PJ pickup options

mremic01 · #1 12-12-2009, 10:47 PM

Lately I've been toying with the idea of getting a cheap PJ (either a Squier or a Gypsy Rose) and upgrading the stock electronics.

I am considering Quarter Pounders for both the P and J pups. But I've heard that the J is very different than the P. Do you guys think they would work well together in a PJ configuration?

Based off their reputation, I was also thinking of using a Dimarzio Model J and P, but I just tried Model Js in my SX Jazz and was pretty disappointing. They sounded very much like stock MIA Fender pickups. The stock SX pickups just had more life in them. I'm actually confused, because some people say they sound very modern and other people say they have an aggressive oldschool tone.

As far as tone goes, I'm looking for a nice fat sound, kind of Stingrayish. I play in a hardcore band and we've only got one guitar, so I've got a lot of low end I need to fill out while still being somewhat articulate.

mmbongo · #2 12-12-2009, 10:55 PM

I did something similar...but with an SX. I installed a Quarter Pounder P and a DiMarzio UltraJazz J. It freaking rips. The UltraJazz was the highest output J pickup I could find (you'll need it to keep up with the Quarter Pounder P) and they sound phenomenal together. But as with any P/J, the J pickup by itself does not have lots of low end so that's not the way to go if you want it to sound like a Stingray.

mremic01 · #3 01-02-2010, 05:00 PM

So I'm definitely set on having a QP for the P position. I'm still not sure on the J.

The QP J is a single coil and will introduce hum that won't get canceled by the P. I've been looking into this and that seems to be a common complaint. The Duncan STK-J2b seems like it would be a better option, but it looks like it's much hotter than than the QP P pickup. Would it drown out the P? Which do you think would be better for a J pup in the bridge.

j_nition · #4 01-03-2010, 12:23 AM

I'm getting ready to do this with my SX PJ. I will be going with the Quarter pound P and Ultra Jazz bridge configuration. I did alot of asking around and this seems to be the sound I'm after since my main tone is running the P at full and dialing the Jazz back to about 75%.
I rarely ever run the Jazz alone right now with the stock P/U's, but hope I might get some useable tones with the Ultra Jazz soloed if I set a bass boosted preset on my programmable BDDI.

Not to jack the thread but my question is what to do about pots? Are you guys going 250K on both, 500K on both or a mix?