Financial hard times are getting the better of me, so some gear has got to go. I am considering selling a '97 MIA P and a '00 MIA Jazz - but would like to replace them with a single bass that can nail something close to both those tones. I use the P for classic rock thump, and the Jazz for brighter more modern tones. Question is - can a P/J deliver both the P-thump and the J-zing? I already have a P/J fretless (with Jazz neck - which I prefer) but its a MIJ and the pickups are not great. I'd be interested in other players' experiences with the P/J tones.
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Can a P/J replace a P and a J?
- Thread starter hills1234
- Start date
- Jun 28, 2005
- 1,015
- 18
- 87
- Disclosures
- Builder,mcdcustomguitars
If I could only have one bass, it would be a passive P/J. I do have one, and it is my favorite bass.
Rocky
Rocky
IMO, yes.
On a Jazz, the neck pickup sounds sorta like a P. The bridge is where the Jazz tone comes from. Now, replace that neck pickup true P pickup, there ya go.
IMO, IME, etc.
On a Jazz, the neck pickup sounds sorta like a P. The bridge is where the Jazz tone comes from. Now, replace that neck pickup true P pickup, there ya go.
IMO, IME, etc.
yah, my P/J doesn't sound anything like my J, although it can sound like my P with some twidling
If both basses are paid for, don't sell two and buy one. Sell both, keep the P/J you already have. Change pickups if needed. But it makes NO sense to buy another bass when you already have the same model you plan to buy. Just tweak the one you have.
Agreed. Given the situation, I would go w/ a J bass, w/out a second thought. You can get more sounds from a J bass, it has better range and has a much cleaner sound (to my ears at least).
I like a PJ for the following reasons:
On the neck pickup, its ALL Pbass, a funky lowmid rich tone that I crave for 90% of what I do.
With both pickups blended its a modern sound that has a lot of midrange kick and has a great slap tone IMO
Favoring the bridge pickup, it gives me the ONLY sound I ever liked out of a Jbass, which is that funky Jaco-style burp.
So for me, it's PJ all the way, albeit in the Sadowsky variety.
On the neck pickup, its ALL Pbass, a funky lowmid rich tone that I crave for 90% of what I do.
With both pickups blended its a modern sound that has a lot of midrange kick and has a great slap tone IMO
Favoring the bridge pickup, it gives me the ONLY sound I ever liked out of a Jbass, which is that funky Jaco-style burp.
So for me, it's PJ all the way, albeit in the Sadowsky variety.
a P-J can sound just like a P, but you won't feel as cool playing it 
if you really gotta unload something, +1 to selling the P, and if you gotta keep that P tone option, +1 to just getting a new pickguard for the J and converting it to a P-J. unlike if you converted the P, you could always go back to the original jazz pickup and pickguard; no harm, no foul.
if you really gotta unload something, +1 to selling the P, and if you gotta keep that P tone option, +1 to just getting a new pickguard for the J and converting it to a P-J. unlike if you converted the P, you could always go back to the original jazz pickup and pickguard; no harm, no foul.
a P-J can sound just like a P, but you won't feel as cool playing it
if you really gotta unload something, +1 to selling the P, and if you gotta keep that P tone option, +1 to just getting a new pickguard for the J and converting it to a P-J. unlike if you converted the P, you could always go back to the original jazz pickup and pickguard; no harm, no foul.
I don't know about that. I feel pretty frickin cool with my PJ. I should mention that it has a wider neck and a Pstyle body, the other two factors that make me have much love for the P design. Can't stand Jbasses ergonomically. +1 on the last part.
Same here. The straight P sound is there if/when you want it, blend in the J to suit. P's are (IMO) too 1-dimensional, and I simply cannot play a standard J, feels all wrong. I own 4 Fenders, all different varieties of the PJ: early 90's MIA Plus, 2000-era MIM Deluxe(passive), late 80's MIJ Lyte, & mid 90's MIM Cowpoke. 2 passive, 2 active, various shapes & sizes, but all have the PJ thing in common. I wouldn't own a Fender any other way.
Wow, how many more times do we have to have this thread? 
I'll say this again: If anyone could get a passive P/J right, you'd think it would be Fender. The MIA HRPB was a straight attempt at this and because of the difficulty in balancing the outputs of the pickups without making a special set (which they did), it was pretty thoroughly rated as a fail by people who also had comparable pure Ps and Js. It didn't do both, it did neither P nor J very well compared to their straight Ps and Js.
Plus there was all the inductance-mismatch V/V/T-syndrome tsuris.
I have all the MIA variants in the above paragraphs and that's my call, too. The HRPB sounds neat with everything cranked full-on, though, a unique tone.
I'll say this again: If anyone could get a passive P/J right, you'd think it would be Fender. The MIA HRPB was a straight attempt at this and because of the difficulty in balancing the outputs of the pickups without making a special set (which they did), it was pretty thoroughly rated as a fail by people who also had comparable pure Ps and Js. It didn't do both, it did neither P nor J very well compared to their straight Ps and Js.
Plus there was all the inductance-mismatch V/V/T-syndrome tsuris.
I have all the MIA variants in the above paragraphs and that's my call, too. The HRPB sounds neat with everything cranked full-on, though, a unique tone.
Good suggestion - but the P/J I already have is fretless, which I do want to keep. Definitely need a fretted ... my intonation ain't always that crash hot
Interesting ... in your experience which of those does the best job of nailing the respective tones?
2000 MIM Deluxe. The Plus does, too, but the output (Lace Sensors) has less balls. My band-mates have remarked that they like the MIM Deluxe, & the way it cuts through the mix best, also.
It's been years since I owned a straight P, but from what I remember regarding tone, the Deluxe comes as close as you're going to come with a 2 -P/u. I've never owned a J (I'd never spend $$$ on something that felt that "wrong" to me), but I've played friend's J's, including some vintage ones. I do like the tones the J's produce, and that's the reason I play PJ's...P feel, (and sound, if you cut to front p/u) with the versatility of a J. Maybe not pure J sound, but close enough for me. Like I said, I won't be buying a J...ever...unless they make one with a P body.
Swap the fretless neck onto one of your other bodies and you'll quite possibly have all you need. I'd suggest you put it on the P. The play the JJ and PJ fretted for a few months and you'll know what you want to keep.
Don't sell 2 basses to buy one if the motive is financial. Usually you lose out on each trade. Find the money somewhere else. Sell a TV or a kidney.
Don't sell 2 basses to buy one if the motive is financial. Usually you lose out on each trade. Find the money somewhere else. Sell a TV or a kidney.
True that! A P/J can NOT do the work of a J.
HOWEVER, a J in series mode CAN do a reasonable job of impersonating a P. So if someone forced me to only have ONE it would be a J with a series/parallel mod.
Done!
Have recently owned a PJ, and owned J basses in the past. From what I can tell:
A J with the front pickup solo'd can do a passable imitation of a P-bass. Put it in a mix and most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Not the same, but for many, close enough.
A PJ with both pickups running does not sound like a JJ with both pickups running. It just doesn't. Different. I in fact prefer a PJ to a JJ but they are not the same.
A P bass cannot sound like a J bass that is solo'd on the bridge pup.
So technically a JJ is more versatile than a PJ *unless* you:
a) really really really dig a "real" P sound
and/or
b) prefer the fatter tone of a PJ (both pups) vs JJ (both pups)
I actually ran my PJ with the blend just either side of 50/50. That gave two nice distinctive tones that were neither P nor J but rather something *I* liked. ymmv.
A J with the front pickup solo'd can do a passable imitation of a P-bass. Put it in a mix and most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Not the same, but for many, close enough.
A PJ with both pickups running does not sound like a JJ with both pickups running. It just doesn't. Different. I in fact prefer a PJ to a JJ but they are not the same.
A P bass cannot sound like a J bass that is solo'd on the bridge pup.
So technically a JJ is more versatile than a PJ *unless* you:
a) really really really dig a "real" P sound
and/or
b) prefer the fatter tone of a PJ (both pups) vs JJ (both pups)
I actually ran my PJ with the blend just either side of 50/50. That gave two nice distinctive tones that were neither P nor J but rather something *I* liked. ymmv.
