DiMarzio Relentless J + Lace Aluma J + Delano JMVC in the Jazzborghini - LowEndLobster Tone Shootout
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- Опубліковано 19 гру 2022
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Jazzborghini Fresh Look: • The Jazzborghini - Rev...
DiMarzio Relentless J: www.dimarzio.com/pickups/stan...
Lace Aluma J: lacemusic.com/products/aluma-...
Delano JMVC FE/M2: www.delano.de/jmvc_4_fe_m2/jm...
John East J-Retro: www.east-uk.com/product/j-ret...
Hey Everyone! Today we're looking at THREE different powerhouse Jazz Bass pickups in my Jazzborghini- The DiMarzio Relentless J, The Lace Aluma J, and the Delano JMVC FE/M2. All three pack a huge punch with powerful lows while also running silently with hum cancelling construction. Which pickups will sound the best? Let's find out!
This bass and all my other basses with rounds are strung with SIT Foundation Nickel Plated Stainless Steel 45-105(125) unless otherwise noted. Check them out at sitstrings.com/
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I love all of them. Those Delanos for clarity and punch, the DiMarzio for rowdiness, and the lace for something just a little different
Thanks man!
This Modcember has been awesome. Thanks for all the hard work!
In my endless tonequest for all things bass guitar your videos on pre amps and pups is a god send.
All three of them sound really good. I like the Lace pickups the best. I love that basslines you keep playing on the examples. They are great. *thumbs up*.
The Lace (minus the chorus) followed by the Delano pickups sounded the best to my ears. Although they all sounded great! Thanks for all the work you're putting in! You're my favorite channel to watch reviews! Keep up the great work!
I think al those pickups sound awesome!
The DiMarzio Relentless J pickups look freaking sweet with the chrome looking covers.
I also love that bass and that shade of orange it has.
Great demo! 👍
I've been anxiously waiting for the Dimarzio Relentless J pickups to come out and now finally a demo by the best reviewer on UA-cam! As much as I wanted to like them best, I prefer the Delanos, in this comparison at least. I'm loving these "Modcember" videos. Thanks and keep up the great work!
That chorusing is because the pickups are too close to the string, and the magnets are interfering with the vibration of the string. The trouble is with some pickups you have to lower them so far down to eliminate the chorusing that they no longer sound good. I've struggled with it on numerous basses for years and to be honest I think a dedicated deep dive video testing other possible causes and solutions would be a godsend. Especially with a Stingray. Currently I have this issue on my stock Stingray and I'd be curious if a different pickup would help. Guitarists call the issue "stratitis".
Thank you for saying this. I tried Aluma j’s when first released and shelved them for this problem. They sound really good until you’re above the 10th fret. #LaceMusic
At last someone explaining that on youtube. A bass with a pickup (or both) placed too high can totally ruin your sound. On my own jazz, i only started to like its sound when I decided to lower the pickups the correct way.
And as you said, the biggest issue I encoutered in my life with a bass was on a stingray 5. Almoqt impossible to get rid of the chorus effect without losing the punch... It drove me crazy during a very long time
You are so right! In my experience also with some basses, it is indeed in fact the magnetic pull of the pickups messing with the strings vibrations on the higher registers, and especially apparent on the lower strings past the 12th fret. Not all pickups do it and not all basses. Strings probably play a role too. You can minimize it/reduce it by lowering the pickups and experimenting with different strings. Or of course changing the bass, as I've found some to be less prone to it than others.
I’m guessing that could be fixed by a proper setup with lower action. Lower action would result in a less variable distance to the pickup, so it doesn’t get so close as to cause the chorusing.
I was gonna say that!
love that you reviewed these! I have been waiting on the relentless J pickups to come out since Billy hinted about them on instagram...thanks!
I'm a sucker for an airy, clear jazz bass. So, for me, it's Lace. All of them are excellent pickups. Can't really go wrong here.
Like you i found the Delanos most bright, but a bit laid back in the deep bass. Overall i liked the DiMarzios very much. A bit darker sounding than the other, due to a flat top end. Very powerful and beefy deep end. The Lace pickups came in between the other two. Deep bass and much power, clear midds with a little sharp bite in the top. To me, listening on two way studio monitors eight inch woofers M Audio, I found all three brands to be good sounding. But the sharpness in the Lace, and the laid back deep end with the Delanos, gave my first place to DiMarzio. A hint of dark, but the mighty deep bass and clear power with no sharp edges in the top sounded best to me. Thanks for the very good performed sound comparison. Your play made this informative and fun to hear and watch👌
Thank you for the great comment!
Loved this! I'd really like to see a full Jazz bass mod series like you did for the ray.
Just got the Dimarzio Relentless and they are SO nice and comfortable. The adjustable poles are something you’ll come to appreciate. Great pickups. Dimarzio hit a home run. Love the growl on the lace!
The Lace Aluma J sounds the most like my Aguilar AG 4J-HC pickups in my J bass. Awesome comparisons, thanks Lobster!
Thnx low-end for your videos. You are a true bassman.
This is the best bass channel on you tube!
Lobster! You Inspired me to do a pickup swap! From previous videos of course lol I just put the PJ of the relentless in my aerodyne yesterday!
Also, THANKS! for all the videos! It's been a blast following all the mods!
I saw that pic on facebook! Looks KILLER!
I was thinking of doing the same in my Aerodyne. How are you liking them compared to originals?
Lobster, thank you for all the vidos you did, thanks to you I modified my Warwick Multiscale with push/pull active passive stocked with balance pot. I learnt a bit how to solder, installed darkglass tonecapsule preamp as well. All is working perfectly, the bass received serious upgrade to pro level. All the best! ;)
All three sounded great. The Delano's are spicy & percussive, making them my favorite of the three in this test.
I use the Delano in my franken jazz, passive with a series parallel switch 60’s wiring, two tone/ two volume. Love it. Can’t say enough good things.
Lace is my favorite, mostly because it sounds like humbuckers in a jazz size. But there is no wrong choice here.
I can't place how the lace sounds, but it's significantly different.
Wow, stunning-looking bass.
About the pickups, actually I like them all, probably the bass itself produces nice sounds. I think the DeLano sound slightly more percussive but at the same time a little metallic in relation to the others, especially the Lace Alumas. In my opinion the DiMarzios sound the most "musical" of all. Slightly subdued highs in relation to the others but there's a nice and very present upper-midrange that sounds the part.
It all depends on the mix I guess, on which ones are better. I'd choose the DeLanos for old style funk & disco, the Lace Aluma for R&B or modern dance and the DiMarzios for rock and pretty much everything else and these are the ones I would pick if I had to play all kinds of music.
Hi Lob.
Thank you for this video , great one as usual..;)
Delano are the winner for me..
Thanks, very good comparation. Muy buena comparación, desde Puerto Rico.
I've been curious about the Lace pickups ever since I saw a guitar build that used similar humbuckers. Thanks for checking them out, Lobster! :)
All three pickups sound great, by the way :)
If only they made those relentless in a 5 string. They sounds so good
RIGHT!?
I wrote to DiMarzio a few times about this. I would love a five string Model P/J and Model One. The sent me the most laconic and succinct reply: "We do not (once with "will not") have/make that pick up in a five string model."
@@LowEndLobster excellent review. Can’t decide between the Dimarzio Relentless J and Dimarzio Sixities pair. Can you give me some insight? Gonna match it with a Sadowsky 4 knob preamp. Thanks a bunch!!!!!
@@jefftyrkalo5617 I'd go with the sixties if you're pairing it with the Sadowsky. The Relentless ones are VERY powerful, and definitely don't need any help from a preamp.
@@myflyisopen.8732 yeah I don't get it. If they made 5 string pickups that fit fenders I'd have already ordered them.
Amazing Modecember... Thank you Lobster and Congratulations for this great job...For me..all 3 works Great..and with Fingerstyle and both pickups their sounds very similar for me🤷🏽♂️...the difference sounding shining when you select de pickups or picking/slapping..🤗🤗
My computer froze whilst your hand was changing back to normal.
It finally recovered and I'm thankful to see the metamorphosis was a successful one. 😁👍
Those sets sound almost identical to each other although I might be biased towards the Dimarzio, that also beats the other two when it comes down to aesthetics. Seriously, Dimarzio makes some good-looking pickups.
Hey, Lobster! Great video, my guy. My pick would be the Relentless J for sure. Mean looking and mean sounding.
Thanks! I've been curious about Lace but there's not much on UA-cam about their bass pickups and most of what there is covers their Man O' War pickups.
I have had this problem with my ´79 Musicman Sabre too! I have been told from a Luthier that this has do to with to much magnetism ... it´s the same on some Stratocasters ... i mean these 6-string soprano basses some musicians with tiny fingers are playing ... that´s why this issue is called "Stratitis" here in Germany!
I fixed some stainless steel "knobs", which i have punched out of a kitchen knife blade, on the magnets and the problem was solved ... this was a hint from that luthier!
As always a great review! Thank you!
Great comparison. Now i want all 3
Just received my set of Relentless J pickups from Sweetwater....will install in a bass after the holidays! Cheers................
i have this delano with sadwosky preamp in sire u5... big big versatility and the tone, great value for this short scale bass and this pickup is amazing.
Thanks Marc! That sounds KILLER!
The Lace has the most "focused" midrange while the DiMarzio and the Delano, which are quite similar to each other (the DiMarzios being a bit more punchy), have more pronounced top end. All are really good and I wound mind either.
I’m here because I wanted to love the relentless, but now have a crush on the Lace! I had a bass with the Delano, they’re awesome
Can't go wrong with any of those! Personally I'd go with the DiMarzio because they're a bit less expensive. I'm a huge fan of their original Model J pick ups.
When I first saw one of those Relentless pickups I was expecting all look but no tone, but it blew me away. This demo is no exception, the Relentless pickups sound absolutely amazing, exactly how I think a bass should sound. It sounds warm, with a really pleasant low-mid bite, but without losing too many highs.
The other pickups sound good too, but the Delano sounds a bit harsh to my ears.
I dig the Delano set myself. I'm glad too. I have a set on deck for a P/J build I'm doing. Just waiting on my Warmoth body...
the tone is great, always like it when the jazzborg comes out, makes me wanna get one too, might wanna sweep the internet though, UA-cam has an old account that pops up when you look up "Jazzborgini", also, just a suggestion, but edit the demos intersecting more often so it's more obvious when the sound difference is shown, with a drum demo, *kinda like davie504, but all in all, love your stuff, man.
Thanks! Yeah that's an ooooooooooooooooooold account of mine and those videos were posted right when I had the bass put together about a decade ago haha
The paint job on this Jazzborghini is so stunning, I don’t really care which pickups are in it. I guess some Jazz bass owners strive for top end. For me, a bass needs to sound like a bass, not a guitar. That paint job is fantastic. Did I mention the color is mesmerizing? Now, Imagine that very paint job on MY Jazz bass, with a rosewood Pickguard, with really nice grain. If I didn’t already say so, I really dig that paint job. Of the 3 pickup choices, the Lace set seemed to have something that grabbed my attention.
All three sounded great. I could go with any one of them. All three were hot and full sounding.
Both together, my favorite was the Aluma Js, with the Relentless J a very close second. The edge going to the Aluma J's growl.
The neck was hard choice, but I'll give the Aluma J the edge, for the same growl.
The bridge was an easy choice for me, the Relentless J was the fullest sounding.
For overall, use, I'm thinking of getting the Relentless Js. I currently have the OV Js in my J Bass, they are okay, but I'm just not into the vintage J tones. Go figure, as I'm normally a fan of vintage tone from my pups and amps, but I'm liking the Relentless' tone. Alas, their price is a big obstacle to me.
Nice sounding Jazz.
Love this kind of vid thank you for all the work
I put a set of lindy fralin 5 pickups in my mex fender jazz 5 and wow it made that bass a monster from what the stock pups were
If you haven’t tried fralin pickups check them out
And no I don’t work for them
I live all the way in Australia
Other than the chorus weirdness, I think Lace sounded much better than the other two. I feel they have more mids and much more pleasant high end. Can you review the p-bass version next? 😉
Thank you! I'll be sure to check out some strange P pickups in the future :). Oddly enough, I installed the Alumas in another bass (video coming later this month) and didn't have the issue with the chorus. Kinda perplexed lol
@@LowEndLobster Maybe changing to a different type of string material/construction could solve the issue 🤔
@@LowEndLobster you can get a chorus effect from having the pickup (usually the bridge) a bit too close to the strings. Not saying this caused it, but it's a possibility
agreed.
The lace alumitone pick up had better Clarity and transparency then the other two. Almost piano like.
Great video! I favor the Dimarzios but also love the Delanos.
Great demo .......
I really liked the Lace pickups the best....not by much. They really all sound great.
As I was watching the video,I was reading the comments every time it caught my ear and I looked up it was the Delano pick ups on the screen, they are the ones for me
Something really kool about the Dimarzio Relentless J pups ✌️👍
Alright Lobster. Another interesting video. In order from bright to jazzy. Those Lace blade pups. Holy smokes. Bright, edgy and clanking. Then DiMarzio. Warmer with a bit of snap and a touch of clank. Then the Delano. Nicely rounded without being too bright or warm while still being clear. I would choose the Delano if I had my choice. Until we groove again. 🦀🦞🎸✌️😎👍
Love this kind of vid thank you for all the work
I put a set of lindy fralin 5 pickups in my mex fender jazz 5 and wow it made that bass a monster from what the stock pups were
If you haven’t tried fralin pickups check them out
And no I don’t work for them
I live all the way in Australia
That bass looks awesome btw
I'd say my favourite ones are the Aluma Js. The neck pickup sounds very close to a P pickup for some reason.
The upper register thing can probably be fixed by lowering the pickups height
Wow, those Delano's are impressive! The transient detail that they preserve is my idea of good! By comparison the other two sound compressed and dark.
Compressed and dark is good for most songs. However, I achieve that with outboard gear, so I'd be missing out on the ability to do bright articulate parts when needed if I had one of the other two installed.
That said, I did try out Delano's JC4HE but chose Wilde J45 over those due to the articulation of the Wilde's. Apparently I should have compared against JMVC4FE instead.
Edit: Oof $240 a set for the Delano's vs $160 for the Wilde. Come on Delano!
I'm sure somebody chimed in already, but just in case: the chorus effect of the Lace pickups is likely from pickup height being too close to the strings. The magnetic pull is interfering with the string's vibration
Thank you!
My engineer used to get so annoyed at me when subconsciously tapping the pickups like that to count the pause off bests in the studio lol. Didn't know I was even doing it till he pointed it out. Super hard to stop once you been doing it for so long 😅
The struggle is real. I have been gigging and recording a lot more and it's more evident than ever haha
I have a bass I've built around 5 years ago and it got a pair of Lace Aluma J's! I love their sound, but also got that chorus like effect. After fiddling a bit with them, I found that it goes away if you let the pickups a little lower, so they get farther away from the strings! They do continue sounding awesome and keep their high gain, but the effect goes away
The "chorus effect" can be due to magnetic pull on the strings, since the pickups has high output (or high input). If possible set them lower/a bit farther from the strings to eliminate the odd swirling effect.
Hi 🦞 Great vid again, Lace sound a bit clinical and clean for my liking, DiMarzio has a nicer all round tone and bottom end, Still love the Delano pickups
Thanks Stu!
I think the the chorusy/flangery effect is string pull. The strings are going to be closer to the pickup when fretting up high
I like the pickups , 1st Delano ,2nd Dimarzio, 3rd lace sensor
I think the Lace pickups were my favorite sans the weird effect in the upper register. Perhaps the Lace pickups have a stronger magnetic field and need to be set a little lower?
That’s kind of what I was thinking too
In my experience with some basses, it is indeed in fact the magnetic pull of the pickups messing with the strings vibrations on the higher registers, and especially apparent on the lower strings past the 12th fret. Not all pickups do it and not all basses. Strings probably play a role too. You can minimize it/reduce it by lowering the pickups.
@@petehantzios6146 it usually doesn't require very much adjustment either, but it certainly does happen. You'll get kind of a chorus effect
That's exactly what's happening! I have a bass with a pair of Lace Aluma J's and I got this effect. I found that they have to be set a little bit lower than most pickups! They keep being high gain and hot sounding pickups even a bit farther from the strings though
@@petehantzios6146 It makes sense this would be most noticeable on the least massive strings.
Dimarzio was my favorite here. Delano were awesome. Alumitones sounded too dirty and squashed for me, like there is no air in the top. Thank you for your vids- they help A TON in considering product choices!
I find that curious and that the Aluma tones had the most transparency and clarity of them all
I mentioned trying out an Alumitone pickup maybe a day ago!! Talk about turn around time!
Hey Lobster! Thanks for this comparison. Looking for some Js to put in a shortscale fretless and I think this tilted me towards the Relentless. (Hope you’re staying warm!)
The lace pickups sound the most like what I think jazz bass pickups should sound like. The Delano sound good but have this almost piezo like high end to them.
Took similar Delanos out of my bass, but they are quite fantastic. Overall preferred Lace.
The Delano pickups seems to have more clarity. Those would be my choice between these 3. I've been thinking about putting some hotter pickups in my Squier paranormal jazz to replace the stock ones.
Dimarzios no contest. God damn those pickups are powerful and good sounding
Really? They seem the ones with the lowest output of the three, and the sound it's quite "closed" and not really bright
@@iacopoliviabella8272 I like their character the best. Delano sounds like every other Delano to my ears, flat. Laces are too screechy and only sounded good with the pick.
Those Dimarzios are pretty interesting to me. My fretted Jazz has Model J’s and I thought about getting them for my fretless, but those relentless are giving my gas
The latest DiMarzio stuff is really nice. I have a PJ comparison of the Relentless and Sixties PJ pickups coming next week! Relentless J's are absolutely killer
@@LowEndLobster I look forward to that!
Dude you make great videos... and you make loads of them...keep up the good work but please turn that compressor off so that everyone can understand the differences with all your comparisons
Thank you! It's built into the amp sadly and non adjustable. Going to be exploring new solutions for the new year though!
Wilde J45 (Bill Lawrence) are my favourite J pickups. And they are cheaper than those too.
I liked the DiMarzios. Sounded more present and upfront, with a little more detail. Smoother. Lace sounded the most different, and Delanos sounded like a lighter version of the DiMarzios.
I woukd say the Delano have the stringer sound some Jazz puckups have. I was expecting to prefer thr Dimarzio's and Preferred the Lace Pickups, just lower them a tad. Dimarzio has multiple noiseless options too. If my Jazz bass was brighter or i was wanting that bigger spund with rounds I could see the Dimarzio's being great, the Dimarzio is probably a good option for those that prefer stainless strings too.
I like all 3 but if pressed I'd take the Dimarzios for the adjustable pole pieces. I have no idea why the chorus /phaser sound is happening but definitely strange!
Dimarzios have more low freq kick. That's good for bass pickups
Delanos produce MEC-MEC tone. Like splitted humbucker with "cracking" artefacts on string-to-fret interaction. Good for Teutonic-kind sound
Lace have hi-fi-ish sound, HF and LF slightly rounded but it will be great for soft/pop music. The cause behind chorus/flanger imho has two probable sources: high quality factor of PUs (actually electric transformers) to highlight some overtones and tuning-fork configuration (resonant freq of aluminium frame+magnets interacts with coils beneath them).
The Delano and Dimarzzio for me.
The Lace ones sound fat and rich, very different from a typical Jazz.
Relentless sound very in your face and clear as a bell. Hot and clean. A lot of high end ping.
Delano more "honk" and highs are a little more recessed.
They all sound good, First two are the best imo but again super different.
I like the Delanos the most. I usually prefer Sandberg's Black Label pickups over Delanos, but in this comparison definitely the Delanos.
Is the Relentless pickup the Will power in a new housing? Sweetwater doesn't carry them anymore but I found some on Amazon new & dirt cheap. Just wondering🤔
can you please test other lace pickups, im not sure if they deliver what i want
I am surprised at how close to a Precision Bass the Lace Aluma J neck pickup sounds. This could be a great new series : how to best emulate a Precision Bass with a (split coil logically) Jazz Bass neck pickup: brands and models comparison. That question comes often on threads and this would be a way to go past the usual "if you want a P sound, get a P"… Thank you so much anyway for all these tests, comparisons and mods.
Love Delano
Reading through the comments, there seems to be no clear winner here. I also struggle to name my favorite, but I'd choose the DiMarzios, closely followed by the stock Delanos. Both are more intimate and direct sounding compared to the Lace, with the DiMarzios having more midrange growl and body, and the Delanos being clearer and brighter. But they're all great, you can't go wrong with any of these sets.
Hi Lobster. Could your strings be too close for the Lace pickups? I wonder if the blade pickup magnets are strong enough to pull on the strings? I've heard that happen before in various discussions on talkbass. Hope this helps! - Happy Holidays- Brent, VT
When you change pickups are the pots just as important to change ?
Great review. My favourite was the Lace (I wonder what caused that chorus effect?) To my ear the DiMarzio and Delano sounded more similar - so I’d go for the DiMarzio simply on aesthetics.
Folks are saying it was the pickup height. I installed these in the Paranormal (video coming later) and didn't get that effect there
@@LowEndLobster - What’s the price point of each set?
@@revlewisrees9880 Doh! I believe all sets are around 200-250 USD for the pair
Can you do a video on Wilkinson pickups?
I'm curious about Delano Times Square series sound.
Will it be great for modern jazz bass sound?
The Relentless seem to have the most even string balance. Radiused AND adjustable poles. Win. The E and G are no longer way too loud because the pickup isn’t flat.
Dude, I had your base line bass line stuck in my head yesterday and couldn't remember where it was from. It was driving me crazy lol. Did you write that? Or is it from somewhere?
I also have a melody stuck in my head from a Final Fantasy game or something. I'm trying to transcribe it from my head to figure out the chords so I can Google it lol
I wrote the bassline for testing basses/pickups back to back. I put something together that was modestly entertaining to listen to and play while also covering a good amount of the fingerboard and areas that are very common. Glad you like it!
What I hear with Lace Alumatones, guitar or bass, is a hi-fi sound that can be EQ'd to create any sound/tone needed. In fact, Lace makes a cigarbox matchbook size alumatone pickup that killer playing slide.
Any chance for reviewing any of Nordstrand's Jazz offerings? I'm really considering a noiseless Jazz pickup to try in my freak bass (it can host ALL pickups out there).
We have 3 videos coming up looking at Nordstrand pickup sets, though they're all single coil. I have the noiseless J 5 string pickup in my P10 though and it sounds great.
Pumpkin Jazz bass!
Lace had the most clarity and high-end sparkle to me. None of them sounded bad, however, I just prefer a more modern sound.
Lace pickups magnets are too close to the strings therefore causing the flange. Do the diMarzios balance better between the strings? So many jazz basses have bad balance since the A and D are often relatively further away than E and G
The DiMarzios sound great, but I wonder if I'd have the same issue with them that I've had with their guitar humbuckers in the past: they sound great in demos, but a bit middy and compressed once I get them installed. The Delanos sound amazing. Lacking in mids? Probably not, but maybe. Even notwithstanding the weird chorus vibe on the high notes, the Lace sound a little bit too high-output wide-range for my taste. If I had to go with a set, I think I'd choose the Delanos.
I think the Relentless J's have a similar character to the Model J's which are a lot more low/low mid heavy vs the Area J and Sixties J which are much closer to the 'vintage' J tone. I looooove the Area J and the new Sixties J so much.
Lace, ftw
Out of phase/chorus sound? Are the pickups out of phase?