The only thing The Police recorded with a NS-2 would've been live stuff from the Synchronicity tour. The tour had already started and the album was released when Sting started using a Spector.
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The only thing The Police recorded with a NS-2 would've been live stuff from the Synchronicity tour. The tour had already started and the album was released when Sting started using a Spector.
The PJ config was very popular in the mid 80s to 90s. A lot of rock and metal bands used them for the biting, scooped tone the config gives you. Double humbucker configs became a little more popular in the late 90s through mid 2000s. Then for some reason thus trend of pining for old stuff started and this sort of "p or j only" nonsense started.
As far as iconic uses, Duff's playing on Appetite for Destruction was with a PJ. There is even a sig model for it. That album now stands among the classics of rock and roll.
Michael Anthony of Van Halen has two sig models that are pj configs. I don't think much of him as a bass player, the 80s albums he did with VH are legendary.
Dave Ellefson's opening line to Peace Sells was used as the bumper music to MTV music news for a decade or so. That's pretty iconic. He used PJs back then.
Queensryche's Operation Mindcrime is one of the all time great metal releases. Freddy Jackson used a Spector pj for his gritty tone.
Dio's Holy Driver and Last in Line are the answers you give when someone asks "what albums define metal." Jimmy Baine played Yamaha BB pj basses his entire career.
In the death metal world Cannibal Corpse's Tomb of the Mutilated stands as one of the defining albums if the genre. Alex Webster used Ibanez SR basses with PJ basses on all of the Chris Barnes albums.
As far as iconic uses, Duff's playing on Appetite for Destruction was with a PJ. There is even a sig model for it. That album now stands among the classics of rock and roll.
Michael Anthony of Van Halen has two sig models that are pj configs. I don't think much of him as a bass player, the 80s albums he did with VH are legendary.
Dave Ellefson's opening line to Peace Sells was used as the bumper music to MTV music news for a decade or so. That's pretty iconic. He used PJs back then.
Queensryche's Operation Mindcrime is one of the all time great metal releases. Freddy Jackson used a Spector pj for his gritty tone.
Dio's Holy Driver and Last in Line are the answers you give when someone asks "what albums define metal." Jimmy Baine played Yamaha BB pj basses his entire career.
In the death metal world Cannibal Corpse's Tomb of the Mutilated stands as one of the defining albums if the genre. Alex Webster used Ibanez SR basses with PJ basses on all of the Chris Barnes albums.
Verdine White of EW&F. I even saw a picture of him with a slab body P with a J pickup.
I’ve never watched a clip of him playing live, though, so I don’t know how he uses them. I guess that isn’t really a definitive answer.
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A whole show with the pickup configuration of which you speak:
And a couple more:
And a couple more:
I've never like the PJ combination. It's probably in my head, but I've never played one where the P sounded right when soloed. I'm probably full of crap, so take it for what you will. 
I'm half of my basses have p/j pickups. I somtimes wished one was p /soapbar.
I'm up for speculation...
There are plenty of high profile recordings from the 80's and 90's when pj's where more popular for their versatility and solid slap tone. Luthiers gravatated to soap bars, they became a sort of standard I assume because several pu designs can be dropped into the same cavity then because they leave little to desire.
I understand we finally have J style pu's to compete with the P volume so we may a art seeing more.
I think of my pj basses as super p's
Geezer and Vic each currently endorse a pj set made by Emg.
I'm up for speculation...
There are plenty of high profile recordings from the 80's and 90's when pj's where more popular for their versatility and solid slap tone. Luthiers gravatated to soap bars, they became a sort of standard I assume because several pu designs can be dropped into the same cavity then because they leave little to desire.
I understand we finally have J style pu's to compete with the P volume so we may a art seeing more.
I think of my pj basses as super p's
Geezer and Vic each currently endorse a pj set made by Emg.
It’s a very popular pickup configuration and it has its own sound. It’s not a J Bass and it’s not a P Bass. I would consider it the third choice ..
Here's Ethan Farmer with his J/P I believe made by Performance. Of course he could take some rubber bands and a washtub and play Wembly. I hope he's doing better, he had a bad experience with some edibles in 2017.
A few weeks ago I did a blind listening test asking the listeners to ID the Fender P bass out of a field of 3 basses. The other two were a 1986 BC Rich ST and a 90s US Peavey Forum, both with the P soloed. In the poll, the split between which listeners thought as a Fender P was almost even.
Even trained ears can't 100% of the time ID the soloed split single coil of a PJ bass.
This myth is busted.
The average listening public would never be able to tell the difference on a recording or in a live setting.
Even trained ears can't 100% of the time ID the soloed split single coil of a PJ bass.
This myth is busted.
The average listening public would never be able to tell the difference on a recording or in a live setting.
Sometimes, yes.
But if you get a good set, hard to beat. DiMarzio is my favorite
I think the popularity of the combo can't be denied.
Lots of manufacturers offer them, they must sell.
I don't think whether or not a set may have been on a hit song or album argues either way.
Soooo, I think the evidence leans toward, no, IMHO.
But if you get a good set, hard to beat. DiMarzio is my favorite
I think the popularity of the combo can't be denied.
Lots of manufacturers offer them, they must sell.
I don't think whether or not a set may have been on a hit song or album argues either way.
Soooo, I think the evidence leans toward, no, IMHO.
fwiw I don't really care what was used on any recordings. I'm supposed to be playing my bass to make music, and I use the gear that I like and think works best for the particular song/situation. If I know what was originally used that can help inform my decisions, but in the end it has to be about my intent and execution.
Last night I had a Steely Jam gig, doing all Steely Dan tunes with a few 70's funk numbers thrown in. Used the YYD which is a PJ, mostly P, but one tune on the J pup (Bodhisattva), a few others with some PJ mix. Thursday I have the live-streamed SciFi show gig, and I'll use the Smith 6-string for the whole thing as I need extended range and like the ability to cut through the synths.
Other guys on the same gig might/will use different stuff. I know the previous bassist for Steely Jam was playing J-basses. Worked for him. Not for me. Ymmv.
Last night I had a Steely Jam gig, doing all Steely Dan tunes with a few 70's funk numbers thrown in. Used the YYD which is a PJ, mostly P, but one tune on the J pup (Bodhisattva), a few others with some PJ mix. Thursday I have the live-streamed SciFi show gig, and I'll use the Smith 6-string for the whole thing as I need extended range and like the ability to cut through the synths.
Other guys on the same gig might/will use different stuff. I know the previous bassist for Steely Jam was playing J-basses. Worked for him. Not for me. Ymmv.
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I’m quite fond of my American P-Bass Deluxe with the PJ configuration. Might not be famous enough to comment, but some of my associates have won Emmys for sound production, and they seem to be fairly fond of them as well, as do numerous sound engineers that run the FOH systems for us.
What I’ve found is to get the best out of it is to spend some time to get the EQ setting correct, and that I’d going to require a rig with top flight midrange control. Unfortunately, what I ‘ve also found is a lot of popular rigs on the market skimp in this area, providing a baked in sound instead.
And finally, a good set of new strings will pump life into just about any bass, especially a Fender Bass.
