Don't like PJ's?

[NoiseNinja]

I thought I liked P/J basses with both the pickups full on, that is how I played my first bass ever, an Aria Pro II Laser Electric Classic (not quite a real reverse P pickup, but very similar, the 2 coils are wound the full length of the pickup like on a regular humbucker pickup, but there are only pole pieces on each respective opposite half like on a reverse P pickup), which was my main 10 years going forward, and my P (reverse)/J Ibanez Mikro Bass, which has been my main for like about the last 10 past years (the about 5 years in between my main was a Jerry Jones Neptune Longhorn, equipped with 2 lipstick tube pickups, that I always played in series mode, which was one of the 4 stock options on the pickup selector rotating switch. Loved it and still regret being stupid enough to sell it at some point).

That is until about a year ago or so, where I decided to experiment with just using the P, and found out I much preferred how the P sounded soloed by it self.

Now I only have an EMG Geezer Butler P pickup installed in my Mikro, and the J pickup cavity is empty, filled out by a folded piece of black cardboard, and I ponder on maybe having the J pickup cavity expanded to perhaps house a reverse P bridge pickup, likely the new DiMarzio Sixties P, or perhaps the Relentless P, but keeping the Geezer in the neck position.

I don't hate P/J basses or anything, as said for the majority of the about 25 years that I by now have played bass I in fact played a P/J, or something very similar, with both pickups full on, I just fairly recently discovered that I actually like the tone I get from just the P pickup soloed better.

Here's the most recent photo of my P/J Mikro, but with the J pickup cavity filled out by a folded piece of black cardboard:

And this is my Aria Pro II, which I still own and play every once in a while:

 

[Texaspandj]

View attachment 4357389

Bahaha. Photo bombed.
I say live and let live...he lived.

View attachment 4357389

 

[Rolling Thunder]

I'm doing a PJ refin and it will be my first PJ. Pickups, IMO, account for at least 85% of the instrument's sound/timbre. I'm experimenting a little by adding (when done with the paint) Alnico 2 pickups. I don't want it to sound like every other PJ, I guess.

 

[sears]

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

View attachment 4356771

I like the one second from the left

 

[Yellow Bang66]

I don’t get the issue. You can use the Jazz pickup if you want. You can turn it off and go straight P if you wish. Don’t understand why a few really don’t like the PJ, unless they don’t understand wiring real good and feel driven to resolder their harnesses every six months. Yeah. Maybe that’s it.

That being said, I don’t care for the PJ OR the P, I just never liked the body shape or how it hangs on me. If I gotta wear an FSO, it’ll be a Jazz.

I love them! Ive said before, It takes a little time to properly eq or dial in, but once you get that sweeet Growl. You are set! I also think getting a good Pairing of pickups helps alot!Especially Some New EMG GEEZERS! if you dont like'em COOL! more for me to gather!I just dont understand the Hate or distain for them I get it if youre disappointed they're not a perfect blend of both worlds, but sit down & spend some time to dial it in & you will be rewarded!

 

[Jeff Scott]

Don't like PJ's?

Nope, never did, and never will (wear them)...

 

[MarkA]

My '97 P-bass is the best sounding bass I've ever played. My '97 J-bass sounds like a quality J-bass is supposed to, So I'm set.
The P/J Bass is the one I'd get the least angry about if it ever was stolen at a show. So I take it.

Valid reason!

 

[JW56789]

I don't know why this 'To PJ or not to PJ' is such a thing 'round here.

If you like them, buy a bass with them.

If you don't, don't buy a bass with them.

Ultimately, there is no RIGHT or WRONG answer, the only answer is what serves you best to make the music and the sounds you want to hear. And that's as individual as snowflakes.

I got very used to them in my days of playing 80's BB Yamahas, who really pioneered this in a production axe. Yamaha in those days took a lot of cues from the pros playing in studios, movie and TV soundtrack calls, guys in the local clubs like The Baked Potato, etc, around Los Angeles. They saw more than a few guys who'd taken their Precision Bass and routed/added a Jazz Bass pickup aft and took notes. After the original BB1200 with it's single reversed Precision pickup, when they went to the BB2000 they added their own bridge pickup (that crazy blade pickup) and they were a huge hit (hamstrung as usual back then in that they would import a laughably small amount to feed a much larger demand, their MO for a long time).

It's also pertinent to remember that the BB basses, the SG and SA guitars were largely American designs, by a group that included John Carruthers. For a long time, their more Japanese designs (the 'Flying Shrimp', and some more that would have made Prince run away) just looked a bit strange to Western eyes, and just didn't sell well here. Tunkng keys with RUBBER ears ? ? ? ? Those three product ranges put them on the map, and like the Ibanez George Benson, demonstrated in no uncertain terms they could build as fine an instrument as any American or European builder.

You still see this in modern BB's, and they do their homework to get the blend between the two right. Aside from Jimmy's desire to uprate his 235, you rarely see complaints about PJ and Yamaha in the same breadth.

I always advise IF you're going to add a Jazz pickup, either A) get a sidexside or stacked Humbucking (generally higher humbucking output without the single-coil buzz) one if it will fit your rout, or better yet, B) buy a matched set from the manufacturer. Companies like EMG or Lindy Fralin or Seymour have done the homework usually to avoid the 'loud P / weak J' syndrome.

This horse has been beat to death.

 

[MarkA]

...And this is my Aria Pro II, which I still own and play every once in a while:
View attachment 4357419

I like the stickers -- and the knobs look like little spaceships, out there among the stars. I am minded of Spaceman Spiff, from Calvin and Hobbes.

That is all. Carry on.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Oh no, see what you made him do, again.

 

[bassbrad]

I had a long love affair with a Precision bass, The Unknown Blonde, that did not end all that well so I swore off them all together and sort of did the same with my fretless Jazz. I had always sort of wanted a PJ bass and over the years had one or two that I played, usually an endorsement loaner that was close but never enough to purchase. I sort o had a wish list.
Years go by and this wish list solidified neck thru body, 21 frets, 60's placement of the J pickup, black or dark color with black hardware (to counter the Blonde). I expected to replace the pickups with Seymour Duncan's and use a wiring that had worked so well on one of my loaner basses.
This Peavey DynaBass Unity Series LTD popped up on my FB feed that was eerily close, at a price that was in my budget so I hit Buy Now. While it initially had gold hardware it did have the exact Seymour Duncan Pickups I desired; Hot Vintage Precision and a Jazz Stack V.
IMHO one issue with the VVT wiring most folks do on a PJ bass causes a phasing issue that to my ears is very unpleasant, one solution is to use a 3 way switch, a volume and tone for each pickup. This allows me to get a separate neck or bridge pickup signal without that interaction
and the placement of the bridge pickup offers a fuller less honky tone.
Searching for black hardware was more a challenge that I thought at first but persistence and a bit of help (yeas I know the bridge says Kramer, to quote @JimmyM IDK). I am especially happy with the resin cast jet black P logo knobs as the crowning touch.
TB may I introduce Midnight Brunet

 

[JW56789]

Jimmy, since you're an endorser:

I'm as big a fan of EMG as they come, but WHY oh WHY do they have such a blind spot vis-a-vis 5 or 6 sting pickups that aren't in a soapbar shell ? I know Rob Turner and crew can build anything (look at those crazy systems on the Steinberger uprights, or God Help Us, the banjo pickup), but I can't tell you how often with this or that five-string I've stared at EMG's spec pages to 'see if this would fit' and just gotten a headache.

Any insight?

 

[Justinian]

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.

Love ‘em!! But haven’t played/found one at a good enough value to make me buy another, this is “the one” for me:

 

[StereoPlayer]

Oh no, see what you made him do, again.
View attachment 4357420

View attachment 4357426

Post that pic in all its glory!

 

[FrenchBassQC]

I like the P J combo a lot. Except that , out of the 10 basses I own , none of them is a p+j. And out of the 100+ basses I’ve owned , I’m pretty sure I haven’t owned more than 2 P+Js.

I like them a lot , however , they’re just not my thing.

I told this to one of my ex-girlfriend and I woke up 3 hours later with a fractured tooth...

 

[Mastermold]

Jimmy ever played a double P configuration?

 

[Spectrum]

 

[DWBass]

I don't care for P/J's. I've tried twice and the balance between the 2 pickups was always off. The P was always a lot louder than the J. The J seemed to be very subtle almost non existent.

Just my experience.

 

[BassNugget]

PJs rock!

 

[metron]

I’m on and off with PJs. Im not super into my fancy schmancy Lakland Glaub PJ at the moment but oddly I cant stop playing my grimy SB-2.

Im really just posting here because of the click baity title and also you will see my basses now.

No

Yes