Is your guitar not giving you the sound you’re expecting? The problem might be in its pickups. Any standard guitar comes with plain, ordinary pickups that wear down over time.
Perhaps it is time for you to replace the old pickups with new ones that will significantly improve the sound quality of your instrument. Since you’re already aiming for high-quality jazz sounds, we decided to research the market and find the best jazz pickups.
These pickups vary in price ranges and features but most of them are versatile enough to suit different music styles. After all, pickups are the essential factor when it comes to achieving original and top-notch sounds, especially when it comes to jazz style.
Therefore, replacing the ordinary pickups is most likely going to get you that sound you are looking for. We know that finding the right pickup can be difficult since there are hundreds of them available on the market.
That is why we decided to help you and put together a list of five best jazz pickups so you don’t have to spend hours searching for the right product! Let us know which product you choose!
Table of Contents
#1 Seymour Duncan SJB3 Quarter Pound Jazz Bass Bridge Pickup
Let’s kick this off with the highest quality jazz pickup that we were able to find for the lowest price on the market. That is the Seymour Duncan SJB3 Quarter Pound Jazz pickup for strong attack and greater sound volume.
This pickup features rod magnets that are a quarter of an inch wide and provide a fuller sound with good sustain and a more balanced response.
The pickup comes with a convenient pickup cover that will keep it protected from wear and damage.
If your budget is tight, we recommend checking out these pickups because they provide the best value in this price range. The pickups provide higher output with clearer sound and a high-end punch that will give your guitar’s sound that extra feature it needed.
Overall, the Seymour Duncan SJB3 pickup is a great upgrade from standard guitar pickups and it will surely improve your jazz tones. It also comes with instructions that make the setup process quite simple.
- Strong attack
- Affordable yet great quality
- Pickup cover included
- Fuller sound
- Great response
- High output and great sound clarity
- Easy to install
- Not professional level quality
#2 Seymour Duncan SH2N Jazz Model Humbucker Pickup
Next up is another Seymour Duncan jazz pickup, only this is the SH2N model, which is slightly more expensive but provides better tone quality. This pickup ensures an accurate and clear tone perfect for a fast jazz style.
It provides slightly less output in order to ensure brighter sounds with smoother sustain, which is a great combination of jazz sounds.
What’s great about this pickup is that it provides a smooth response but it can also give you great distortion when you need to take things to the next level.
You should also keep in mind that this pickup works best with guitars with mahogany bodies combined with rosewood fingerboards. On the other hand, it suits both hollow and semi-hollow guitars and provides full-bodied and bright tones.
What makes this pickup so popular and widely used is the quality it provides in terms of clean and clear sound articulation.
Overall, there isn’t anything that we don’t like about this pickup, although you should keep in mind that the quality of this type of tone is completely a matter of subjective opinion.
- Accurate and clear tones
- Great for fast jazz runs
- Smooth sustain
- Can provide great distortion when needed
- High quality bright tones
- Ultra clean articulation
- A great choice for guitars with mahogany bodies and rosewood fingerboards
- No cons
#3 EMG Pickups J5 Active 5 Strings Jazz Bass Set
Moving on, we have come to the part of our review list where things start to heat up. We are introducing a higher quality jazz bass set that comes for a higher price but provides far better value.
This specific pickup provides amazing harmonic overtones and sound clarity that will change the way you play the guitar. This pickup has to capability to transform the sound of an ordinary guitar into professional-sounding jazz tunes.
The high-quality components provide a type of sound characteristic for jazz styles. On top of that, its custom design ensures better tonal response and allows players to add a diversion to ordinary and dull sounds.
If you are looking for a pickup that will help you create more unique tones, this is definitely a great option to think about. Its radius ceramic bar magnet ensures better sound quality and makes for a stunning pickup replacement.
- Amazing harmonic overtones
- Great sound clarity
- Characteristic jazz tone
- Radius ceramic bar magnet included
- High quality tonal response
- No cons
#4 Fender Custom Shop 60’s Jazz Bass Pickups
The fourth item on our list of five best jazz pickups is the Fender Custom Shop Jazz pickup from the 60s. This pickup comes in great box packaging, which makes it a great choice if you are looking for a gift for a guitar player.
When it comes to the quality of the product, the pickup has some vintage characteristics yet it still provides modern quality and sound effects. It features advanced Alnico 5 Magnets and provides more punch for midrange attack.
With a slightly higher output, this pickup will increase the volume and improve the overall sound quality of your guitar. It comes with all the necessary mounting hardware to make the installation as easy as possible.
Keep in mind that these pickups are only sold in pairs because they complement each other. Overall, if you are looking for great quality and slightly vintage tones, this pickup will certainly exceed your expectations.
- Great box packaging
- Easy to install, all hardware included
- Includes Alnico 5 magnets
- Provides great sound quality
- Vintage style sounds
- More punch and higher output
- The pickup might start buzzing slightly after a while
#5 Seymour Duncan JB Jazz Set
We will end our list of five best jazz pickups with the Seymour Duncan jazz set that includes hot-rodded humbuckers for amazing sound and clear response. This set includes matching JB and Jazz, neck models.
It is quite a versatile combination of pickups that will add a unique touch to your instrument. The package includes a four-conductor cable for installation. Each pickup is wax potted to eliminate unwanted noise.
Seymour Duncan used only the finest quality components for these pickups, including the advanced Alnico 5 magnets for a stunning response.
These are definitely the highest quality models on the market and on our list as well. Most importantly, the pickups are characteristic for jazz tones and they will definitely add a unique touch to your sound.
Overall, this is the top-notch quality that you will find on the market and, even though it requires a bit of a larger investment, it is definitely worth the price!
Conclusion
Achieving characteristic jazz tones and unique tonal quality is quite difficult if you don’t have the right guitar setup in your hands. However, it’s not only the guitar that plays a role in the final sound quality.
There are many different factors that will affect the tone, one of which is the guitar’s pickups. However, most guitars come with ordinary pickups that are not capable of providing the kind of sound quality that is considered professional.
If you are looking for a pickup that will improve the quality of your instrument, it is important to find a piece of equipment that will match the characteristic jazz tones.
Keep in mind that there are thousands of similar pickups available on the market. That might make things a bit more difficult, especially if you don’t have any experience with jazz pickups or if you have never purchased one before.
Luckily, we are here to help you out and narrow down the choices for you. We carefully researched each of these products to make sure they meet the highest standards of quality in their specific price ranges.
That is why we are now able to confidently recommend one of these pickups as the finest quality equipment that you will find on the market nowadays. We strongly believe that you should get the most value for your money, which is why we included only the top quality products in each of the different price ranges.
Once you make your final choice, please leave a comment below and let us know which jazz pickup you chose. We would like to know why you chose that specific pickup and whether you are satisfied with its quality.
Leave us your opinion to help other buyers make their choice more easily!
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