Set a VVT circuit bass to half tone, and half volume on the neck pickup, with the bridge off. Then try a P with the volume and tone at half. You'll hear it.
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Is it possible to undo a PJ job?
- Thread starter Doublesixes
- Start date
Set a VVT circuit bass to half tone, and half volume on the neck pickup, with the bridge off. Then try a P with the volume and tone at half. You'll hear it.
Brings back a painful memory, around 2006 I bought a top of the line USA Lakland Bob Glaub Darkstar p with j neck, played and sounded great ... then I saw it. A faint outline in the shoreline gold metallic where there had been a second Darkstar installed in the j position, then removed and filled, if I were you I would leave the pickup and just not use it.
Not sure how this will be received....
Remove the pickup. Leave the hole. Get a custom pickguard that extends far enough to cover the hole.
...and pretty much reversible aside from a couple screw holes I guess.
Remove the pickup. Leave the hole. Get a custom pickguard that extends far enough to cover the hole.
...and pretty much reversible aside from a couple screw holes I guess.
The bass was wired in such a way with a Switchcraft with 3 positions: Neck, Neck & Bridge and just Bridge. So I can get a perfectly isolated P sound by using the forward switch position, a mix of both (50%-50%) in the middle and just the Bridge all the way to the back which yields a somewhat convincing Jazz tone a la Jaco. There's no discretionary "blend" of pup sounds which could be a pro or a con, depending on preferences.
sell or keep the 2 Jazzers and treasure that awesome PJ as it is
OK, I just tried it. Now it was a bit of an unfair comparison because the closest PJ soundwise to my P has Dunlop flats, which are darker than the Chromes on my P. I think it's possible that the PJ did have a little darker tone with that setting than the P, but it sounds darker regardless, so it could very well be the strings. On the other hand, the amount of times I've run any passive bass with the volume knob at anything other than full-on in 45 years of playing bass is never, so it's not like I'll stay up nights worrying about it
I have seen one of that era with a undone pj mod. It didn't look great but it did what the owner wanted it to do. And considering the owner I say it did quite well.
Hmm, that was a perfect excuse to add another Darkstar!
OP, another option to consider: get a new P body and transplant all the parts but the J pickup and its wiring. Save the original body for when/if you change your mind or sell the bass. If weight is a consideration, as you say, you can also solve that problem in the process (shop carefully)...
What about making it a double P bass? Is it possible to expand the existing route to fit a second P pickup?
Maybe I'm nuts but that's what I would consider doing in your situation.
Show us your Double P Basses!
Maybe I'm nuts but that's what I would consider doing in your situation.
Show us your Double P Basses!
If you just gotta buy something like this
LOADED Fender Vintage 62 RI P BASS BODY PB6s Guitar 1962 Reissue Sunburst | eBay
Unscrew your neck, screw it on this and leave that original alone. It's yours, it's cool the way it is. Matter of fact, you might just buy another neck while you're at it. It would be far cheaper and less risk of butchery.
LOADED Fender Vintage 62 RI P BASS BODY PB6s Guitar 1962 Reissue Sunburst | eBay
Unscrew your neck, screw it on this and leave that original alone. It's yours, it's cool the way it is. Matter of fact, you might just buy another neck while you're at it. It would be far cheaper and less risk of butchery.
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A better suggestion than mine.
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buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Just turn down the J pup. Pocket the money for something else you want/need.
Hmm, that was a perfect excuse to add another Darkstar!
OP, another option to consider: get a new P body and transplant all the parts but the J pickup and its wiring. Save the original body for when/if you change your mind or sell the bass. If weight is a consideration, as you say, you can also solve that problem in the process (shop carefully)...
Sold it long ago, my go-to now is an 83 Peavey T45.
If I were you I’d replace the 2nd volume with a 3 way switch, and leave the other pickup in there. Just flip the switch to the P position and forget the J pickup is there.
Funny that you mention that as last night I was watching in YT old videos of Maceo Parker featuring the funk of Jerry Preston on a double P configuration. Not sure what bass it is but it sounds enormous in his talented hands.
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