Bartolini 9J#1

Pickup features: Passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Custom w/ swamp ash body and G&L neck - flatwound strings
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Both
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Jazz, Rock
Reason for pickup change: Vintage Fender Js had too much presence for my taste and were a little strong in the upper midrange frequencies as well. Wanted to drop single coil hum.

Perceived output level: Significantly lower output than the Fender's
Tone: Great balance with controlled bottom end, great lower mid range, slightly compressed top end
Sonic evaluation: The bass/pickup combination sounds terrific recorded direct (I use JoMeek VC1Q) or through my live setup (SWR Bass 350 w/ Goliath Jr, sometimes, but very rarely, supplemented with a single 15 or 18 cab). The sound is not likely to win over those looking for a purely vintage sound - stick with the Fender's for that . The slightly compressed top end lends a bit of a modern flavor to the sound. The bridge pickup soloed has a good amount of growl but not a "sizzling" top end (Bartolini describes the voicing of this pickup as "deep"). The neck pickup soloed has all the "booty shaking" authority necessary, in my opinion. Combined, the pickups have a great balance, but the level of compression in the top end in most noticeable with both pickups full up.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: The 9J#1s are a fine match for the jazz and rock styles that I play. My prefernece is to play with light guage flatwounds since I like the strong fundamental afforded, but these pickups also sound equally fine with roundwounds when the infrequent need to play slap or more cutting styles arises.

Comments: I have been playing more years than I care to admit (there is a reason that I know the Fender pickups are "vintage"). The bass has been sporting these pickups for almost two years. I am very happy with them, like the fact that they are quiet and seem to have a fuller more balanced tone than the pickups that they replaced. If you are looking for a vintage sound or one with a lot of top end sizzle, I would suggest looking elsewhere. This particular model seems more geared towards the "team player" in a group setting than to a "lead bassist". This pickup did not seem to fair very well a while back in a Bass Player jazz pickup "shootout", but it a sound with which I am very satisfied.
The pickups in my fretless Jazz are about to be replaced with Bartolini 9WJ4s. I'll submit a review after breaking them in.