Does anyone only play their P PUP on their PJ?

[HiEnd Basses]

I typically have my P up all the way then adjust my J until I like the tone (separate volume for both). I usually do this on all my basses, the neck pickup on full then add bridge until I like the sound. I should mention that I play Spectors almost exclusively and the have an active tone circuit. The one exception is my Fender USA Deluxe Jazz fretless. I do the same thing, but unlike most Fenders, it has an active tone circuit.

I believe your J PUP is a Noiseless, so it's built like and acts like a Humbucker.

 

[bassie12]

Yes.

 

[aaronious]

Yup. My Jazz Bass Special. If they J took off and flew to Mars. I wouldn't even notice.

 

[anotherhomeysan]

I'm not being snarky but I really like having the J pickup if for nothing other than a thumb rest.
I do blend it in from time to time. I feel like it adds a little bite. But P is where the magic is. I would solo a humbucker in the jazz position with tone rolled off a bit. Not a fan of the burpy Jaco thing.

 

[Munjibunga]

No. In fact, I sold the only 2-pickup P bass I ever had to a friend because the P pickup was superfluous.

 

[addicted]

I owned a P-J as well and mostly use the P PUP to get that deep thumping tone.

But sometimes that deep thumping tone got drown in the mix because it tends to be muddy. That's when I turn my J pickup on and dial some tone. The added grit of J PUP & tone cuts through the mix well. Slapping also sounds nicer because the added treble for that popping sound.

Lastly, when I need full grit and that Jaco tone, I can always dial in J PUP and play near the bridge. I guess having a P-J is still better for that versatility alone. I have been trying to find reason not to have the J PUP and get a pure P-bass but I can't find any.

 

[Adam Wright]

I love the PJ sound but solo the P pickup all the time.

 

[AndyPanda]

I've got P-J with 3 way toggle and I can't imagine ever using the center position (both pickups full) but another P-J with VVT I like the J on full with just a little P and I like the P on full with just a little J.

And then I've got a third P-J where I wired the P and J together series with a blend - and that combination is something else entirely - I like every sound possible with the blend including both pickups on full. For some reason when they are combined in series it has a very different sound with both pickups full.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

rarely. I much prefer the two p'ups together.

 

[honestjohnny]

Yes, because the J pup is noisy in comparison.
In retrospect, I should have just bought a plain old P-bass.

This. I think this configuration resulted from guys liking to solo the J bridge AND having the P for the majority of other stuff.
After reading an interview with the Ox re: the Warwick Buzzard bass and his choice of double P pickups (because they're humcancelling), I started searching for a double P that wasn't a BC Rich or the Buzzard. I finally go it from SX in the Hadean.
OTOH, DiMarzio makes a few humcancelling J pickups in various flavors. I tried a pair in a J copy and they were good, not as nice as P's, but better than stock thin noisy J's. I wish I had wires them with a parallel/series switch. So if you have a PJ, I recommend dropping a humcancelling J in and see how that grabs you.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Yes, because the J pup is noisy in comparison.
In retrospect, I should have just bought a plain old P-bass.

I recently bought an Am. Elite Precision whic is a PJ bass.
The J pickup is not noisy but, in effect, it doesn't end a lot of colour to the tone of a P bass; it tends to make it more similar to the tone of a J bass with more focus on the low-end.
I prefer to turn the pickups balance tone 1/4 towards the soloed P pickup position.
In this way I, at least, can get a P sound with some more defined mids and thinner highs which I like.
When it comes to rock, however, it's very easy and natural to turn the J pickup fully off and the bass behaves like a good P bass honestly (at list IMO), better, for instance, of the MIJ PB70 with EMG GZR pickup I acquired some time ago (always IMO of course).

 

[andruca]

I have a PJ and I definitely go P only for the rough stuff. OTOH, I have this P+MM in which I can tap any coil as single or both in series and normally I go MM's front coil + P (with balance more towards the MM) for a sound that can compete in authority with the P. This results in a single coil MM meets P sound. If I mix the back coil of the MM pickup instead, despite sounding really nice (in a '70s J mood) it's thin in comparison. For me P (or even better, reverse P) + MM (with a coil splitting switch) is THE most versatile "signature tones" configuration there is.

 

[el_Bajo_Verde]

Nope, it's too noisy and I prefer the sound of the P by itself. But it makes for a good thumb rest when playing near the bridge

 

[Dragan]

whenever I had PJ combo,I was using P pickup only. For all the reasons mentioned. I had 2 warwicks with that configuration,BB Yamaha,and two Fenders. Just doesnt work for me.

 

[BobDeRosa]

Interesting. I have two Yamahas with P/J. The fretless with active electronics generally sounds better with P alone and that's pretty much the way I keep it. The fretted, passive one usually sounds better with a blend.

 

[JimmyM]

I was about 95% P only for a while, but nowadays I mix it up a little more. I never favor the J because I hate that sound, but I have been using the J more often lately. Depends on the song.

 

[FrenchBassQC]

That's a great thread because I never asked myself that question before because I do not have a PJ bass and when I started thinking about how would I like to use one, I came to the conclusion that I would not be at home with such a bass. I like my P bass with flatwound strings and my jazz bass with roundwounds.

 

[Bodeeni]

I actually swing both ways. But my fretless PJ seemed to always be P only. Both PUs has that scooped thing that works, too. I guess that could be a tone for you that falls short. I can get that. For some reason I never warmed to the bridge PU. Although I know many that swear by them.

 

[39-Bassist]

Well I put a STK-J2 in my PJ bass and I love the overall tones I get....90% of the time I use both pu's and 10% of the time I go P only...it always depends on the song being played and sometimes the tones my guitarist uses also.

 

[Nic.]

My Yamaha BB5000AF has a really fat and punchy P but a horribly weak J bridge. So...yeah.