Lindy Fralin DJB5 - 5 String Jazz Set

There are the single coil, passive pickups supplied with pole- through covers. Direct drop-in replacement for Fender Jazz V. I ordered the standard winding, nothing special, although Lindy will wind them hotter of lighter for you if you want.

The pups fit my MIA Fender Jazz V perfectly! No woodwork needed, thank God!

The wires were plenty long enough. They have a cloth-like insulation that almost looks old fashion. It was hard stripping the insulation using regular wire strippers, but when I got out a fresh razor blade (box cutter) and lightly rolled the wire over the blade, it stripped just fine without scoring the conductor (press lightly, have a band-aid handy, I needed one - my right thumb no less. It's hard to play with a band-aid on your right thumb. At worship practice that evening I took the band-aid off and 4 or 5 measures later, my bass was a bloody mess.....) Please be careful.

I have never replaced pups before, but I think I did a professional job (except for the lacerated thumb). Use a solder sucker (just a few bucks at any Radio Shack) to remove hot solder from wire terminals when unsoldering your old pups, this makes attaching your new pup wires much easier.

I stripped the new wires after cutting to length, twisted and tinned the ends with a little solder then positioned and soldered in place.

I added no additional shielding.

I installed these pups in a MIA Fender Jazz V, not the deluxe, just the basic Passive model. I replaced both the stock pups because they were not even volume across all strings. The B and E were loud and boomy relative to the A, D &G, and the D and G strings seemed to fade away when played in the upper frets. Also, the stock pups were not giving me the punch I wanted.

I was trying to decide between Lindy or Nordstrand and basically tossed a coin. Well, a little less random decision than that, but all my research brought me to these to fine pup-masters. I chose the Lindy's because I was really looking for that "vintage" sound...what ever that means!

Well, all I can say is... WOW. I am so happy with my sound now. Even volume across all strings, punchy as all heck, articulate and, get this.... even thought they are single coil, the hum is very acceptable when just the bridge or neck is selected. Quiet as a church mouse when both pups are dialed in. When I go the bridge only and roll off the treble, also very quiet.

I LOVE these pups. What more can I say, wish I installed this Fralin DJB5 set a year ago. Don't wait like I did.... do it now!

I was going to upgrade to a Mike Lull, Lakland or equivalent because I was just not happy with my fender, but now, this axe is all I'll ever need or want in a vintage jazz bass.

I'm playing through a GK 1001RB-II into an Ampeg 610 Classic cab. I give fair warning to anyone sitting within striking distance; this rig will flat out burst your spleen! And with the punch of my newly reborn Fender, I will probably have to register it with my local law enforcement agency as a deadly weapon.

Thanks to basstasters.com, harmony-central.com, talkbass.com and the helpful folks at The Perfect Bass for helping me sort out all my options. All in all, I can't imagine being happier.