Does anyone only play their P PUP on their PJ?

[SLO Surfer]

I use the P pickup 90% of the time and only roll in the J pickup for a few songs. I'll turn the J pickup up only 30% for a hint of brightness, or up to 75% for a lot more attack. But I never lower the P volume or dime the J. Must say though, my late 90's Hotrodded P/J bass has been in the closet for about 9 months while my P-Bass earns all the money... I may have to revisit the old hotrod for a few gigs to see if it's worth keeping or not...

Edit: blending in the J makes for fun with your effects pedals.

 

[HiEnd Basses]

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

Odd. Guess she didn't care about aesthetics.

 

[Steve Dallman]

I built a headless Explorer type bass in 1980. I used Dimarzio Model P and J pickups. It didn't make sense to me to put the weaker of the two pickups by the bridge where the string has less output/vibration, so I put the P about where a Stingray pickup would be, and the J about where a 51 P would be (maybe slightly more to the neck.)

It was a resounding success. The pickups balanced perfectly, although I probably used the J most of the time or both together. I had a two band EQ in that bass.

 

[madjazzbass]

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.

Yeah, I wouldn't buy that Noiseless pickup, I had them in my Deluxe Jazz Bass, they're weak sounding compared to the Super 55 pups I replaced them with.

 

[Sandman64]

I have 3 PJ style basses and I prefer having them both on full. I love the cut and growl of the jazz pickup and the big bottom of the Precision pickup. P basses do still very well in the mix and I do have a soft for them. However, I find their tone a tad dark without that Jazz bass pickup in the bridge position.

 

[Blackjac97]

When I see Double Precision basses, I want them:

I GAS for a Mockingbird whenever I see one.

 

[HiEnd Basses]

So, what I'm hearing people are doing, and maybe how the PJ was intended to be used, is to dime both pickups, and roll back the J for desired bite.

 

[Bourbongangster]

Odd. Guess she didn't care about aesthetics.

Yeah. She is from a band called "The World". I listened to their stuff and the bass sounds incredible.

 

[Ellery]

P or J...which is best for metal?

 

[G On Bass]

Almost all the time is pure P. Occasionally 50/50 or at least favoring the P. Never, ever only or favoring the J.

 

[GnarwhalNick]

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.

Thank you!

When I was looking for a P/J, the Jaguar line stood out. I'm a simple man and I can get by with a passive bass, so I went my route instead of going for all the knobs and switches (it was also a lot cheaper!). I love the way the Jag plays, and I'm more than happy with my purchase. I have played the American Standard and while I didn't know what to do with the knobs/switches, I do agree it sounded fantastic

 

[jnsnj]

I never use my J pickup, unless as a thumb rest counts. It was someone else's parts build that they sold me for cheap. Some day I might replace the J pickup with something that can keep up with the P pick up.

 

[GnarwhalNick]

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

Lol that's kinda like Mark Hoppus, Fender made him a couple of signature Jaguars, three of them came with a P/J config and one came with just the P. For the 3 with the J, he had them disconnected but still held in the body

 

[FingerDub]

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

Well, that's up to you but not everybody plays an $85 bass.

 

[micahwc]

The only PJ I've owned hummed uncontrollably when I used the J pickup at church; the church was a particularly noisy place. Amps would play local radio stations. The TV station across the street didn't help any. I exclusively used the P pickup when I played there.

 

[Herrick]

Very Rarely.

I mostly use it with both pickups fully on. Yeah I know "scooped", but hey it works for me.

I have a Dimarzio Model PJ set.

Is there always a scooped sound with both pickups on full? I have an Ibanez PJ but I can't really tell.

 

[Rayjay]

Similarly, I have a jazz style bass and I typically use only the neck pickup.

 

[waveman]

P pup is primary with some support with the J pup for most everything. When doing synth lines and distortion it's usually the other way around.

 

[Bourbongangster]

Is there always a scooped sound with both pickups on full? I have an Ibanez PJ but I can't really tell.

I would agree that there is a scooping effect when both pickups are up all the way on a P/J.

 

[climber]

NO...almost all the time I play using both...