Standard precision pup sound vs PJ setup
 

What is your opinion regarding a standard pbass vs. a pj setup? Sound? Tone? Versatility?

I used both my MIA P today and my MIM rewired PJ with SD's into my Marshall VBA 400 over VBC 412 cab.
Both guitar players using 50w Marshall stacks ans Les Pauls.

The P has Chromes and the PJ has D'Addario SS Half rounds.

The P was very uniform in volume and tone across the strings and the PJ a little grittier/growlier especially on the lower notes.

In the end I liked the P for faster playing where I thought the PJ would be better. For my ear, I felt the P was a little better overall and I have never really been a Fender player and especially the P. Tend to prefer the tone of a jazz which is why I added the stacked humbucker J pup to the MIM version.

I think the Fenders are better in my Hartke rigs which are cleaner although that is a bad description.

The Marshall shines with my Gibson, Warwick or Alembic basses.

All things being equal, there is no reason why a P would be better than a PJ.

I still keep my P with a single pickup though, just for the sole reason that it looks more 'classic'

All things are seldom equal, however. A whole lot of PJ basses have the P pickup in the "wrong" spot. Small deviations may not vary a whole lot, depends on the listener's tastes, but a lot of them have it pretty far off. I think that among current Fenders only those built on Precision bodies have the P pickup in the right spot. The rest have it anywhere from a little off to significantly off. Other brands also vary a lot. A second problem is that PJ basses generally have a third pot and that changes the electrical loading on the P pickup and changes the tone a bit.

If you are careful to buy a PJ with the correct pickup placement and are willing to modify the electronics (if needed) to give you just two pots in the P only mode you can certainly get an authentic P sound out of a PJ. And then you also have more tonal range when you use the J pickup.

Ken

So where's the right spot?

the spot where the Precision bass has the pickup... leo didnt put it there by accident methinks :)