Don't like PJ's?

[JimmyM]

I don't get this. Maybe I've been spoiled by Fender Super 55 split coil pickups, but I can't imagine hearing them and thinking they don't sound as good as single coil pickups because they don't have as much high end. They have loads of high end.

Makes me wonder what the tradeoff was for getting higher treble response.

 

[RandalPinkFloyd]

My favorite of my basses to play right now.

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

Here's why I do and don't care if you don't:

View attachment 4356771 View attachment 4356724 View attachment 4356726 View attachment 4356736


Actually, I just wanted an excuse to post some new glamour shots of some of my basses. But since we're here, I've noticed for the past few years that the venerable PJ combination has been slammed for being neither fish nor fowl, and I am here to say that it is, indeed, both fish and fowl.

Let's address the most common complaints:

---It doesn't sound as good when you solo the P pickup vs not having the J on a straight-up P Bass. 100% myth, poppycock, balderdash, and bovine waste products. If a $100 SX PJ with the P soloed can sound the same as a $100 SX P as long as they have the same strings, then there is no reason every bass in the world can't have PJ's that sound the same as a regular P when the P's soloed. I used to have sonic proof of this, but it got lost in a computer crash a few years ago.

---You don't get the best of both worlds with a PJ. OK, so let's assume the sound is so different that you'd rather stick with the J. Fine by me. But the sound is not completely different by any means. I've played plenty of Jazz basses and basses with J pickups in my day and I'm well familiar with what a typical Jazz sounds like. It's close enough for the few times that I go for a J sound that I'm not sweating what little difference there is in a good balanced set of PJ's. Throw pickups in there willy-nilly, sure, it probably won't sound all that great. Just might, though.

And to reverse the situation, a good J with the neck pickup soloed may not sound identical to a good P, but it will do a convincing job as well. I have a preference for a good split P pickup in that position, but I've heard plenty of convincing P sounds out of J's. The first Precisions are single coils, too, and I never heard anyone complain that they don't sound like P's.

---60 cycle hum or whatever frequency it is in your country. Can happen, but only on rare occasions is it an issue you can't do anything about. Many bass and guitar players use single coils with no hum problems all over the world. Granted, I prefer hum-cancelling pickups for both the P and the J, but to say that it can't work because the P's a humbucker and the J is single coil is myth.

So that's why I made PJ's my jam...preferring the split P neck pickup as my main sound, but needing a more scoopy J sound on occasion. And I get it, too, and any complaints that it doesn't sound like a real J are just nitpicking.

For me, the P/J setup is the best of both worlds, especially for live playing. You get that big honking’ P pickup, with a bit more definition with the J pickup. When you need more warmth, simply turn the J pickup down or off.

 

[bigtone23]

I had great luck with the classic, ceramic EMG P and J pickups in P/J. Usually had the J up a little closer to the strings.
My Wilde P46/J45L set also matches up perfectly.

 

[BlueTalon]

Makes me wonder what the tradeoff was for getting higher treble response.

I suspect the reduced treble in hum canceling pickups might have had more to do with the architecture of the pickups, specifically having two coils sense all strings. In J pickups, that often means stacked coils. With split coils, each coil senses half of the strings, and the whole pickup only senses each string once.

That's just a guess.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

I suspect the reduced treble in hum canceling pickups might have had more to do with the architecture of the pickups, specifically having two coils sense all strings. In J pickups, that often means stacked coils. With split coils, each coil senses half of the strings, and the whole pickup only senses each string once.

That's just a guess.

How is the treble for noiseless pickups like these?

 

[JimmyM]

How is the treble for noiseless pickups like these?

View attachment 4361684

Pretty sure Geezers are made that way, though they're impossible to get into to see for sure. They sound very much like a proper jazz pickup but there is a slight loss of highs that I don't really care about anyway.

 

[BlueTalon]

How is the treble for noiseless pickups like these?

View attachment 4361684

I don't know anything about Dragonfire pickups, but I have had excellent luck (and no discernable loss of highs) using pickups of that dual-inline-coil design.

 

[SteveCS]

I suspect the reduced treble in hum canceling pickups might have had more to do with the architecture of the pickups, specifically having two coils sense all strings. In J pickups, that often means stacked coils. With split coils, each coil senses half of the strings, and the whole pickup only senses each string once.

That's just a guess.

How is the treble for noiseless pickups like these?

View attachment 4361684

Pretty sure Geezers are made that way, though they're impossible to get into to see for sure. They sound very much like a proper jazz pickup but there is a slight loss of highs that I don't really care about anyway.

Inductors act as AC blockers. The loss of highs is because the coils wired in series act as mutual low-pass filters on each others' output. At least that is how I understand it.

 

[Gothic]

I was thinking about this thread today while looking at jazz basses and drooling over that gold Vintera...

It seems that, while I really like the added clarity and burp and grind of the bridge J pickup, I could never bond well enough with their neck pickups. Or their weirdly tapered necks and cramped nut width.
On the other hand, while I do like that P pickup and a normal P nut width (not the 44mm ones...), I find I'm always missing those bridge J qualities.

Don't like PJ's? PJ's are the best of both worlds!

Oh well, just thinking out loud, I suppose.

 

[BlueTalon]

Inductors act as AC blockers. The loss of highs is because the coils wired in series act as mutual low-pass filters on each others' output. At least that is how I understand it.

While that may be true, there's no compelling reason why a split coil jazz pickup would have any more inductance than two halves of the windings of a single coil pickup with an equal amount of wire.

 

[Katoosie]

@JimmyM
It just hit me in the face today that my spector is a PJ
Had to post in your thread!

 

[PJ Muzikmansky]

I had a supper club gig with a jazz quartet this past Friday night. I've played there before and the room is a little on the 'boomy' side, so I used this bass and spent all evening switching between the J pickup for the more up tempo tunes, and the P/J for ballads. Those settings combined with palm muting and flat amp EQ worked a treat. Bye bye boom courtesy of the BB.

 

[Outbush]

How is the treble for noiseless pickups like these?

View attachment 4361684

That’s what I have in my bridge. It is definitely not as bright and “crystal” for want of a better word. It’s still got plenty of treble there but it is a darker sound which I prefer. I can adjust it to within a hair’s breadth of a Jazz bass sound though.

 

[KJMO]

How is the treble for noiseless pickups like these?

View attachment 4361684

Fwiw, the Dragonfires look to be Artecs rebadged, so you can get them even cheaper if you buy the Artecs. Plus, they are cheaper pickups than you would think from the prices of the Dragonfires.

 

[Vanheusen77]

If you want to hear and/or vote on the JJ vs PJ thing, check out my Am. Pro 2 Jazz vs a PJ BBP35 and a Ray4 Stingray. Am. Pro 2 Jazz, Ray4, Yamaha BB video comparison

 

[Steveaux]

 

[Seabass]

I never liked the sound of both pickups on at the same time, seemed to lose some punch. So now I have both my PJs wired in stereo (like Rick-O-Sound). Yeah, it can be a pain to use 2 amps but it sounds great. Best of both worlds. I have the P pickup wired to the tip so if I only have a mono cord it is a P bass. This approach may not be for everyone but I love it.

 

[DJ Dru]

Here's why I do and don't care if you don't:

View attachment 4356771 View attachment 4356724 View attachment 4356726 View attachment 4356736


Actually, I just wanted an excuse to post some new glamour shots of some of my basses. But since we're here, I've noticed for the past few years that the venerable PJ combination has been slammed for being neither fish nor fowl, and I am here to say that it is, indeed, both fish and fowl.

Let's address the most common complaints:

---It doesn't sound as good when you solo the P pickup vs not having the J on a straight-up P Bass. 100% myth, poppycock, balderdash, and bovine waste products. If a $100 SX PJ with the P soloed can sound the same as a $100 SX P as long as they have the same strings, then there is no reason every bass in the world can't have PJ's that sound the same as a regular P when the P's soloed. I used to have sonic proof of this, but it got lost in a computer crash a few years ago.

---You don't get the best of both worlds with a PJ. OK, so let's assume the sound is so different that you'd rather stick with the J. Fine by me. But the sound is not completely different by any means. I've played plenty of Jazz basses and basses with J pickups in my day and I'm well familiar with what a typical Jazz sounds like. It's close enough for the few times that I go for a J sound that I'm not sweating what little difference there is in a good balanced set of PJ's. Throw pickups in there willy-nilly, sure, it probably won't sound all that great. Just might, though.

And to reverse the situation, a good J with the neck pickup soloed may not sound identical to a good P, but it will do a convincing job as well. I have a preference for a good split P pickup in that position, but I've heard plenty of convincing P sounds out of J's. The first Precisions are single coils, too, and I never heard anyone complain that they don't sound like P's.

---60 cycle hum or whatever frequency it is in your country. Can happen, but only on rare occasions is it an issue you can't do anything about. Many bass and guitar players use single coils with no hum problems all over the world. Granted, I prefer hum-cancelling pickups for both the P and the J, but to say that it can't work because the P's a humbucker and the J is single coil is myth.

So that's why I made PJ's my jam...preferring the split P neck pickup as my main sound, but needing a more scoopy J sound on occasion. And I get it, too, and any complaints that it doesn't sound like a real J are just nitpicking.

Here's the only PJ I own. Matter of fact the only Fender Bass I own It's my Fender Jazz Special Duff Mckagan signature bass. I got it because I like it.

 

[P-Boy69]

Loving P/J’s implies an inherent lack of commitment and overall confidence. They’re mostly played by people who don’t have a preference between pancakes and waffles, drink coffee OR tea and can’t tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi.

I have PJ but your comment makes me laugh, it is worth having it just because of it