Earliest Known P/J?

[Double E]

From Ibanez' 1975 catalog...this does not appear in the '74 catalog. The Yamaha's don't seem to show up until 1977.

1975 Ibanez Guitar Catalog

 

[morgan138]

Interesting thread.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

I asked that question in my first post.

Correct, just to reinforce the correct bringing back the discussion on its original path ... I can't contribute a lot to it unfortunately

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

1979 Kramer

Bridge pickup too bridgey!

 

[yodedude2]

not germaine to this discussion, but posting anyway because i like it. notice how new it looks!

 

[The_Phoenician]

In his Bass Player Live video, Bobby Vega says that the first artist he saw using a P/J was Willie Weeks; however, he doesn't give a date.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

In his Bass Player Live video, Bobby Vega says that the first artist he saw using a P/J was Willie Weeks; however, he doesn't give a date.

I will see if Willie Weeks has a Facebook page or website and ask him.

 

[GretschWretch]

Probably this is not the oldest picture of a Fender P/J bass but it's an old picture of geddy lee with his heavily moddified '69 p bass.

I wonder how much weight Geddy shaved off that bass just by removing the cutaway horns.

 

[RED J]

I can't contribute, but will say this is fascinating yet oddly something I never thought about even though I play P/J basses.
Thank you Doc for coming up with a not beaten to powder topic !

 

[RED J]

I wonder how much weight Geddy shaved off that bass just by removing the cutaway horns.

What it lost in weight it gained in lack of balance !

 

[jamro217]

Maybe, Verdine had a single coil Telecaster bass with a Jazz pickup added in the early 1970s. Chuck Rainey had a DeArmond pickup added to his P, but it was not a Jazz pickup. I saw that bass in a 1977 issue of Guitar Player.

Chuck Rainey used that bass on Steely Dan's AJA in 1977. It was old then.

 

[Fender_Bender]

No pictures but the guy who was Bowie's studio bassist had a jazz pup implanted in his P I think somewhere around 70-72 if I remember correctly.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

From what I seen so far, it did not take Japanese companies,in particular, very long to respond to the mods players were doing to their basses. I guess by 1975, Ibanez was producing factory PJ basses.

 

[jamro217]

Redbone's Pat Vegas has what looks to be an early '50's P or a '68 Tele with added pickups. This was used on "Come And Get Your Love", their 1974 hit. The mods maybe a few years older than that, too. I don't think the bridge pickup is a jazz, though. Looks like a Ric toaster.

 

[Daveypoo]

Ibanez was offering a P/J by 1976:

1976 Ibanez Guitar Catalog

Graham Maby playing the Ibanez circa '79:

That catalog is classic! I knew about the Fender "lawsuit" basses, but I didn't realize that 95% of the Ibanez roster at the time was knockoffs. Too funny!

Ok - so that picture of Jack Casady is '67. That seems to be the earliest one we've found yet, right?

 

[tattooSAM]

If John Paul Jones had a signature precision/jazz bass would it be known as a JPJPJ or a PJJPJ ?

I was thinking the same thing. LOVE me some JPJ!

 

[tattooSAM]

not germaine to this discussion, but posting anyway because i like it. notice how new it looks!

That's Berry's "Tractor" bass. The nice looking one. He has another. He got that pickup from Phil Lesh. It was a spare for Phil's modded EB-3. Modified by Alembic. He and his roadie carved that hole with a screwdriver on a tour bus. The wires were originally connected with electrical tape! Preamp was soldered directly to the bottom of the P/U. It was originally a guild bisonic pickup. It sounds awesome. His son still has it and plays it occasionally.

 

[rtslinger]

I know Billy Sheehan did some routing early on

The Wife

 

[yodedude2]

hey, is that a j in the bridge of dan's...uhm...oops, nevermind...

 

[johnson79]

Neat thread. Interesting that Ibanez moved the P closer to the neck on that 1975 bass. Wonder what that sounded like.