The Last Bass Outpost

Sometimes less is more...

Got a bit of a dilemma here... I recently purchased  a Peavey Millennium 5 string bass  from a co-worker, and I plan on removing the fretboard and replacing it with an ebony fretless fingerboard. My dilemma is this: I want to replace the single coils with hum cancelling pickups, and have narrowed my choices down to 4. Bartolini makes 2 models- original bass and classic bass, and Dimarzio makes 2- area jazz 5 and ultra jazz 5. Does anyone here have experience with any of these pups? I have been searching the interwebs and can't find a decent review on any of them! Thanks in advance!

Bridge ground is good. Looks like I'll be pulling the trigger on a set of Dimarzio Model J's  or Duncan Apollos sometime between now and tax time next year. Thanks for all the advice, folks!

Control cavity is nicely shielded(conductive paint, ground wires attached to cavity wall). Have not removed bridge to see if ground wire is touching. The hum is faint, but (to me)noticeable. tried backing tone control halfway off and got an interesting tone-not sure if I'm in love with it yet, but it ain't bad at all, and no buzz. Looks like I'm stuck with this option or get a set of Model J's

No pickguard. it is Squier's budget Jaco model. Haven't had a chance to look at it yet-gotta keep Mama happy, lol. Stay tuned!

Before you spend any money, just pull the pickups and do a thorough shielding job.  Aluminum foil works fine. No need to go for copper. New pickups (single coils anyway) would just hum too!

How would the self-adhesive aluminum tape that is used on ac ducts work? No fluorescents in the music room, and if I stand at an angle to the amp about 6 feet from it, the buzz goes away. It does show up at various distances regardless of my position relative to the amp. House is over a century old and has been rewired, though not by me. It has Romex wiring replacing the original, cloth-wrapped wiring. Not a major thing-I'm not playing out anymore, just not crazy about 60hz buzz. Not enough room for 2 dummy coils(rw/rp pups), and even linear buckers lose that 'something' that makes single coils so sweet. I'll try the shielding and get back to y'all! Thanks again!

Ta and appreciated... the RD is flawed, but so am I...

I have two neck-thrus... that Thunderbird, which is a Peter Cook, and my "budget buy" in the 80's, a Hohner Jack... curiously enough, both have a an exact replica P "D" profile P neck, in four pieces: three for the neck, one for the board... both are mahogany or similar (in the latter case)... both play beautifully...

I'd love a fretless neck-thru, but the RD is a stunner for tone... all that maple... the original pups were active but were humbuckers with no electronics other than the Moog board...


I'd love to buy and convert an Epi Pro T'Bird to fretless at some point, but more pressing matters exist for me at the moment...

Never 'flawed', Highlander-'has personality'!   With all that maple, I'll bet it projects like a beast! Never played a Hohner Jack, but really like the design-headless fascinates me. A fretless T-Bird would be amazing, but I fully understand 'more pressing matters', lol. Keep up the good work!