Does anyone only play their P PUP on their PJ?

[tink9975]

I play with the P soloed about 80% of the time, when I need a more modern tone I'll dial in the J.

 

[AndyLES]

YES! I realized that I preferred the simple P bass tone for 90% of what I do.
I'm not necessarily against two pickup basses (I also own a Jackson JS3 when I do need that active/dual humbucker sound for some stuff), but the Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder tone, by itself, is hard to beat.

 

[eaglemachine]

Why don't more manufacturers make P + MM and a coil selector? It seems like a missed opportunity. I am currently building my own in this config.

 

[Antisyzygy]

I play Precision Basses, and I recently purchased a really nice Fender PJ. Getting use to the Jazz Bass neck. And I really like it. Only 500 made this year, and I am glad I have it. I'm finding that I like playing with just the P pickup full on and the J pickup off. Not that I don't like the sound of Jazz Basses, I just think the combination of the PJ together is really nothing Earth shattering. Anyone else out there with PJ Basses who just shut their J PUP off?

PJs are pretty much set up so that you would favor the neck pickup most of the time. Think of the J volume as a second tone knob.

When you use the J pickup, is it at full volume?

Try 90% volume on your J pickup with the P volume all the way up if so. It's punchy and cuts a bit more but doesn't scoop out the mids you might be missing.

When both pickup volumes are up to 100% you get a mid-scoop that works well with slap (it's kinda the PJ's Jazz bass tone approximation), but I've often found it's not the best tone for playing other styles.

 

[Mediocrity Man]

Both on with my Yamaha. It's the best of both worlds.

 

[ATLbassist]

A PJ is a config I really like w/ P pickup at 100% and J pickup at ~ 75% but it's obviously not for everyone.

That's the go-to setting on my PJ. P on all the time and I'll dial in more J depending on how much extra high-end / bite I want. For a couple of songs that need the sound, I'll invert that setting to favor the J. It's like a Jazz with a little more throatiness.

SX bass with updated pickguard by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Untitled by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

 

[Antisyzygy]

Why don't more manufacturers make P + MM and a coil selector? It seems like a missed opportunity. I am currently building my own in this config.

Some do but they're mostly boutiques or less popular brands. One problem is that a P/MM can't have the MM pickup in the sweet spot because the P pickup's E+A coil overlaps with the standard MM sweetspot route. So you have to move the MM pickup closer to the bridge than normal, or move the P pickup closer to the neck.

However, I think the main reason you don't see them more often is that the P pickup just pairs well with a J pickup. The P pickup is wide and flat, picking up a wider length of string and it's wired in series and position towards the neck. All of those together produce a fat tone. The J pickup is thin and narrow, picking up a shorter length of string, and is a single coil in the bridge position so it gets a tighter, focused and bright tone.

On a PJ one tends to favor the neck P pickup, then blends in however much bite they want from the bridge J pickup. So blending "wide and fat" tones with "thin and crisp" tones just makes sense since they're sort of at opposite ends of the tonal spectrum and it's a simple configuration.

Really on a PJ the J pickup is like a second tone knob. G&L's PJ called the SB-2 tosses the regular tone knob out completely and then forces you to blend in the bridge to set the tone you want. The SB-2 almost has like a passive Treble and Bass knob as a result of it's configuration (Well, and the pickups they use help too).

 

[FingerDub]

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

Then you have the wrong pickups if the J is any noisier than the P.

 

[GoLeafsGo]

I always favor the P pickup with the jazz never on full, usually 3/4 on at most. My 1st bass in 1985 was an Ibanez Roadster 2 & all other PJ basses since have been passive with 2 volume controls.

I'd like to try a series switch like someone mentioned. I did it to a jazz bass & it sounded pretty good even if I didn't end up using it often.

You should try a Godin Shifter Classic then. P/J config, with 4 way switch - P, PJ parallel, PJ serial, J. All great and different tones, but I do quite often opt for just the P pup.

 

[GnarwhalNick]

I think the P pickup on the Am. Std. Jaguar soloed is wonderful. In passive it's smooth, but clear. In active mode it's breathtaking.

I actually don't play the American Standard, I play the "Fender Standard Jaguar Bass Electric Bass Guitar" (that mouthful is what it's listed as online lol, I guess what I have is Mexican), I unfortunately don't own any active basses!

See thumbnails:

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I use the P, I use PJ, I rarely use the J soloed.

 

[FingerDub]

Hardly, it's standard fare with a single coil pickup.

There are plenty of J pickups you can use that are not single coil and completely noiseless.

 

[HiEnd Basses]

Hardly, it's standard fare with a single coil pickup.

This is true. That's why single coil pups are paired with each other, and that was the reason for the development of the split single coil.

 

[Bourbongangster]

Yes. So much so that I have yet to install the J pickup.

Otto

That made me think of a picture I saw on instagram of someone playing a P/J with the Jazz pickup removed:

 

[ThudThudThud]

I actually don't play the American Standard, I play the "Fender Standard Jaguar Bass Electric Bass Guitar" (that mouthful is what it's listed as online lol, I guess what I have is Mexican), I unfortunately don't own any active basses!

See thumbnails:

Nice. Good looking bass.

The Am. Std. has the switching for the pickups, serial/parallel, and active/passive.
I personally think it sounds great in all settings (except for the active treble is a bit brittle if over used). As a passive PJ it's a great sound. I think Fender's (and Squier) whole Jaguar line up was a great move.

 

[RedMoses]

I use the P with the band and blend in the J when playing on my own. The P sits great in the mix with a drummer, when playing without a drummer the J rounds things out nicely.

 

[Antisyzygy]

I'm not going to spend $100 on a new pickup for my $85 P/J bass.

Ive seen some of the Fender noiseless J pickups going for like 45.

NEW Fender Noiseless Bridge Pickup For MIM Mexican Deluxe Jazz Bass 006-8486-000

That's still a lot for a 85 dollar bass but more doable I think.

 

[jbd5015]

I did for a while after having mine built. The P is what i was used too, and I was always able to coax different tones out of it as needed. I went with a blend control to keep it simple. Aguilar P/J, which is a fantastic set at an even better price.

The more i play the bass, the more i find im leaving the blend centered, and only rolling it slightly towards the P occasionally. Its nice knowing it can be a P bass when you need it.

It just takes a little getting used to. Its great for some pick tones

 

[madjazzbass]

The J pup that's in my P/J Bass (CS60's), for whatever reason, sounds better in that Bass than it does in my Jazz Bass (same pickup) ? go figure; it has to be the wood and the weight differences I'm sure. The P pickup (CS62) actually sounds a little weak, that's why I'm swapping it out for a Pure Vintage 63 pup, it's supposed to have more output. ... but I tend to use both pickups, either full on P with a little J blended in, or Full on J with just a bit of P for some added punch to the J growl

 

[eaglemachine]

Some do but they're mostly boutiques or less popular brands. One problem is that a P/MM can't have the MM pickup in the sweet spot because the P pickup's E+A coil overlaps with the standard MM sweetspot route. So you have to move the MM pickup closer to the bridge than normal, or move the P pickup closer to the neck.

However, I think the main reason you don't see them more often is that the P pickup just pairs well with a J pickup. The P pickup is wide and flat, picking up a wider length of string and it's wired in series and position towards the neck. All of those together produce a fat tone. The J pickup is thin and narrow, picking up a shorter length of string, and is a single coil in the bridge position so it gets a tighter, focused and bright tone.

On a PJ one tends to favor the neck P pickup, then blends in however much bite they want from the bridge J pickup. So blending "wide and fat" tones with "thin and crisp" tones just makes sense since they're sort of at opposite ends of the tonal spectrum and it's a simple configuration.

Really on a PJ the J pickup is like a second tone knob. G&L's PJ called the SB-2 tosses the regular tone knob out completely and then forces you to blend in the bridge to set the tone you want. The SB-2 almost has like a passive Treble and Bass knob as a result of it's configuration (Well, and the pickups they use help too).

Take the MM Stingray pickup placement out of it and think just the pick up as 2 single coils next to each other. You can solo on or the other reproducing the 60 or 70's jazz bridge pickup placement or turn both coils on so it doesn't sound so thin with the P pickup. You could also do series/parallel. Does not seem like there is a downside and a lot more added flexability