Fender Mustang Club

[DavesnothereCA]

IMO. Most PJ people, I believe, run the P pickup, wired conventionally, solo most of the time. They expect to have some hum when running the single coil Jazz pickup solo and use it sparingly; not really intending to replace a true Jazz. The Jazz PU with conventional wiring is RWRP with only one side of the P pickup, and doesn't really blend that well. Which is why a lot of people say the PJ is not a good combination. Fender attempted to remedy this with the AmPerf P pickup. I've never heard one, but I would imagine it sounds more like a vintage "P" single.
I personally always use a split J hum-cancelling pickup on my PJs. Solos better, blends better, but doesn't ever quite catch that "Jazz bass" sound.

I think.

~
I did not expect that to matter, the RWRP relationship, since the RW and RP of the one half of the P split pickup should counteract each other, and yield a signal which is in phase with any additional pickup, as well as with the other half of the split pickup.

What I believe to be the culprit in mixing P & J pickups is instead the different impedance and resonance of the two pickup designs, loading each other down when in a passive harness, when both pickups are turned most or all of the way up.

Therefore, I have grown to prefer basses where there are two identical whole pickups, each of a hum cancelling design, and the result is more predictable and manageable.
~

 

[SoulReflection]

IMO. Most PJ people, I believe, run the P pickup, wired conventionally, solo most of the time. They expect to have some hum when running the single coil Jazz pickup solo and use it sparingly; not really intending to replace a true Jazz. The Jazz PU with conventional wiring is RW with only one side of the P pickup, and doesn't really blend that well. Which is why a lot of people say the PJ is not a good combination. Fender attempted to remedy this with the AmPerf P pickup. I've never heard one, but I would imagine it sounds more like a vintage "P" single.
I personally always use a split J hum-cancelling pickup on my PJs. Solos better, blends better, but doesn't ever quite catch that "Jazz bass" sound.

I think.

Loved your post. I have a P with a J neck and it gives me the comfort and tone that I have wanted for many years. With the PV '63 pups, LB flats and running through an Ampeg PF20T it delivers in spades. I sold my Mustang PJ but keep my others for fun and backups.

 

[HelpImaRock]

A major reason I went with the Squier CV instead of the MIM was I didn't want to immediately replace the J pickup with a humbucking one. Hum drives me nuts.

 

[DavesnothereCA]

So What you're saying about the Fender Mustang PJ with it's 3-way toggle switch is, if I got it right, is:
1}Both pups toggled on = no hum.
2}Neck P pup toggled alone also = no hum.
3}But bridge pup toggled alone = HUM!

Thanks for the mind-clearing explanation!

~
You're welcome !

That's close.

When both pickups are on, there might be some hum, but not as much as when the J pickup is alone.

On a Jazz bass [or on an Am Perf Mustang bass], with two volume controls instead of a switch, a person could mix the levels to find a sweet spot where there would be no hum.

I expect that this might also be possible on a PJ bass with two volumes.
~

 

[DavesnothereCA]

A major reason I went with the Squier CV instead of the MIM was I didn't want to immediately replace the J pickup with a humbucking one. Hum drives me nuts.

~
I'm ALREADY nuts.

Hum makes it worse.
~

 

[HelpImaRock]

~
I'm ALREADY nuts.

Hum makes it worse.
~

Bur Oak or Butternut?

 

[DavesnothereCA]

Bur Oak or Butternut?

~
Baroque ?

Or contemporary TV ad jingle :

"Sometimes I feel like a...."
~

 

[2cooltoolz]

~
I did not expect that to matter, the RWRP relationship, since the RW and RP of the one half of the P split pickup should counteract each other, and yield a signal which is in phase with any additional pickup, as well as with the other half of the split pickup.

What I believe to be the culprit in mixing P & J pickups is instead the different impedance and resonance of the two pickup designs, loading each other down when in a passive harness, when both pickups are turned most or all of the way up.

Therefore, I have grown to prefer basses where there are two identical whole pickups, each of a hum cancelling design, and the result is more predictable and manageable.
~

I defer to your logic. I had misremembered what I had read on the design of the AmPerf pickup, thinking they had wired them same wind, same polarity, head to tail; essentially a two piece single coil, to approximate a Jazz bass sound in combination, while still retaining the Mustang look. Have no idea where I got that!

As previously stated, I've never heard an American Performer, much less played one. Just contributing to the internet misinformation tsunami!

 

[DavesnothereCA]

I defer to your logic. I had misremembered what I had read on the design of the AmPerf pickup, thinking they had wired them same wind, same polarity, head to tail; essentially a two piece single coil, to approximate a Jazz bass sound in combination, while still retaining the Mustang look. Have no idea where I got that!

As previously stated, I've never heard an American Performer, much less played one. Just contributing to the internet misinformation tsunami!

View attachment 4653704View attachment 4653705

~
It took me a second read of your post just now, to notice what I highlighted in my quote.

Fender DID wire the Am Perf Mustang bass exactly as you had believed, and if by head-to-tail, you meant in-phase with regard to their external hookup of the two halves of the split pickup, they did that too.

It's in the original USA Mustang basses where they externally wired the two halves of its split pickup out of phase, to beat the hum, and that, given the internal identicalness of the two halves, is what also causes any pickups added by modding to have an out-of-phase problem with one half of the original design Mustang bass pickups, unless we do as Fender did with the Am Perf model, which then introduces the potential for the hum.

As mentioned in my earlier posts(s), the design of the P bass split pickup is better suited for adding another pickup in terms of signal phase, BUT, if the extra pickup is single coil, then that pickup will still be prone to hum, especially when soloed, and if the extra pickup has different other characteristics than the P split pickup, then running both together may or may not give the tone which we might want, regardless of whether or not we manage to beat the hum.
~

 

[FlyingPigSound]

Hey there Mustang players!

I started this club four years ago (changed my screen name, long story) when I picked up a new JMJ in Daphne Blue for a new band project. A short time later, I moved on to a Rickenbacker, which I replaced with a Jack Casady, which then was replaced by a couple different Thunderbirds, and then the final bass I was using in that band was an old RD Standard. (selling the Mustang is why I stopped following this club...sorry)

The pandemic and band drama ended my involvement with that project, and after almost a year of not playing, I'm getting involved in a Beatles band. The group isn't trying to look the part or any of that, and I want to use a short scale bass that I can beat on a little more than my Hofner CT Cavern.

I immediately thought of the JMJ Mustang...but they are sold out EVERYWHERE. To my surprise, I received an email yesterday from Fender telling me that they have some in stock at the factory and I can order directly from them.

So longish story short...I have a black JMJ on the way!

Stay tuned...

 

[rllefebv]

Hey there Mustang players!

I started this club four years ago (changed my screen name, long story) when I picked up a new JMJ in Daphne Blue for a new band project. A short time later, I moved on to a Rickenbacker, which I replaced with a Jack Casady, which then was replaced by a couple different Thunderbirds, and then the final bass I was using in that band was an old RD Standard. (selling the Mustang is why I stopped following this club...sorry)

The pandemic and band drama ended my involvement with that project, and after almost a year of not playing, I'm getting involved in a Beatles band. The group isn't trying to look the part or any of that, and I want to use a short scale bass that I can beat on a little more than my Hofner CT Cavern.

I immediately thought of the JMJ Mustang...but they are sold out EVERYWHERE. To my surprise, I received an email yesterday from Fender telling me that they have some in stock at the factory and I can order directly from them.

So longish story short...I have a black JMJ on the way!

Stay tuned...

Welcome back to the herd!!

-robert

 

[OtherLisa]

Small hands here. The PJ and the Squier would be my only Mustang choices because of the nut width. I think most of the other Mustangs are 1.625 so that's a nope for me. Before I got my PJ I'd really only played a Jazz bass, so that's where my comfort level is. Everyone is different, but wider thicker necks are a no-go for me. They aren't comfortable, and it just feels like too much work.

I got so annoyed with that three-way switch on the PJ that I 1. changed the Jazz pickup (it's a Duncan now) and 2. had that switch converted to a blend knob. It's a really cool little bass now, and I like it a lot. I still have a bit of GAS for a Squier in sea-foam green though!

Seconding what @Greywoulf said about the Acinonyx—I just got mine, and I love it!

 

[SoulReflection]

Small hands here. The PJ and the Squier would be my only Mustang choices because of the nut width. I think most of the other Mustangs are 1.625 so that's a nope for me. Before I got my PJ I'd really only played a Jazz bass, so that's where my comfort level is. Everyone is different, but wider thicker necks are a no-go for me. They aren't comfortable, and it just feels like too much work.

I got so annoyed with that three-way switch on the PJ that I 1. changed the Jazz pickup (it's a Duncan now) and 2. had that switch converted to a blend knob. It's a really cool little bass now, and I like it a lot. I still have a bit of GAS for a Squier in sea-foam green though!

Seconding what @Greywoulf said about the Acinonyx—I just got mine, and I love it!

If I kept the Mustang PJ, I would have done exactly what you did. But, the P with the J neck and Squier Jag have contoured bodies so they won out. My Mustang came with sea-foam green and was quickly repainted...different strokes .

 

[OtherLisa]

If I kept the Mustang PJ, I would have done exactly what you did. But, the P with the J neck and Squier Jag have contoured bodies so they won out. My Mustang came with sea-foam green and was quickly repainted...different strokes .

Is your Squier Jag the VM modified shorty? I have one of those. LOVE it! I want to change the tuners at some point as they are the only part of the bass that feels cheap to me.

I've been lusting after a G&L tribute SB2 just...because. I don't know that I really need a new Jazz bass, I am pretty sure I'll be doing the rest of my playing on shorties. But...it's so pretty! SeaFoam...

 

[SoulReflection]

Is your Squier Jag the VM modified shorty? I have one of those. LOVE it! I want to change the tuners at some point as they are the only part of the bass that feels cheap to me.

I've been lusting after a G&L tribute SB2 just...because. I don't know that I really need a new Jazz bass, I am pretty sure I'll be doing the rest of my playing on shorties. But...it's so pretty! SeaFoam...

Yes, it is this one with a Player P pickup and yes, I have already had to repair a tuner. I will probably put Hipshot Ultralites on when I get around to it but, it is a keeper...

 

[D Bopp]

I sold my blue JMJ Mustang last year and regret it. This week I picked up this black one to go along w my 76. Loving it!

 

[2cooltoolz]

That's a beauty! I'm probably the only guy on TB who doesn't love the Daphne blue (had a 67 DB Mustang back then), but the black talks to me! (It's saying "BUY ME!"

The 76, however, is singing to me! And it's a sexy, "come hither", kind of a song at that!

Two beauties, lucky man!!

 

[ale29]

JMJ strung with 2 years old TI rounds, CV strung with chromes, both incredible basses in their own way and not only for the price paid. The increased playing confort and absence of dead spots made Mustangs the new Ps for me

 

[DAVEYC]

Small hands here. The PJ and the Squier would be my only Mustang choices because of the nut width. I think most of the other Mustangs are 1.625 so that's a nope for me. Before I got my PJ I'd really only played a Jazz bass, so that's where my comfort level is. Everyone is different, but wider thicker necks are a no-go for me. They aren't comfortable, and it just feels like too much work.

I got so annoyed with that three-way switch on the PJ that I 1. changed the Jazz pickup (it's a Duncan now) and 2. had that switch converted to a blend knob. It's a really cool little bass now, and I like it a lot. I still have a bit of GAS for a Squier in sea-foam green though!

Why don't you kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, this is what I did to my black VM short scale Jaguar.

 

[FlyingPigSound]

I sold my blue JMJ Mustang last year and regret it. This week I picked up this black one to go along w my 76. Loving it!

View attachment 4658328

Black JMJ's are hard to find...where did you get it?