5 Reasons to Buy the Fender Pure Vintage '65 Jazzmaster Pickups

[@ZachariahConnor]

I have a new video up on the pickups I replaced these with! Pop over to the channel to check it out! Thanks for all the comments :)

[@400_billion_suns]

These are the pickups in my American Original JM and I can’t imagine them sounding better. Love them. Articulate, spanky, dynamic, beefy… and if you want the sound of classic surf, these are more on-the-money than even Jaguar pickups.

[@nzstjohnthebaptist]

I put these in my MIJ 1996 Jazzmaster after comparing the original pickups with the Vintage 65s at House of Guitars in Rochester. Very happy with them.

[@michaelwiebers5866]

I just put a set in my 96 mij jazzmaster also, love them!

[@samsonlovesyou]

That initial tone is so perfect. Such a textured, scratchy, transient sound. Honestly don't think there's a better tone in the world.

[@cheesysped]

Thanks. Just picked up a Classic Vibe Jazzmaster last week and have a set of these on the way.

[@ZachariahConnor]

Nice!! I’ve never compared the classic vibe pickups directly with these, you’ll have to tell me what you think!

[@cheesysped]

@@ZachariahConnor neck pickup is nice but, as I read, the bridge is very hot (11k ish) and it doesn't have that vintage tone I like. Figured for the cost of the set id replace both. Keen to hear the new pickups once they arrive.

[@rainbowbridge4766]

@@cheesysped How did it sound? Im thinking of getting the same set for the same guitar

[@cheesysped]

@@rainbowbridge4766 They sound great!

[@__bxbx8music992]

you make that guitar scream for its life man i really dig it

[@ZachariahConnor]

thanks!

[@rhyskaiser107]

Very informative, thanks!

[@jomarivera8670]

Just picked up a Squier Jazzmaster 40th anniversary, thinking of upgrading the pickups after watching your video

[@ZachariahConnor]

Thanks for watching!

[@Laticlavius]

Very detailed review. Thanks!

[@pabloandresreacousin6558]

I agree with you in everything! these are great pickups!

[@WestonNey]

The quality is top notch! Love seeing and hearing how good everything is! 🔥

[@ZachariahConnor]

Thank you!! I think I could have eq’d my voice to be less bass heavy but I guess it works

[@ZachariahConnor]

The lighting was pretty good, maybe the best I’ve ever done imo

[@WestonNey]

@@ZachariahConnor it looked 👌

[@sconni666]

These came stock in my TVL Jazzmaster. I got a Keeley compressor and Stone Deaf noise gate so no output or noise problems here. Great pickups. 🎸

[@ZachariahConnor]

Thanks for watching! Such a sick guitar

[@Reepeet64]

Some tasty licks in this video. Good stuff as always

[@ZachariahConnor]

Thank you for the kind words!!!

[@tlister67]

They are a perfect upgrade for Squiers, I put a set in my Affinity JM and did not bother changing the 250k pots. I can now roll the vol down and still get a balanced sound.

[@Andre-Azevedo]

Affinity JM 2021 model? I just bought one and the pickups are different that is announced on the webpage. I think they are now ceramic jazzmaster single coils. Before they were more P90s.

[@geraldchan7395]

14:17 that was pretty glorious. What drive were u using my man?

[@ZachariahConnor]

I think that was the Walrus 385?? If not it was the Jackson Golden Boy

[@jdwilliams202000]

I love my Vintage JM’s ! Just got my ultra JM rewired to 60s specs and rhythm circuit instead of the phase

[@guitargud]

Great, very informative. Thanks a lot.

[@ZachariahConnor]

Thanks!

[@toppilansusi]

Although (or because) I'm going forward in replacing my TVL JM original pups with Lollar p90'ies, I really enjoyed and appreciate the analytic and critical approach!

[@SandauxBeats]

Hey Zac! I'm pandering these pickups I should buy or not. I'm satisfied with the stock Duncan Designed pickups for now. (And awesome to see a fellow Squier Jazzmaster Vintage Modified here). However, I couldn't, for the life of me, justify the Mastery bridge for now because of its price. It's just too damn expensive. I'm thinking I should stick to the stock as well unless I have the budget for the Graphtech saddles (in white). I have two questions: 1. What strings are you using here? 11s flat wounds by Daddario? 2. Any recommended bridge aside from Mastery and Staytrem? Thanks!

[@ZachariahConnor]

Hey thanks for watching! If you love the pickups, don’t change them! I think the Mastery was worth every penny imo, just rock solid and improves the sustain. I had a staytrem on my Jaguar when I had it, and it was also so good. Let me answer your questions. 1) I probably had Elixir 10-52 gauge strings, maybe daddario, not sure. Round wound for sure. I currently am using Stringjoy strings, same gauge. 2) Grab a Fender American Professional bridge or something like that. Basically a mustang bridge but with the correct string spacing. I think Descendant Vibrato makes a cool bridge too. Honestly though, I can’t recommend the Staytrem and Mastery bridges enough, they really are worth it but expensive. If you want to make your guitar more stable without spending a lot, a 0.5 degree shim from Stewmac will work wonders on your stock bridge. Use a (very) small amount of loctite on the screws to help with them falling down and that will help.

[@reneebear3641]

Hey hope you didn’t go for the bridge replacement quite yet, try bringing it way up & angling the neck back, it’ll improve every problem your bridge has & allow the bridge to rock which prevents going out of tune from trem use

[@snicker576]

Nice vid, I liked these but wound up going with the Vintera Mod 60's pickups, a bit hotter, but not by much. Was perfect for me

[@drewnorth3816]

How is the brightness level on the Vintera Mod 60's? I have these Pure Vintage 65's and I could definitely use hotter, and i could definitely use darker too. I feel like the Pure Vintage's are much too bright for my taste.

[@snicker576]

@@drewnorth3816 Vintera mod 60's are exactly what youre looking for

[@landonthornburg7329]

sounding great as always!

[@ZachariahConnor]

Thank you for always appreciating!!!

[@Glicksman1]

You had me at "articulate and clear". I once thought that "hot" high-output pickups made good tone. I was wrong. Low output pickups make better, even great tone. You want to overdrive your amp? Well, I suppose there might be some devices that can do that, I don't know. Why are Fender pickups so bright? Well, aside from Fender's initial target market being country and western and early rock players who wanted as much twang as possible (DeArmond Dynasonics and P-90s being favoured), Leo Fender had a deficiency in his hearing that naturally attenuated treble. What he actually heard we cannot know, but with that deficiency he voiced his pickups (and amps) to sound in the mid-range area to him, while to everyone else they were bright as hell. Leo did not play guitar which is like the president of a car company not knowing how to drive. It all worked out famously in the end and accordingly, we should be grateful.

[@ZachariahConnor]

Thanks for watching! I definitely think as time went on, Fender added more and more treble (from the late 40s to ‘65). The early Jazzmaster pickups are a bit darker. Maybe it was player tastes or Leo going deaf!

[@Glicksman1]

@@ZachariahConnor I think that Leo's continuing and deepening hearing deficiency caused him to intentionally voice his pickups and amps brighter over time. The darker side of a Jazzmaster's tone is clearly an attempt to attract jazz guitarists to the instrument, thus the name. It actually does take on much of the character of a hollowbody jazz-style guitar when the top switch is in the up position. Love your site. If people are wise, they'll watch it. I use the Xotic SP, too. Cheers, mate.

[@JameMakesNoise]

Got these in my CME jazzmaster and I play though a jc40. Super bright pickups into a super bright amp! with a bit of EQ and tone knob they're awesome. Where wanna switch to a fender deluxe reverb tho

[@fredrobinson6733]

Would you use these as an upgrade to the Squire paranormal 12-string? Or would you choose some other upgrade for a 12-string? Thanks. Great review.

[@ZachariahConnor]

Thanks for watching Fred. I think these would probably be a decent upgrade for that guitar, but I would warn you that the bridge pickup is very bright, and with a 12 string you might find that too much. I'd try something a little fatter like the Mojotone '59 clone or Curtis Novak JM-V. These usually have a bit more winds in the bridge position which balances better with the neck pickup! If you really want to lean into the thicker side of pickups, you could go for the Curtis Novak JM-Fat or a Wide Range Humbucker in a Jazzmaster pickup cover (Curtis Novak, The Creamery, Lollar, Fender all make these). Hope that helps, there are endless options for Jazzmaster pickups these days!

[@editorjuno]

@@ZachariahConnor -- Many, many pickups are far too bright for the bridge position of an electric 12-string. My otherwise-excellent 12-string came with a Seymour Duncan '59 humbucker in the bridge spot that was so bright as to be unusable on its own until I wired in a resistor and capacitor in shunt across it -- and even then I have to dial down the tone pot. IMO, that position on that sort of guitar is very demanding and very few pickups can cut it, regardless of how good they are in a six-string application.

[@jasongirard813]

Howdy! Thank you for the great video and review! I just ordered a set for my J Masics after checking out your review. Are you able to comment on the differences between these, the Fender ‘60s Modified Jazzmaster, V-Mod Jazzmaster, and the ‘62 AVRI pickups?

[@ZachariahConnor]

Thanks for the kind words Jason. I have not tried the v-mod pickups, but I know they sound more strat like (less mids). The 62 AVRI are darker than these. The ‘60s modified Jazzmaster uses the vintera modern Jazzmaster pickups I think. The older one used p90s I think

[@jasongirard813]

@@ZachariahConnor Thank you for your feedback! I’m going for the vintage Jazzmaster surf/spaghetti western sound! I pray these are great pickups for that style - in addition, the pickups will used for worship music.

[@ZachariahConnor]

@@jasongirard813 I think you’ll like these then, if you find them too bright, I recommend the Mojotone ‘59 Clone pickups, I just got them and I love them. They’re just a tad bigger sounding which I really like

[@jasongirard813]

@@ZachariahConnor That is bodacious!

[@jj-eg5up]

I bought these not realizing they would be so bright. I have finished the build yet, but maybe it is a good thing I left out the treble bleed.

[@ZachariahConnor]

Depends on your rig! I got them to work well for a while nicely, but if your rig is dialed in for dark guitars they can be a little shrill

[@drewnorth3816]

I find them to be too bright too, no matter what amp I am playing through. I can dial in a sound with pedals and amp eq, but it can sometimes be a challenge to tame the brightness.

[@jxscene760]

Just got a squire classic vibe Jm you think this is worth the upgrade? Or the pick ups this comes with similar thanks!

[@ZachariahConnor]

Hey! I think it's worth it to upgrade, but I'd recommend the Mojotone '59 Clones, Curtis Novak JM-V or JM-Historic, or the Lollar jazzmaster pickups personally. The PV65s just are a bit of a one trick pony.

[@b.low...101]

Excellent video. Liked and subscribed : )

[@ZachariahConnor]

Thanks!!

[@tristiankerner5280]

I’m swapping out the stock pickups on my JM US pro 2 with these to use on a fender twin. Hoping it’s not going to be too shrill.

[@ZachariahConnor]

You might find these pretty bright…I might recommend the Mojotone, Creamery, Seymour Duncan, or Novak options if you’re worried about too much treble

[@VasilyPu]

Hey! I know it's an old video, but I can't really find any info about the covers. Do they have glued covers like the stock Squier pickups? Wax would really complicate prying them off for a swap in that case...

[@ZachariahConnor]

Thanks for watching! They are not glued on, but are wax potted. Quite easy to move to different pickups

[@VasilyPu]

@@ZachariahConnor Good to hear, thanks! I really like black covers on jazzmaster pickups for some reason. Love the channel :)

[@ZachariahConnor]

Thanks!!

[@editorjuno]

I think if G&L sold the pickups in their "Doheny" model, they would be a sensation among Jazzmaster players. The Doheny isn't a JM -- it has no rhythm circuit, with Leo's vastly improved G&L version of a Strat-style trem and a second "PTB" tone control -- but the pickups are in the JM form factor. They're basically a refined wide/shallow-bobbin variant of Leo's "MFD" design -- sort of P90ish in principle, but quite Fenderish in tonal balance, with just a touch of that P90 grit. I've been checking a lot of aftermarket JM pickups, but have yet to hear one that I prefer to what's already in my Doheny.

[@ZachariahConnor]

Thanks for watching and for your thoughts. I would like to try the Doheny pickups in a JM! I doubt G&L would be able to get these pickups in their guitar from the factory however. I do think they could use Lollar or Curtis Novak JM pickups.

[@editorjuno]

@@ZachariahConnor -- If you mean that G&L doesn't offer them as product, AFAIK that's correct. They do stock pickups for some of their other models, but so far nothing that would drop into a JM.

[@ZachariahConnor]

Yes that's what I meant. Do they sell them individually?

[@gc_isme]

Hey man, great video! Just wondering if these pickups have been prone to buzzing at all ? I'm torn between getting these and the kinnan Fatmasters

[@ZachariahConnor]

Thanks! They have the normal 60hz hum like other single coils, but not when both pickups are on

[@GCCork]

@@ZachariahConnor Perfect thanks for the vid man! Ordered a pair yesterday morn so hopefully it'll go well 🤞 I've no soldering kit now so might need to get it professionally done if I can't figure it out..

[@ZachariahConnor]

@@GCCork you’ll need a soldering iron at least

[@GCCork]

@@ZachariahConnor ofc haha I think the father has one so fingers crossed it'll go smoothly with the manual

[@liamsayes]

Hey are these the same pickups that are on the American original 60s jazzmaster?

[@ZachariahConnor]

Yes!

[@anonymotif]

Is the mastery bridge worth it in your opinion? Shocked at the cost for those - it's basically what I paid for my VM JM in 2013! (your exact guitar)

[@ZachariahConnor]

I’d get a Staytrem if you’re on a budget, or just shim the neck and use some locktite on the stock bridge. The Mastery is worth it, but there are other ways to make a Jazzmaster or Jaguar stable!

[@anonymotif]

@@ZachariahConnor Thanks for the tip, I'll check out the Staytrem!

[@ZachariahConnor]

Yes! They’re closer to $100

[@alexautio]

Glorious

[@bribanco9024]

do you think these will sound good on my 2021 affinity JM? the factory pickups are way too muddy for my shoegaze...

[@ZachariahConnor]

Heck yeah! These are the opposite of muddy imo

[@thedobermans]

One other thing to consider is that The Fender Jazzmaster was designed to use heavy, flat wound strings. So, if you did that, the original wouldn't have sounded so bright.

[@ZachariahConnor]

Yes!

[@thedobermans]

@@ZachariahConnor Yeah, I don't know if you heard that before...read it in an article. Great video. I'm building a thin line jazz master right now and chose PV65s based on your video and some other reviews. Thanks man.

[@ZachariahConnor]

@@thedobermans nice! After trying some other pickups, I’d recommend you try the Mojotone ‘59 Clones as well, they have some more beef without sounding like HBs

[@thedobermans]

@@ZachariahConnor Cool, I'll keep them on the radar. Love that clean tone. The Dobermans is my musical project. Don't know what you like, but here it is. kzbin.info/door/uN3GRwgDmPjI0TO_mPPz5Q

[@75thnetworkofenigma38]

How did you get that tone at 9:03 ? Such beautiful sounds

[@ZachariahConnor]

Jackson Golden Boy, Walrus Julianna, Boss delay and reverb

[@1thess523]

Is that an Ampeg GVT15?

[@ZachariahConnor]

Yes!! I have a video about it on my channel if you’re interested

[@1thess523]

@@ZachariahConnor I'll check it out, that was the first "Vox" type of amp I bought for my son when he started playing worship almost 10 yrs ago, unfortunately we were new to the whole guitar Tube amp deal. We hadn't figured out how to dial in an amp and the pedals i got him were cheap so everything sounded harsh but we eventually traded it for a Hughes and Kettner tubemeister 18 and from there we started learning about dialing in amps. I later saw a video describing how good that Ampeg really is 🤦‍♂️. I had got it for $200 in mint condition at a pawnshop, my son has had an AC15 & AC 30 since and currently plays a Badcat Cub 40.

[@a1-wm7fg]

To each his own, but I tried the PV 65 pickups and took them out very quickly. Way too thin and bright to me.

[@ZachariahConnor]

I got rid of them after a year for that reason, but I did like the neck pickup a lot.

[@aeoteroa818]

love the jazzmaster, hate the bridge so much. g&l bridges are everything i wish fender bridges were

[@ZachariahConnor]

Try shimming the neck! I was able to use my stock bridge without issues on 10-52 gauge strings

[@darineller6768]

Mic stand much. 🥴 I like the pickups though.

[@nickkalister6291]

still prefer antiquities

[@ZachariahConnor]

I haven't played them, but based on other people's opinion, I'd agree that the antiquities are probably better

[@MrDaigoRiki]

Pure vintage is way too bright to me.

[@ZachariahConnor]

I also agree for the bridge pickup

[@randallscott6]

These pickups suck. Real high and tinny

[@ZachariahConnor]

There are fatter sounding pickups out there for sure