Jazz pickups, wiring and neck on a P body

[Dlew919]

Has anyone done this? Would it work? Just wondering. Have you done it? What's it like?

Or the reverse? P guts and neck on a j body?

 

[Fernando Costa]

 

[Killing Floor]

I fit P necks better than I fit J necks. Suits my hand. And you have never met a living human who can tell the difference in sound between a P or J on a recording without looking. And neither have I. And I know after 4 decades I can't. Make your bass work for you.

 

[creaturegods]

Epiphone did that, kinda. They called it the "Rock Bass".

Photo is not mine - I see them more commonly with the hockey stick headstocks instead of the batwing ones.

 

[king rew]

 

[Mike Vee]

I fit P necks better than I fit J necks. Suits my hand. And you have never met a living human who can tell the difference in sound between a P or J on a recording without looking. And neither have I. And I know after 4 decades I can't. Make your bass work for you.
View attachment 5491144

whaaaaa? there is some overlap depending on how you play it, but on a majority of records featuring a Jazz bass, the tone is very easily identifiable, especially if we are talking bridge pickup/burp sound. A P can't do that. And, A J bridge only doesn't sound quite like a P either. Doesn't have the same grind at all.

 

[Jefenator]

I'm kind of a sucker for the classic designs.
But I'm an even bigger sucker for a good set of single coils - and sometimes I like the way I can lean a not-offset-contour body on a floor against an amp.

 

[kodiakblair]

Has anyone done this?

Almost, mine's is more a 51 slab body variant.

I'd been planning to build one for way too long, April saw the deed done. Siberian larch body, maple neck; modern P-bass width. 2 x 51 single coils placed at 60's spacing. Had a custom set knocked up as the bridge pickup needed to have a wider pole spacing and be RWRP for hum cancelling.

Scratchplate needs replaced or tweaked. VVT will get replaced by VT and a mini 3 way selector switch. D'Addario roundwound will finally go in the bin, replaced with a set of La Bella Jamerson flats.

 

[JIO]

As long as the pu's are positioned the same as a P or J on any body - it will sound like a P or J. I'd have to believe every possible combination of bodies/necks/pu's has been done many times over.

 

[Killing Floor]

whaaaaa? there is some overlap depending on how you play it, but on a majority of records featuring a Jazz bass, the tone is very easily identifiable, especially if we are talking bridge pickup/burp sound. A P can't do that. And, A J bridge only doesn't sound quite like a P either. Doesn't have the same grind at all.

A J bridge full doesn't sound like a P in most hands. But then again a third of the songs you KNOW were recorded with a P were recorded with a Wal or Alembic or Stingray or Sabre or Yamaha or Ric.
There's no absolute in a mix.

 

[mellobud]

Has anyone done this? Would it work? Just wondering. Have you done it? What's it like?

Or the reverse? P guts and neck on a j body?

G&L JB2 for the jazz electronics on a p style body

 

[ThunderV]

Anything is possible.......check out Warmoth. I currently use a rear routed Dinky J Bass body, quarter pound j pickup set and a P bass neck (The neck is a Mighty Mite). This has been my main bass for many years.

 

[Gervais Cote]

Anything is possible.......check out Warmoth. I currently use a rear routed Dinky J Bass body, quarter pound j pickup set and a P bass neck (The neck is a Mighty Mite). This has been my main bass for many years.
View attachment 5491306

Same here and from Warmoth as well :

 

[Gervais Cote]

A Peavy Milestone 4 seems to fit your description :

 

[Billsals]

Alleva Coppola Willie Weeks model.

 

[J Wilson]

Has anyone done this? Would it work? Just wondering. Have you done it? What's it like?

Or the reverse? P guts and neck on a j body?

Sure it would. As long as THIS body will match up with THAT neck, then all you need is whichever body style you want routed for the pickups you want to use. This is easily done and found once you go into the parts bass end of the pond.

 

[fhm555]

If you want a P body with a J neck and a P/J pickup config with a Fender preamp, the MIM Fender deluxe P is your huckleberry. I had one for a minute but I was too accustomed to a jazz body so I returned it after one night playing with a country dance band. It was a great sounding active bass if you are into that sort of thing and the P/J setup gives you options not available on a P or J.
If you want a P with a J neck and can live with the electronics package, it's a decent way to go.
Almost forgot, if you tire of the Fender preamp, the bass also has a side mount jack, giving you four holes on deck so a lot of aftermarket preamps will work, and the battery box is big enough for 2 9V cells if you prefer an 18V setup.
All that said, I've got a near perfect MIM Deluxe Jazz body I'd make someone a killer deal on if they were interested in such a thing.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

whaaaaa? there is some overlap depending on how you play it, but on a majority of records featuring a Jazz bass, the tone is very easily identifiable, especially if we are talking bridge pickup/burp sound. A P can't do that. And, A J bridge only doesn't sound quite like a P either. Doesn't have the same grind at all.

You mean that thumb rest near the bridge also works as a pickup. Mind blown!

The difference in sound of the J neck solo and P pickup, in a typical mix, isn't going to be that obvious.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

Has anyone done this? Would it work? Just wondering. Have you done it? What's it like?

Or the reverse? P guts and neck on a j body?

Squier did it in the 90s - the five string Precision was a P body, two J pickups

 

[Mike Vee]

You mean that thumb rest near the bridge also works as a pickup. Mind blown!

The difference in sound of the J neck solo and P pickup, in a typical mix, isn't going to be that obvious.

lol i love the bridge only, tone down vibe, sometimes. not enough to own a J just for it, though. i don't really care much for the other tones that bass produces.