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j vs p output

geremia

geremia

Feb 28, 2008
161
5
Long Island, NY
#1
hey guys, wanted to know if i'm alone on this...

I have a 2008 MIA Fender P and a 2004? MIM Fender J...both are passive and stock...the output level of the p is significantly more than the j, which makes my life a pain when switching basses mid set...is this common? other than getting a tonebone or boost pedal (or mixer), any suggestions on dealing with this? I've been debating swapping the pickups in the j, but not if i'm gonna have the same issue.
 
#2
I would say that yes it is common, even when switching a bass of the same type and make! Have you tried setting pup heights on to both basses to help compensate? Even different types of pups with the same output levels in millivolts won't appear as the same volume because of frequency response differences. Remember that your eq settings and the different frequency responses of various type pups is gonna have an effect too as you switch. I have no experience with them but I'm sure that there are rack effects to compensate as well as computer utilities.
 
#4
Yep...the pickup design of the P is always a lot louder than standard single coil Jazz pickups IME. Enough so that I've never found it practical to switch between them on stage. Even the Tonebone and Aggie Tone Hammer never really equalized the two.

You can put hotter pups in the Jazz of course. I have an MIA Jazz with DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pups, those are high output wide freq pups and put out comparable levels of volume and bass to a P, but don't sound exactly like single coils of course.
 
#7
I've had that same experience over the years. It is what it is. Many years ago, I put some DiMarzios in a couple of J basses that sent them both into overdrive. Serious improvement.

Sparkdog said:
P-Bass with big flats…when you absolutely, positively got to kill every single mother----er in the room..
Click to expand...

Now THAT is a truth you can wrap your mind around!
 
#10
yep flats on the Jazz, rounds on the P bass. one day I'll get around to try flats on my P bass. I have a 62' reissue stack knob jazz I bought new in 88'. I wanted a full round sound when I started playing classic rock and R&B. I started on metal, punk, and new wave, so that midrange jazz sound was great for that stuff. So I went to flats only on my Jazz. I think the reissue pickups in my jazz are alot different than my other J basses. Very treblely. (if thats a word)
 
#11
dumb question: how often and why would you switch basses in the middle of a show? if you need different tones for different songs, just play the jazz and switch pickup settings.

(i bang on a P-bass myself, and other than the occasional pedal effect or the occasional switch from pick to fingers, i don't see much need to change up.)

as for level differences, it may just be a matter of learning to set the preamp gain on the amp to here for the P, and then quickly tweak it up to there for the J.
 
#13
Put a tiny boost pedal like a Cheeseblocks Small Wonder or other small boost/reduce pedal before the DI. Have it set to add volume to the jazz, or reduce from the P. Turn it on when you use that specific bass.

Not a big deal IMHO. Basses always have different levels.

(Could also lower the pickup on the P, or raise the pickups on the J, but that has tonal repurcussions)
 
#14
I would be interested in hearing from players who own both basses that are MIA or have both that are MIM. That may help you to know if the difference is simply due to the country of origin but I think you will find that the difference is due to the different pickups. I own a 1976 P and a 1978 J and usualy find that I have to make some adjustment in volume if I switch but it's not as drastic as you are describing.
 
#15
I largely agree with walterw above, but I'll add that my experience with a 2003 Am. Series J and 2004 Am. Series P was the opposite: the J had more output and punch. (And no, I'm not just referring to the boosted output in series mode with the S-1 switch engaged.) IME, Fender's MIA P pickups have pretty low output, but the more common experience seems to be that P basses are hotter than J's.
 

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