active pj sets available?

[joelb79]

ok, the new battery definitely helped. i thought i had replaced the one the previous owner had with a cheapo. turns out, it was the old one the other guy had in it. i guess in the haze of shiner bock and excitement over the new bass, i forgot to switch out the battery. *facepalm*

did a setup on the bass too, action lowered, pickups raised and new battery. i like the bass, just still not enthused about the lack of oomph from the bridge pickup.

FWIW- a J in the bridge always sounds that way. It has to do with the pickup sensing less string movement.

 

[mattbass6945]

ok, i appreciate that joel. is there another way to get more out of it? possibly a higher output in its place? or is this just an expensive experiment, not worth messing with?

 

[joelb79]

ok, i appreciate that joel. is there another way to get more out of it? possibly a higher output in its place? or is this just an expensive experiment, not worth messing with?

A good matched P+J set will go a long way. Some Manufacturers usually will make the J a bit hotter than normal by over-winding the coil. This increases the lows and takes off highs. Others might use a different design all together to get to the ball park of a beefier bridge. I'm not convinced fender did this with the deluxe PJ.

If the P pickup works for you; you can always try another J bridge pickup. A Dimarzio Ultra J is one of the hottest J's with the most lows, a slight mid scoop and extended highs. I found that was a good pickup to match a lot of P pickups, but it tended to make the whole bass sound a bit more scoped. Your Fender P will probably be around 10-11k ohms and the ultra J's 12.5k ohm. I'm not sure that made a difference but I was able to get the PJ to sound more JJ like with that pickup. Mind you, It doesn't match well with an overwound P pickup, because then you would have the same problem

The Model PJ set sounded good as well, but the J was quieter than the P (163mV vs 190ishmV).

One trick is to lower the P pickup in relation to the strings and raise the J. However I feel this makes the J give more bite and the P sound more subdued. FWIW this may give you a tone you like, but it may not.

Try these settings for pickup height. Not promising they will work but its a good compromise between standard and a lower P but not too low. make sure you depress the string at the last fret when measuring. I like to use an allen wrench on the pickup poles to do this measurement from pickup to string; but if you have a good eye a ruler could work.

P - 3/32 from the G string
5/64 from the E string

J - 2mm from the G string
3/32 from the E string

I think you'd like an EMG PJ set; but you'd probably have to yank your EQ out to install it.

 

[mattbass6945]

wow, thanks man! the allen wrench as a reference point is a great idea.

i like the p and would rather not lower it. maybe i need to replace the j or find a more "matched" set. just another thing to add to my to do list!

thanks again for your help joel!