Duncan P J PUs in a 1st Gen Cruise Bass: Passive but no Pole Pieces?

[rubberweed]

I am a newbie in this parish so please be gentle with me.

I've recently become re-acquainted with the glories of the Hamer Cruisebass and it's got me thinking about how different pickups affect the incredible versatility of these amazing instruments.

I've come across a mate's mid-80s Cruise which has Seymour Duncan pickups (P J combination) which are apparently passive but they are surprisingly without exposed pole pieces. Judging from the scratchplate and features of the bass (set neck/pickguard) - this is most definitely a 1st generation version of the bass.

Here are my questions:

1. Has anyone come across Duncan P J bass pickups that are passive but without polepieces. Is this a pre-cursor to what became the bladed up quarter pounder series? I've not heard my mate's bass through my rig but would love to know the views of other bassists about what they're like.

2. Did Hamer have standardised pickups in the 80s? I've seen Duncans, EMGs and even DiMarzio pickups in the company's arsenal of basses from this era. Not sure what has been added aftermarket or not.

3. If you are a Cruise (or other Hamer bass) user, what pickups are you using and what type of sounds are you getting from them.

Rather than being a 'this set of PUs are the best' type of quest, I'm just intrigued by what people use.

Thanks in advance for being gentle with me.

Andy

[Jimbilly]

I've got a P/J set I bought from Serial Steve a while ago, he said they were DiMarzios from an '80s Cruise, I believe him. They don't have exposed pole pieces. I haven't put them in anything, just saving them for the right bass sometime. I think Hamer spec'd all sorts of good pickups, don't forget the OBLs, and I've got an '89 Chap5 with Bartolinis.

[Bass Guy Dave]

I've got an '82 Cruise with the stock DiMarzio/Slammers (exposed hex polepieces) in it. The bass had a Duncan stacked J in the bridge when I got it (previous owner had also added a couple mini toggles as well.) I used the orginal DiMarzio bridge pickup from my '81 Cruise to replace it, as I use a set of Duncan Active EQ pickups in the '81.

I really like the stock DiMarzios, especially the P in the neck. The active Duncans are nice, because I can easily go straight to the board live or recording and get a good sound.

I also had an '84 Blitz bass with smooth covers (don't know if they were still DiMarzio or Duncans,) but it sounded great, too. In fact, if probably sounded better than my '82 Cruise, but ergonomics won out, and I eventually sold it--but it was huge on tone, and looked pretty cool.

I've got a '96 (I think) 2TEK cruise that had the stock passive duncans, which sounded good, but were replaced with the Duncan Active EQs again, for the same reasons as my '81.

Welcome !

[Thundernotes]

I too have an '89 Chap5 with Bartolini's . Very happy with those!