B
Good Pickup Upgrade!
I bought my CS60's as a replacement for the stock pickups in my Fender MIM Jazz Bass. Although the MIM pickups aren't bad, as I have previously owned a USA Jazz Bass I know there is a difference. I wanted a more vintage and classic Jazz sound I know these pickups will deliver.
The pickups come nicely packaged in a plastic case with foam infill and a shaped cut-out for each pickup, and the case is perfect for keeping the old pickups in once you have removed them from your bass.
I didn't use the enclosed fitting instructions, as they really are a straight swap with a Jazz Bass.
I found the 2 No. brass cavity plates to be very light and thin, and are fairly loose in the cavities until they have the weight of the pickups on them to hold them down in position. The exposed wire ends have solder on them and soldering them on the back of the pots was very easy. They are fitted with a piece of black sponge on them which helps to let the pickups move when you are adjusting their height, although from past experience I knew that the sponge is not deep enough to raise the pickups to a usable position. I put some more sponge on mine to make sure but even then the pickups only raise just enough to the correct height. I would recommend using springs under the screws in addition to the sponge.
The wiring on the pickups and brass shielding plates is very good, the length of wire on the shielding plates is just about right but I decided to cut a couple of inches off all of the pickup wires as they are quite long.
The difference between the CS60's and the MIM pickups isn't 'night and day', but they are a definitely a worthwhile upgrade, they are slightly louder, have more depth and sustain, and I think they just give a nicer and richer sound (to my ears anyway).
As with my USA bass, I still find the bridge pickups on Jazz basses to be slightly quieter than the neck pickup, but I understand this is normal and subjective anyway. Once the pickup heights had been properly set to Fender's recommended heights I think I got them set to the optimum position. I haven't played the bass live yet, if I need to tweak anything I might decide to lower the neck pickup slightly to allow the bridge pickup to have a bit more edge.
Overall I am pleased with the pickups and would recommend them as a very good upgrade to the stock MIM pickups.
The pickups come nicely packaged in a plastic case with foam infill and a shaped cut-out for each pickup, and the case is perfect for keeping the old pickups in once you have removed them from your bass.
I didn't use the enclosed fitting instructions, as they really are a straight swap with a Jazz Bass.
I found the 2 No. brass cavity plates to be very light and thin, and are fairly loose in the cavities until they have the weight of the pickups on them to hold them down in position. The exposed wire ends have solder on them and soldering them on the back of the pots was very easy. They are fitted with a piece of black sponge on them which helps to let the pickups move when you are adjusting their height, although from past experience I knew that the sponge is not deep enough to raise the pickups to a usable position. I put some more sponge on mine to make sure but even then the pickups only raise just enough to the correct height. I would recommend using springs under the screws in addition to the sponge.
The wiring on the pickups and brass shielding plates is very good, the length of wire on the shielding plates is just about right but I decided to cut a couple of inches off all of the pickup wires as they are quite long.
The difference between the CS60's and the MIM pickups isn't 'night and day', but they are a definitely a worthwhile upgrade, they are slightly louder, have more depth and sustain, and I think they just give a nicer and richer sound (to my ears anyway).
As with my USA bass, I still find the bridge pickups on Jazz basses to be slightly quieter than the neck pickup, but I understand this is normal and subjective anyway. Once the pickup heights had been properly set to Fender's recommended heights I think I got them set to the optimum position. I haven't played the bass live yet, if I need to tweak anything I might decide to lower the neck pickup slightly to allow the bridge pickup to have a bit more edge.
Overall I am pleased with the pickups and would recommend them as a very good upgrade to the stock MIM pickups.
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