PJ recommendation please!

[Bobby King]

Hey folks!

I need to put a setup of active PJ pickups in a bass for no-noise applications. I have used EMGs in the past but don't love them for two reasons -- they lack the mids and detail of passive pickups, and I can't play as hard on them without the sense of them compressing the sound and "crapping out". I love the sound of plain old Fender passive PUs, but I'll get noise and hum in certain studios or gigs because of the J pickup. What PJ set can anyone recommend that will be quiet, but have a sound that's closest to passive?

Thanks in advance!

Bobby

[slopeshoulder]

Nordstrand with NJ4SV split coil J?

[walterw]

stick with the classic P-pickup that you like (me too) and get something like the dimarzio area J for the bridge, which is really close to a classic jazz tone but with no hum.

[acebase62]

Seymour Duncan SPB-1 and STK-J2 give a great variety of tones in my P-J.

I also use 500k volume pots and a Fender TBX tone.

[Boof]

Hey, Bobby! I bought that 5-string P bass I was looking at today. Gonna put a J in the bridge position. I think I'm sticking with passive - really like the stock P pup. What are you putting the PJ setup in?

Rusty Russell

[RedLeg]

dimarzio set 126. quiet, cheap, great sounding. mount to your pre of choice.

[slopeshoulder]

Or get an East P-Retro and forget the J pickup.
That's what I'm doing.

[Fran Diaz]

Try the Sadowsky set, they work great both passive and active. Zero noise, great tone.

[Lemoore-on]

Originally Posted by RedLeg

dimarzio set 126. quiet, cheap, great sounding. mount to your pre of choice.

I have this, but I'm still building the bass.

I run DiMarzio's in my GL sig Jazz (123) and I run a DiMarzio P in a parts P bass that I put together. I love both basses.

I gotta say though they are both more agressive sounding than the're Fender counterparts. I play rock and I dig the sound.

I run mine passive and will in my P/J project too.

[pbassnut]

Originally Posted by RedLeg

dimarzio set 126. quiet, cheap, great sounding. mount to your pre of choice.

+1

I have this pickup set in my Atkinson all USACG parts mahogany body mahogany/ebony neck P-Bass and I like it quite a bit although my setup is passive. The J pickup on my Atkinson is in the 70's position which I think is the key to the good sound. I mostly play it with both pickups wide open which yields a J-esc sound for the most part only with more low end, midrange and gain. One thing I really like about the DiMarzio 126 P/J pickup set is that the pole pieces are hex wrench adjustable which enables you to tweak in perfect string balance no matter what string set you use or how you set it up. It is also a high output pickup system ... particularly with the P pickup solo'd. As an added bonus, the set is relatively cheap ... something like $90 to $95 at a lot of places.