Pickup question

[RIPkezia]

I own a Fender Jazz Bass. I've looked through all my owner's manuals and cannot find what kind of pickups are currently on the bass. It was bought in factory condition from Guitar Center, and I have not modified it in any way. Can someone tell me what kind of pickups my bass has?

After that question is answered, I would like to know where I can go from there. I'm looking into buying new pickups, and would like to know what kind of pickups would be an improvement from what I have right now.

[BenJammin]

They would be simply the stock Fender Jazz pickups.

[RIPkezia]

There's no name for them aside "stock fender jazz pickups"?

[edgebass5]

Which jazz bass model is it? Is it MIM, MIA, or MIJ? Active or passive?

[RIPkezia]

I can't find anything that says what kind.... (it was a gift about a year ago so the details have been lost on me)

I can describe it, though. Black body, white pickguard. two central-aligned pickups, both with 2 magnets per string. Dark, dotted fret board, back of neck is lighter. 3 knobs (2 for the pickups, 1 for tone). Thats about all I can think off... let me know if you need more info.

Oh and its a lefty bass... (not that that will probably make any difference...)

[Killer Fridge]

Does it say "Made In Mexico" on the headstock.

Also, a serial number would be good too

[RIPkezia]

yea i just found out that mim was made in mexico. Yea my bass is a mim fo sho.

[edgebass5]

Yep, just stock Fender pickups.

Now as to what you should look for in a replacement... What don't you like about the current pickups? In other words, why are you wanting to replace them? There are tons of options available for J style pickups. Less if your bass is a 5-string, but still quite a few even then.

[RIPkezia]

There are a few things I dislike about my current pickups. I don't get a great sound when I pop/slap, when I play on smaller amps i get some weird sounds like i'm accedentally smaking the string against the pickup (but I am for sure not), and I really want a thicker, bassier sound overall.

Can you help me?

[edgebass5]

If you're wanting a thicker tone you could go the DiMarzio route (my personal favorite). Model J's are nice and thick. Ultra J's have more bottom end and more treble, but less mids than Model J's. Seymour Duncan has a variety of pickups and some tone charts on their website. If you've got some cash you could look at what Carey Nordstrand is doing.

There's literally TONS of choices out there. Go to google and type in "jazz bass replacement pickups"