New Fender CuNiFe & Cobalt Pickups (Jazzmaster, Tele, Strat)

[Iffymiffy]

Been monitoring this thread and a deal for a brand new set of 2020 Humbucker sized cunifes just popped up for USD300 shipped, I am wondering if they would fit into a standard Jazzmaster without any routing (would get a HH pickguard as I was thinking to replace it anyway).

Or would there be any tonal differences between the new JM versions and the 2020 release?

[sugarandopium]

Been monitoring this thread and a deal for a brand new set of 2020 Humbucker sized cunifes just popped up for USD300 shipped, I am wondering if they would fit into a standard Jazzmaster without any routing (would get a HH pickguard as I was thinking to replace it anyway).

Or would there be any tonal differences between the new JM versions and the 2020 release?

They need just a tiny bit of routing where the ‘legs’ are, maybe 1/4 inch for height clearance, nothing major.
Other than that 1/4” deep by 1/2” wide route they’re pretty much straight drop ins, the pickups height/depth/width needs nothing.
It’s seriously a 5 minute job with a dremel routing bit, easy peazy.

If you don’t have a dremel you can probably just gently use a drill bit to get the clearance.

I imagine the tones going to be very slightly different with the nickel cover vs the JM plastic cover, probably just a really minor nuance. But full disclaimer this is just speculation. As far as we all know at this point they’re the exact same pickup in different housings.

I have the humbucker nickel ones and they’re really great sounding.
A set for 300 is a no brainer imo, go for it.

[Iffymiffy]

I have the humbucker nickel ones and they’re really great sounding.
A set for 300 is a no brainer imo, go for it.

Thanks for the info! Now my brain is like USD300 for the pickups, or add another $1200 more and order the Fender Japan Jazzmaster with cunifes …

Are the cunifes really picky with adjustments? Also, I read on another forum where the guy from *Telenator (the only other authentic Cunife WRHB pickup maker) said something along the lines that Cunife WRHB are ideally used for clean to very light overdrive, and once you start adding gain/distortion you wont hear much difference.

Would you say that is true? As I do play with quite a bit of gain and rarely play clean.

*Here is a direct quote:

“The re-issues, from any era except the new CiNuFe WRHBs from Fender do not sound at all like the 70's original.

Bear in mind that, the more overdrive you use, the worse an authentic CuNiFe WRHB sounds, and the less it actually matters that you're playing one.”

[PapaB]

Probably a yes and no answer to the distortion question. A bad humbucker will sound horrible distorted. I'm not a fan of high gain ceramic, overwound pups. They sound flat and thin distorted, and sterile clean. (Though the late, great Jeff Beck played ceramic pups and had a tremendous tone)
I currently own Super '58s, Kent Armstrongs, TVJones Filtertrons and +, SDuncans, and various Gibson pups (most notably Burstbucker 2 & 3s & 490R & 498T, and now this Fender WRHB, and I often play distorted (ZZ Top tone) and can assure you they all sound different. I get my distortion thru an amp, most of the time a valve/amp, and all these pups are night and day. I generally match guitars to specific amps.
I've not tried boutique WRHBs, so I can't chime in on those, but here's my gut feeling .... If you are looking for an authentic Jazzmaster tone from a HB, I'd try the Brandon's. Some folk here love them. They sound very good on the videos I've seen.
If you don't mind routing your guitar, and want a HB tone any one of your preference will do.
If you like to keep your guitar intact, try a WRHB jazzmaster pup. Now that Fender is offering this Tim Shaw version of Seth Lover's design for around the same price as other vendors, choices are plenty.
I suspect these Fender WRHBs are unbalanced and unpotted, and the poles are off but accounted for in trying to bring down heavy bass and high notes a bit.
My Squier Jmascis JM was an exceptionally great sounding distorted guitar from factory. It's better now with the neck WRHB. The sound is heavy but very clear and articulate. Sounds like a chain saw, but every string rings. Keeps a light shimmer on the highs, less sizzle than a Filtertron, but some brightness that is lovely.
My JMJM can play it all now. By the way, and as a very broad generality, I prefer the Fender HB tone (clean and distorted) to all pups listed above except the Burstbuckers and TV Jones .... Fender probably comes in third. It is a very different sounding pup than the other 2.
It has a "Fenderness" to it, if that makes any sense. (Maybe it's my imagination .... Lol. At $229.00 it better be special! That's a boatload of cash!)
Good luck!

[Iffymiffy]

^thanks for the detailed feedback!

Of all those I only have experience with the TV Jones that was in a a Squier Starcaster I once had for a bit. Loved it with fuzz and higher gain, but preferred single coils for low to mid gain.

[sugarandopium]

I agree that they really shine in the clean to light OD.
The thing that I really enjoy about these is the clarity, very detailed rich cleans, as cliche as the term is ‘piano like clarity’ comes to mind with these.

I play mostly clean, I more often reach for an HH tele (regular hot a5 paf style pickups in it) when I play dirt.

So idk man you may wanna buy from somewhere with a great return policy. But again for 300$ if you don’t like them, that’s probably at or close to the going rate for a used mint set, so you really don’t have anything to lose.

[sugarandopium]

And don’t get me wrong here they don’t sound bad with dirt, better than say a pv65 jazzmaster does for example.

But you’re not going to get tones that rival Les Paul pickups or Duncans that were wound with Marshalls and hard rock in mind.

For what they are, that section between single and dual coil, they cover a specific part of the spectrum and do it really well.
Overpriced and overhyped? Absolutely
Do they sound good? Absolutely

There’s a reason they pair so well with Jazzmasters. Especially the bridge, the bridge of a jm on these is just magical.

A while Back I had a novak wrjm in the bridge and a single coil in the neck and that was another beautiful sounding setup.

They’re also a love it or hate it sound too, so you need to keep that in mind as well.

[JamesSGBrown]

Anyone tried the cobalt JM set? I’m very intrigued…

[JamesSGBrown]

Got a 2nd hand WRHB for my JM… think it’ll pair well with the AV65 neck pup? My main hope is that the colour of the covers match…

[Embenny]

Got a 2nd hand WRHB for my JM… think it’ll pair well with the AV65 neck pup? My main hope is that the colour of the covers match…

What do you consider "pairing well?"

It'll be massively higher output and darker than the AV65 bridge pickup. I personally consider an AV65 bridge pickup to "pair well" with an AV65 neck pickup, but that's a matter of taste, because the #1 complaint about JM bridge pickups is usually that they're low output and thin, so this'll definitely be neither of those!

I think a lot of people like a humbucker in the bridge of their JM. I'm just personally more of a S/S or H/H person than S/H or H/S.

Regarding the pickup cover, the nice thing about Fender pickup covers is that the plastic takes staining with tea/coffee extremely well. If one is brighter white than the other, make a stiff cup of tea (like 4 bags ought to do it), let it cool and then steep the brighter one until it matches. If they're close, 5-10 minutes might do it. If they're miles apart, you can check once at 5-10 minutes but then extend to 30 minute checks if the change was too subtle after the brief interval. And even if you overshoot, you can just pop the other one in for a couple of minutes.

[ldp54002]

I found a hell of a deal on open box Jazzmaster CuNiFe WRHBs on Reverb a couple weeks ago. I also have a Telecaster Deluxe with the reissue full size CuNiFes from a couple years ago. I gotta say...Tim Shaw nailed it with JM version. I haven't adjusted the pole pieces on the JM pickups yet, but it sounds nearly identical to my Telecaster. Even through the rhythm circuit, they retain the clarity and chime, just a little blunted.

[zener]

I have the Cunife/Cobalt pickups on my Jazzmaster and love them.