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Can a P/J replace a P and a J?

#41
Bongolation said:
Plus there was all the inductance-mismatch V/V/T-syndrome tsuris.
Click to expand...

Inductance mismatch?:confused:
I've never heard of such a thing.


Put two pickups in parallel and the inductance will drop, which will mean less inductive reactance and more capacitive reactance, but that will just change the resonant response a bit.
Mixing different inductances of pickups does not cause any issues, like say mixing different impedances does.
 
#42
line6man said:
Inductance mismatch?:confused:
I've never heard of such a thing.

Put two pickups in parallel and the inductance will drop, which will mean less inductive reactance and more capacitive reactance, but that will just change the resonant response a bit.
Mixing different inductances of pickups does not cause any issues, like say mixing different impedances does.
Click to expand...
I may not be expressing this correctly.

For YEARS I have been trying to get a good explanation of why the passive V/V/T circuit typically works like utter crap, as it does in every case I've encountered to date, most severely with my 100% box-stock AmSe HRPB.

The best -- or at least longest -- explanation I got was a couple of years back from an EE on the Seymour Duncan forums. He said (as I remember and understood it, both imperfectly, I'm sure) that when dissimilar pickups are mixed in a passive V/V/T control circuit, the differences in the pickups cause a problem with inductance in the circuit that causes (somehow) the volume controls not to work properly for mixing the outputs of the pickups.

True? I have no idea, and the explanation was too technical for me to follow, but there was no solution to the problem anyway.

I do know that's is a annoying-to-fatal problem with every passive V/V/T rigged bass I've ever played, worst of all on my HRPB, which is precisely the sort of rig we're discussing here.
 
#43
Are you referring to the situation where if one V is on ten, but the other is rolled back a bit to eight or nine, that the bass is louder than if both V's are on ten? My Jazz does that... it's really annoying.

I know a good tech will tell me how to fix this, I suspect a pot change or something, but that DOES drive me nuts. Keeps me a Precision guy, LOL!!!
 
#48
IMHO, a PJ is primarily a P bass. Then, if you need to dial in a more modern tone or just need a little more brightness, you can add in the J pickup.
If you love the P tone, then a P J might be a good fit. If you love the J tone, then nothing sounds like a j, with two true single coil pickups.
However, Fender does not currently make a production model PJ that is USA made, with passive pickups, that I am aware of. You have to drop some major money and get a Tony Franklin or some other custom shop creation.
You might be able to find a Lakland BG skyline PJ that would be killer and a great deal. Also, G&L makes a monster PJ. It also has a more jazz bass neck profile. You can score one of those for about as much as new fender MIA P.
 
#49
Most two pickup basses are pretty versatile,

You have the fat neck Pickup,

the scooped modern ''both pickups'' tone

and the burpy bridge pickup.

Jazz bass fans will say nothing sounds like their baby

and P-bass fans will say the same,

In the end it's a matter of personnal taste,

Wheter you use a J-bass or a PJ-bass, both will pretty much be as versatile as the other, different but will cover pretty much the same tonal ground.
 
#50
JustOpenYourMind said:
...
Jazz bass fans will say nothing sounds like their baby

and P-bass fans will say the same,

In the end it's a matter of personnal taste,

Wheter you use a J-bass or a PJ-bass, both will pretty much be as versatile as the other, different but will cover pretty much the same tonal ground.
Click to expand...

I'm not quite saying nothing sounds like <insert bass style>, but I do agree that whether it does or not depends on YOUR ears. The benefit of value basses is you can buy all 3 styles (J, P and PJ) and compare. And having done just that, to MY ears, the series/parallel J covers all the bases best.
 

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