Don't like PJ's?

[Benj-jammin]

Preach it, brother!

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Gorgeous basses - damn, you're all depressing me with these beauties!!

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

I am fine with a P and my OCD won’t allow for a J pickup. Cool basses though.

 

[JRA]

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.

IME: the PJ is both a P and a J, or at least the better/best of the two original options.

it has always been obvious to me that two pickups are more versatile than one...duh! i've always found split-coils and J pickups in abundance so it's been easy for me to rely on those choices, especially with FSO bodies/routing. that said: my two favorites are both PJs via pickup configuration only --- they're ibby-esque. one of my favorite PJs of all-time was/is the P-lyte! (i have two P-lyte bodies and their necks waiting to be mangled into at least one fretless P-lyte!)

i've considered an MM pickup at the bridge (never had one like that), but a PJ gets this cat more than either a traditional P or J --- so i'm happy to take advantage of the "more."

 

[JimB52]

Will probably never part with mine. '66 jazz neck on a '69 P body. Old dimarzio pickups. Lots of pickguard screws. 8 lbs.

 

[Outshined91]

I'm a huge P/J fan myself, although honestly I use the same knob setting on both my basses. The P is full blast, and I mix in about a quarter to a half of the Jazz. That gives me the perfect tone: fullness from the P, a little tightness/edginess from the J. And so versatile too - roll the tone off the P and you're in Motown territory!

Pics or it didn't happen:

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.

Haha for the record I LOVE coffee (over tea), definitely prefer a good stack of chocolate chip pancakes, and don't drink much soda but if I did I would go Coke not Pepsi.

 

[Juststanley]

Here's how I do it ! Licensed by Fender-Frankenstein ! All parts body, Warmoth neck, Nordy P, Dimarzio Jazz...
wired normal V-V-T. I prefer the P pickup...I play Precisions and am considering selling this one ! hint, hint !

 

[muggsy]

I am a big fan of the P/J. I love P basses, and I have owned several very nice J basses throughout the years: Lakland Skyline Joe Osborne, Fender Marcus Miller, real deal '74 Fender that weighed 800 lbs, and finally a Sadowsky NYC Ultra Vintage J. Never bonded with any of them. Finally traded the Sadowsky for this Lakland Bob Glaub P/J with J neck, and I was done. The only thing I changed was the pickguard. The J pickup gives me that J flavor when I want it, but it's still a P at heart.

 

[kittywithabanjo]

I have a few, I spend 98%of the time on the P pick up but its nice to be able to bring that bridge pick up in for certain things.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

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

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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.

Jimmy, I have a stock 1999 MIA Fender PJ and agree with your post. I’ve had Ps and Js for decades. I’ll agree it’s not a dead on copy sound wise of P or a J, but it’s a great voice in it’s own right, and close enough to either that only a few could tell the difference.

Further, it’s one of the good ones. Fit, finish, playability (tort), and for a mass production model, it’s well above the line. It’s one of the ones 40 years from now ( make that 20) people are going to be looking for, but it’s going to the grave with me.

 

[Palomar4130]

My two pj’s. I definitely prefer the look of a pbass but it’s nice having the jazz for the overall sound.

 

[_One//Man//Mutiny_]

My biggest complaint about PJ’s is you’re only supposed to wear them in the house.

I personally dig a reverse P and a J!

 

[dave64o]

I never had a PJ, but I've also never had a reason to not have one. I just haven't had one.

Although, after reading this thread, I suddenly feel a developing variant of GAS that I've never had before - the PJ variant. I play five-strings exclusively, so I'll have to see what five string options are out there.

 

[Liko]

I absolutely love my PJ. As I've said before in other threads, this Sire P7 fiver is literally the bass I've been looking for my entire career. It checks every single box I had and a few I didn't. Maybe it could have been sunburst, but that's probably "grass is greener", this natural ash fits just about any genre I play.

 

[Jeremy Crockett]

I have nothing to add to the conversation. I am only here to look at and post pictures.

Thanks for the opportunity.

 

[logdrum]

Agree - @JimmyM

I have Fender Bass Special and Pedulla Buzz. Both have a pickup selector switch and I think that's the ticket to a P sound. I had blends before and I get what some people mean about the P not really sounding like a P

 

[Jeremy Crockett]

I don't like them too. View attachment 4356855

One can still smell the Aqua Net in this photograph.

 

[And I]

i've got 2 PJs and a P/MM. I like 'em! I find lately I'm turning the J or MM pickups off and just playing them as Ps. But the existence of the second pickup is no hindrance, inconvenience, or detriment to the sound--they sound like Ps.

 

[dmas81]

This thread has me all ears…….errr eyes maybe I should say. I must admit after playing for 30 plus years I’m starting to dip my toe into the proverbial P bass cult pool.

I know this is blasphemy but I’ve been a player who primarily plays black gospel all my life and if you know anything about that genre, it’s dominated by J basses and soap bar pickups.

With that being said, the music has evolved in the last ten years to be hybrid contemporary christian music and sometimes demands that big fill P bass tones for ballads. As of yesterday I pulled the trigger on this Warrior Bella ‘54 hoping I’ve made the right move to give me the voicing I’m looking for.

Also, I’ve personally never been a fan of the P bass body style. I know I’m blaspheming again but we all have our thing. I found this bass meets what I’m looking for with a body style I like but with that vintage retro look.

Anyway, I’ve enjoyed reading all of your takes on the P/J. From a newbie in this world it’s been informative.

 

[HardNHeavy]

pj's r great with extra tonal options....since the late 80's i've always had one

 

[electracoyote]

I like a PJ, if you get one where the J rail makes a significant impact or contribution to the tone. I've played many where that simply wasn't the case.