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Hi everybody,
Hope you guys can help me since there are some experienced players on this board...
I have an old yamaha BB1000S which is a passive PJ style instrument. I really like the sound of J pickup placed in bridge position, but when played solo it gives plenty of hum and buzz. On the other hand, the P pickup sounds muddy and I almost never use it. This bass has two knobs (vol & tone) and a 3-position switch.
I was thinking about replacing the J pickup with a passive humbucker which should add more power to the sound and work quietly as well. I also consider putting a Gary Willis-style ramp in place of P pickup which is completely useless for me. I could use a switch to split the humbucker.
What you think about this idea? Perhaps it's more resonable to replace the pickups with same style but just better quality stuff? But I'm afraid old yamahas are not fully compatible with standars PJ pickups.
Thanks for your advice.

Fender type Jazz P/U's come in two widths.

The neck P/U is 3-5/8" or 92mm.

The bridge P/U is 3-3/4" or 95mm.

All Fender type 4 string P/U's assume that the instrument string spacing is 3/4" or 2 1/4" total (57mm). If your instrument has narrow string spacing a P/U with (3/4" spacing) pole pieces may not work well. Look instead for a P/U with monolithic (bar) magnet structure(s).

Your idea of changing to a hum-bucking dual coil P/U is probably the best choice considering that you wish to reduce EMI (electromagnetic Interference).

Another approach that might work and save money is to:

• Better shield the control cavity
  Shield the P/U route, be sure to connect it to ground.
  Replace the wire going from the P/U to the control cavity with one having improved shielding.

Lots of good choices from Bartolini
http://www.bartolini.net/index.htm

What ever P/U you choose, be sure to investigate P/U voicing. Some are voices for slap, or lots of treble, some optimized for bass output, and few are voiced to let the mids speak better.

Good luck,

Thanks. I think I'll give Bartolini a try, also heard they have good choice. Looking rather for something transparent, maybe enhancing treble a little bit, so one of those BB4 soapbars could be nice.