullness and chime, but without the icepick-iness sounds like the dream. I don't see Bootstrap having a ton of other JM pickups. Have you ordered something custom from them? The prices are very hard to beat.

[ThePearDream]

I don't see Bootstrap having a ton of other JM pickups. Have you ordered something custom from them? The prices are very hard to beat.

I haven't done any custom orders yet. There is a thread on tdpri about Bootstrap with numerous people who have done custom orders. Reportedly, he is easy to work with and people have been happy with their custom orders.

Also, I forget to mention earlier that their lead times are really short. I think the longest I've waited from ordering to delivery has been two and a half weeks.

[Shadoweclipse13]

I don't see Bootstrap having a ton of other JM pickups. Have you ordered something custom from them? The prices are very hard to beat.

I haven't done any custom orders yet. There is a thread on tdpri about Bootstrap with numerous people who have done custom orders. Reportedly, he is easy to work with and people have been happy with their custom orders.

Also, I forget to mention earlier that their lead times are really short. I think the longest I've waited from ordering to delivery has been two and a half weeks.

I bought a set for a friend out of country to save a few bucks and then shipped them her way, and the lead time was like 3 days. It was ridiculous. I'm interested in something like Novak's JM-FAT for the bridge. I haven't emailed him to see if it's possible yet.

[kenrothman]

Wow great thread!

I have a set of Antiquity 1's on order for a JM build that's in progress.

I had a CIJ JM for a bit with Antiquity 2's in them, which I was pretty fond of.

But, like others, figuring if Nels likes the 1's... maybe I'll also like how it plays with fuzz, etc.

We'll see.

[Lost In Autumn]

I didn't see it listed, but has anyone tried any of the pickups from the Ohio, USA-based Bootstrap pickups? Their prices are very reasonable, and I've heard good things about their Lakesurfers, but not actually heard any demos.

I have a pair on my Jazzmaster XII. they sound nice and are much better than what comes in Squier Jazzmasters, but compared to the Lindy Fralin and Lollar P90's I have in other guitars, the output is a little weak. He's pretty easy to deal with and his turn around times are fast. I'm tempted to order a custom wind, but also considering just getting Fralins or Lollars, since they're known entities.

[Shadoweclipse13]

I didn't see it listed, but has anyone tried any of the pickups from the Ohio, USA-based Bootstrap pickups? Their prices are very reasonable, and I've heard good things about their Lakesurfers, but not actually heard any demos.

I have a pair on my Jazzmaster XII. they sound nice and are much better than what comes in Squier Jazzmasters, but compared to the Lindy Fralin and Lollar P90's I have in other guitars, the output is a little weak. He's pretty easy to deal with and his turn around times are fast. I'm tempted to order a custom wind, but also considering just getting Fralins or Lollars, since they're known entities.

That's kinda where I'm at. I like the idea of a custom wind based on a set of Novaks (JM-V (neck) JM-FAT (bridge)), but at the end of the day, I think I'd be perfectly happy with the stock -V or -FAT Novaks, so why mess with a good thing? His pickups aren't cheap, but he's got a reputation for a reason. That said, I like supporting the underdogs and the new/up-and-comers as well. I haven't decided yet. So far, I'm still digging my stock CV JM pickups, though I know that I'll swap them eventually most likely. My new anodized pickguard should be here by the end of the week/weekend, so I'll start there.

[Lost In Autumn]

That's kinda where I'm at. I like the idea of a custom wind based on a set of Novaks (JM-V (neck) JM-FAT (bridge)), but at the end of the day, I think I'd be perfectly happy with the stock -V or -FAT Novaks, so why mess with a good thing? His pickups aren't cheap, but he's got a reputation for a reason. That said, I like supporting the underdogs and the new/up-and-comers as well. I haven't decided yet. So far, I'm still digging my stock CV JM pickups, though I know that I'll swap them eventually most likely. My new anodized pickguard should be here by the end of the week/weekend, so I'll start there.

yeah, I'm totally into supporting the underdog and new kids on the block; like I said I've got his Lake Surfers on my JM XII and have a set of his humbucker-sized P90's on a Jagmaster & on their own, they sound great and were definitely an improvement over stock. Here's a comparison I did with the Lakesurfers when i first got them- I installed them on my J Mascis Jazzmaster, which has since received a 12 string conversion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSc0L3XwcIA