Fender magnificent 7 pj bass questions.

[FishDub]

Not trying to knock these at all because they just look SWEET..I tried these on two occasions and I just couldnt bond..BUT- I am more of a purist P and J guy. So if you are looking to get "the best of both worlds" I would reconsider..The P sound may be there to an extent but if you want the pure J tone this bass wont come close..

 

[bobyoung53]

Not for nothing, but I can't tell you how many times I've read right here on this board that you just can't get a classic P-bass tone from a PJ bass.
Not saying I believe it, though...I'd have to think with all the different Fender PJs, surely one can pull it off.

That's baloney, i have two and they ARE P basses with the J pickup off. They are Fender Precisions with an added Jazz pickup. The TF fretless has a switch and the Vintage Hot Rod doesn't. The TF was modded with another volume control.

 

[jd56hawk]

That's baloney, i have two and they ARE P basses with the J pickup off. They are Fender Precisions with an added Jazz pickup. The TF fretless has a switch and the Vintage Hot Rod doesn't. The TF was modded with another volume control.

sev
View attachment 4065512

Yes, I've owned several PJ basses.
Never had any problem turning the J pickup's volume knob off.

 

[fishdude101101]

what about installing a push/pull pot to use as an on/off switch for the bridge pickup, thus isolating the wiring for the p pickup on demand...?

I think in a mix with other things going on it is indistinguishable from just turning down the volume on the J pickup.

 

[Corevalay]

I'm kinda concerned the performer p won't get smooth and deep enough though with its grease bucket tone circuit. It's seems the performer is designed to be a more brighter modern sounding pj bass. But I could be wrong.

From my experience, you're not wrong. I've had 2 Performer Precisions and I wasn't crazy about the tone. It was much more high-end and brittle compared to my Mag 7 PJ. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't BAD, but not what I wanted and I definitely don't think it's what you're looking for. I did remove the Greasebucket on one of them, and it didn't make that much of a difference. I think it's more the pickups and the bridge. Perhaps a pickup swap would solve that.

 

[fishdude101101]

From my experience, you're not wrong. I've had 2 Performer Precisions and I wasn't crazy about the tone. It was much more high-end and brittle compared to my Mag 7 PJ. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't BAD, but not what I wanted and I definitely don't think it's what you're looking for. I did remove the Greasebucket on one of them, and it didn't make that much of a difference. I think it's more the pickups and the bridge. Perhaps a pickup swap would solve that.

I agree with this. Performers are very bright. Thankfully removing the grease bucket circuit is easy, quick, and cheap. I have a parts bass with a performer body and a player series neck. Never had the stock pickups but the dimarzio model p/j set I have it in warms it up. I've had Nordstrands in it too and they sounded great as well.

I tried a high mass bridge and it make no difference to my ears. Biggest thing for me was getting ride of the grease bucket because I play with the tone rolled off a lot, and it just doesn't sound the same as the normal passive tone circuit rolled off.

 

[bassgirls]

There are great. I bought mine new 9 years ago and still use it/love it as my primary bass. I've owned several p basses and prefer this one. You can blend the pickups nicely for fat tones or more cut. Neck is thin and comfy. Everyone who plays it wants it, but I'm never giving it up.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

how do these Fender magnificent 7 precision basses sound? Do they get the traditional deep smooth fat Classic p bass tones as well as ther ur mckagan guns n roses like tones when both the pj pickups are engage Da? I am looking for a bass that can do the classic warm fat p bass tone and the modern bright PJ pickup sounds used by so many hard rock bands in the 80s and 90s. Please give me your thoughts on this bass. Thanks Jeremy 571

Just a couple of comments as I have no experience a Magnificant 7 PJ but do have a good deal of experience with PBs and PJs.The first having played a goodly percentage of all the series of PBs. I've come to the conclusion there is some tonal variance in tone from series to series instrument to instrument in some degree. But they all pretty much do the PB "thing".

I have a MIA N series PBj with VVT controls a have recorded a fair amount and have played well over 1,000 performances. Is it dead on? Well I've recording a fair amount of Motown and 60s for the last 13 years using round wounds and nobody has questioned it. It still sounds like a Fender bass, and it will do both the PB and JB "Thing" plus it has a few tricks of its own.

Is it better than a Lakland or G&L? A better value? I wouldn't know.

Finally, I gave up on trying to accurately trying to copy someone's tone years ago mainly because I have no clue what when into the production of that tone. I suspect what went into it is more than a choice of bass, or strings or amp for that matter.

 

[MtManiac]

Zombie thread, but I used to own one of these.

Yes, if you turn down the bridge pickup it sounds like a P bass. The split coil is a CS62, and the bridge is a CS60s. The bridge pickup has a much lower output than the split coil, so it really doesn't add much to the tone when it's up full.

I currently own a Limited Edition American Original hot rodded PJ, black nitro body, modern P neck, badass style bridge, PV63 split coils and IIRC PV64 bridge pickup. Both pickups output is a lot more balanced, but both are pretty dark. It's a thud machine, and sounds amazing if that's what you're looking for. Very warm.