Do you lose anything with a PJ?

[steamthief]

Passive P/J = Seemingly great idea that manifestly isn't but just won't go away.

Terminal level of V/V/T Syndrome, which is bad enough to begin with even with less dissimilar pickups, but in a P/J makes mixing utterly impossible.

Doubt it? Get an HRPB -- Fender's own pricey failure at the concept -- and try to make the volume pots mix properly. They won't. Not a prayer.

Rig up some kind of remedial electronic geekery and you might be OK, but V/V/T P/Js are stone hopeless as they sit.

Passive V/V/T P/J's sound great as long as you take your time adjusting the pickup heights to blend without volume drops. My California Special blends beautifully. Never underestimate the power of prayer.

 

[electracoyote]

My .02 cents, and nothing more:

I have a Precision Special Deluxe Active (MIM), and the combo works well. Then again, it's active, and it sounds like an active bass.

I had a Precision Special, non-active version of the same bass. I could not get the combo of the split P and Jazz rail to work for me. They were like oil and water, one or the other was fine, but mixing them was kind of fruitless for me.

The only way to know is to try one for yourself.

 

[SJan3]

ps. FWIW, my '66 P had a J pickup in it when I bought it (wired with a 3-way switch, in fact). I have now paid money to have that pickup removed and the route filled. Why? Because when I compared the solo P to P/J and solo J, I felt like the solo P sounded better than either of the other settings - to the point where I would never use anything but the solo P anyway.

+1
I played a new Fender American Deluxe PJ yesterday and did not like the tones the J pup added. To me it sounded best with the P pup solo.

 

[prd004]

Probably, but the only Fender P/J I've tried didn't sound like a P or a J, with either pickup solo'd.

Didn't sound good period, though. I think I just have bad luck with P/Js.

Fender's have always been hit and miss. For decades people have been playing several, even searching for that magic one. Play the same model, year bass and they can feel and sound different. Fenders have always been like that.

 

[Bongolation]

Passive V/V/T P/J's sound great as long as you take your time adjusting the pickup heights to blend without volume drops.

The HRPB has a special set of pickups to minimize the difference in output, but the V/V/T simply doesn't work to mix.

I've never seen a passive V/V/T control set that worked what I would call properly (including on the stock Jazz Bass), but every P/J I've seen is somewhere between atrocious and totally non-functional in its ability to mix with the volume knobs.

A few years ago, an EE on the Seymour Duncan forums explained why it's impossible for passive V/V/T controls to properly mix dissimilar pickups and I wish I would have saved the post.

 

[kramerj]

I have a California Series P-Bass, and Bongloation is correct about its quirky mixing properties. For this reason, I don't rotate the knobs in the midst of a song or a set. Typical setup is: a) both pickups mostly or completely cranked; or b) P-pickup soloed with minor addition of J-pickup to add defintion (small changes in the J do not alter overall volume appreciably). I love the tone of this bass with Chromes--and put up with its electronic limitations.

 

[Kirk Bryant]

I have 3 go to P/J's A Precision Bass Special the one w/the Graphite headstock, A Fender Precision "Cowpoke" with the Kubiki pre and the one I use more than the first 2 is a Precision Lyte. I added a Demeter / Fodera 3 band pre that uses a M. Vol and blend knob and I dig it a lot! I think it is definitely worth upgrading your electronics before giving up on the concept.
I am also planing some PU replacements for some of these basses. I have 20 basses some cheapos and some very nice boutique stuff but I still play the Fenders a lot, always have always will.
As always YMMV etc.

peace Kirk

 

[BartmanPDX]

I would say that you are underestimating the percentage on that one....I think that 99.95% of people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a soloed P pickup on a P/J and a regular P-bass.

Is there a difference? Probably. Can anyone really tell the difference? For all intents and purposes, no. Certainly not in a live, or recorded, mix IMO.

+1.

When I put my Sadowsky in passive mode and solo the P pickup, it sounds just like any other P bass. I'd be surprised if anyone could hear the difference in a true blind test, particularly in a gig situation.