BETTER!!!
Sweet! I always wanted a coffee table bass.
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Sweet! I always wanted a coffee table bass.
I suppose it should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway, that the 4 string P can never do all the same things as the 5 string PJ. Whereas the 5 string PJ can reasonably cover everything that the 4 string P can do. Will they sound exactly the same? Maybe not in scientific tests, but 99% of the people in the audience and probably even the majority of musicians won't notice any difference.
I have two PJs. One is fretted (with roundwounds), and the other is fretless (with flats). My default with the fretless is to have both pickups turned up, but I treat the fretted one like a P-bass that just happens to have an extra pickup when I decide I want it. In either case, if you only have the P volume turned up, it sounds like a P bass.
I have a Valenti PJ5 that sounds great. One benefit of a 5 string P is the elimination of C/C#/D dead spot, oh and the low notes.
Which P?
I went to a used music store to get a Fender P bass. I tried out about 8 of them, all MIA. They all sounded different. There isn't 'A' P bass or 'A' Jazz bass or 'A' PJ bass.
I had a MIA Fender P for a dozen years. I eventually traded it in.
I still have a 1988 G&L SB-1 (split P pups). I will never let it go.
I also have one of Skip's Knuckle Guitar basses, a 5-string P/J, 36 inch scale.
In my honest opinion, the P/J (Nordies) are so very close to the 4-string P that most people will never notice any subtleties between the two. However, I can roll up the bridge pup and treble and get quite a bit more clarity than is possible with the strictly P bass. (My opinion only)
I simply think a good P/J is more useful in more situations than a P.
I still have a 1988 G&L SB-1 (split P pups). I will never let it go.
I also have one of Skip's Knuckle Guitar basses, a 5-string P/J, 36 inch scale.
In my honest opinion, the P/J (Nordies) are so very close to the 4-string P that most people will never notice any subtleties between the two. However, I can roll up the bridge pup and treble and get quite a bit more clarity than is possible with the strictly P bass. (My opinion only)
I simply think a good P/J is more useful in more situations than a P.
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Nevermind all the bs....close your eyes and let your ears make the decision on what is better. 
I don't know. You'd have to ask the people who believe PJs don't sound like Ps...whatever Ps they're talking about I guess. It's one of those things where I'd never be able to tell the difference so I don't worry about it at all.
This is the first weekend in about 6 weeks I haven't has a Friday-Saturday gig. Kinda nice to be home for a change.
"Can a 5 string PJ every be as good as a 4 string P?"
Yes. It can. That isn't to say it will, however. Any given instrument may or may not. Each ear will judge it differently, too. One player will give a bass the thumbs up on matching sound and, playing the same bass through the same rig on the same day, the next guy says thumbs down. There are few defensible objective answers to subjective questions. The only way to be certain is to play the instrument in question and judge for yourself.
Yes. It can. That isn't to say it will, however. Any given instrument may or may not. Each ear will judge it differently, too. One player will give a bass the thumbs up on matching sound and, playing the same bass through the same rig on the same day, the next guy says thumbs down. There are few defensible objective answers to subjective questions. The only way to be certain is to play the instrument in question and judge for yourself.
The P pickup tone on this guy, a Yamaha 2025X, rendered my 1965 Precision redundant.
I've had one 5 string PJ and did not care for it. The B sounded... weak.
What constitutes 'good'?
I generally prefer Ps to PJs and think that both 4 and 5 stringers have certain advantages.
5s mainly for reading gigs as one more string means one has to shift positions less often.
4s for comfort.
