The Squier Jag is SS. Also the new MIM Mustangs are P/J. On both of these the J pickup seems to be a bit anemic for many people's taste.
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Does anyone else here dislike PJ basses?
- Thread starter Sean775
- Start date
The Squier Jag is SS. Also the new MIM Mustangs are P/J. On both of these the J pickup seems to be a bit anemic for many people's taste.
I may turn my P into a sort of PJ.
I have an SX P and a spare J pickup laying about. I may have the J installed at some point, probably as close to the pickguard as I can get (about MM coil 1 location).
For starters I'd put a switch on the volume so that it selects one pickup or the other, rather than a blend.
I already have plenty of tone controls with treble and mid cut tone controls on the P so I'm more interested in having the bridge tone to work with rather than creating tone via blend. YMMV.
Otto
I have an SX P and a spare J pickup laying about. I may have the J installed at some point, probably as close to the pickguard as I can get (about MM coil 1 location).
For starters I'd put a switch on the volume so that it selects one pickup or the other, rather than a blend.
I already have plenty of tone controls with treble and mid cut tone controls on the P so I'm more interested in having the bridge tone to work with rather than creating tone via blend. YMMV.
Otto
Love a P with a jazz neck. An added Jazz pickup doesn't give a whole lot more tone in a band setting but I use one sometimes. It's a 1966 Jazz neck on a 1970 P Body with old dimarzio P/J pu combo..
Yes, I am not even considering the Squier or Fendor. If I ever get the patience to wait for the build time, I might actually reach out to Birdsong to see if they have any interest in a custom build that would be P/J. I don't think I've ever seen them do that.
I own two PJ basses. To be honest, the standard PJ configuration is pretty boring. Too many manufacturers reach for that pickup setup in a bid to add versatility, at the cost of originality and tonal character. It seems like a lazy way of upping the spec of a bass.
This is especially the case if you use generic P and J pickups. You get a bit of noise in the PJ setting, a lot of noise in the J setting, and no noise in the P setting. I find this annoying. One of my PJ basses has a Model P and J set, and the other has Seymour Duncan pickups (SPB-2 and STK-J2B). Both pickup sets are a compromise in some regards, because the stack and dual-coil J pickups don't have the 'true' J pickup tone. However I consider this a price worth paying for 100% noiseless operation on all settings.
This is especially the case if you use generic P and J pickups. You get a bit of noise in the PJ setting, a lot of noise in the J setting, and no noise in the P setting. I find this annoying. One of my PJ basses has a Model P and J set, and the other has Seymour Duncan pickups (SPB-2 and STK-J2B). Both pickup sets are a compromise in some regards, because the stack and dual-coil J pickups don't have the 'true' J pickup tone. However I consider this a price worth paying for 100% noiseless operation on all settings.
Love the P/J configuration!
If I were going to list my least favorite combo it would be humbucker in bridge with a jazz in the middle.
A la....
If I were going to list my least favorite combo it would be humbucker in bridge with a jazz in the middle.
A la....
I had a 2000 or 2001 Fender hot rod PJ for a few years. I tried but ultimately I did not like both pickups blended together. There was something in the upper mids that I found obnoxious. I suspect that might be what you are referring to as harsh. Maybe.
As mentioned already, there are so many different configs that PJs can have a wide variety of sounds. I did not like the sound of the one I had but I'm not going to dismiss others in the future.
I keep trying to like them, but I keep failing. I just don't seem to have any use for a J bridge pickup, even when I play a Jazz.
That's interesting... With both pickups at 100%, it should be the opposite - "scooped" and more mellow sounding. I would be willing to bet that the pickups were out of phase. I actually got an SX P/J bass and the pickups were wired out of phase right out of the box when I got it.
I like my CIJ Mustang well enough, but when I decided to get something special, I ordered a Maruszczyk SS Jake (P style body) with the P/MM config. Maruszczyk does several body styles in SS with a bunch of options at a reasonable price.
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My first REAL bass was a Frankenstein Precision with a J on the bridge, and a P style baseball bat neck. I enjoyed it, but I didn't know enough back then anyway. I just ordered an Ibanez Talman 310 with a similar configuration. Hope it sticks. 
That being said, good for you for speaking out. I assumed after I read the title that you'd get some backlash, but I was pleasantly surprised by the mostly neutral feedback. Good job TB'ers.
That being said, good for you for speaking out. I assumed after I read the title that you'd get some backlash, but I was pleasantly surprised by the mostly neutral feedback. Good job TB'ers.
I guess you just don't like that particular PJ... or something about that PJ's set up, perhaps.
I didn't like the sound of Schecter Model T much at first (active PJ EMG pickups with 2-band EQ - it felt great and has one of the nicest necks ever... but it sounded a little harsh to me on the mids)... then I found adjusting the pickup heights I got a much better sound... and when I dumped the Ernie Ball strings it had originally and put a set of DR Sunbeams on, it became a favourite and still is.
I had a Tony Franklin Fretless. Great bass overall, but the J pickup introduced some single coil hum (some when both pickups were on, a lot when soloed). I think I would have liked it better if the J was hum cancelling. Still, there was good overall balance between the pickups, which is also a tricky thing to achieve. I guess I'd be fine with a P/J as long as both pickups are pretty even in output and don't hum, but these are elusive.
I've got a Tony Franklin signature and basically leave my American pro and Jazz at home. If you aren't getting a good sound from both pickups, it's probably time to change them. Also. I dislike the blending knob thing you get on jazz and a lot of P/Js. I like the blade switch. Simple and has all the tone I could ask for.
I went with a PJ Aerodyne primarily for comfort reasons and don't use the J much for originals but for covers it gets a close enough version of that awful 311 bass sound if you turn up the J and turn the P down a bit.
And for the originals I can do this weird thing where I just ignore the J volume knob after I turn it down.
And for the originals I can do this weird thing where I just ignore the J volume knob after I turn it down.
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I am borderline indifferent to PJs if we're talking about a Fender Precision that has a Jazz pickup added.
However, if we're talking about other basses that happen to have that pickup combination -- e.g., a Pedulla MVP/Buzz, or a Spector NS-2 -- then I love PJs!
However, if we're talking about other basses that happen to have that pickup combination -- e.g., a Pedulla MVP/Buzz, or a Spector NS-2 -- then I love PJs!
