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Looking for my ideal P/J

#31
PhiDeck said:
Seller has only 90% positive feedback.
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the seller is me & i'm glad you brought it up. the 1 bass sale i recieved negative feedback for was from a guy who made me an offer, which i accepted because it was great for me (if i remember correctly the listed price was $425 & he bought it for $535 ending the auction early BTW). he never asked even 1 question about it or asked for more pics which i am MORE than happy to do for anyone (i have nothing to hide..ever). the listing was quite detailed as i believe this one is also, with at least 6-7 pics showing the bass to the best of my photographic ability. After he recieved the bass he felt he paid too much.. & i agree, remember He made the offer, & demanded his money back which i just will not do.

He put in a complaint against me to ebay (& i'm so glad he did) & we both got to tell our sides of the story. Ebay investigated, looked at the listing (they have 3 or 4 people look at it as well) & decided without doubt that i posted & sold my bass with no deception whatsoever! He totally had buyers remorse & unfortunatly for me ebay wont remove the negative feedback even though i won the case.

Please go back & view my selling history, i have always done right by everone & always give excellent deals on great gear. In this particular case i was not going to be taken advantage of because of a buyers self-ill advised decision. i assure you the bass i have for sale today is accuratley described & is a GREAT bass and a great deal for it's soon to be new owner. Thanks for taking the time to hear my side.
Michael
 
#32
I too was on a holy quest for the perfect P/J but finally gave up on it. Why? Because like you I prefer passive pickups but I couldn't find a passive PJ that would let me switch between the P and J pups without a big difference in output...really not workable mid-song (or even between songs in a fast paced set) because you have to do fairly radical EQ'ing to balance them. You can devote an EQ pedal or preamp to this task of course, but I find that to be a PITA.

It's active, but you might want to try one of these:

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend...eluxe-P-Bass-Special-4String-Bass-?sku=515201

Pretty nice bass for the money, great neck, and the EQ is really powerful so you can get a killer bridge tone that will keep up with the neck pickup.

2 cents worth fer ya...
 
#34
RMay said:
Troll thread.
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Huh? Irony anyone?

Grow up dude.
______________________________________________

To all others who replied, thanks for your input. I've tried the Hamilton the Aerodyne, a USA SB-2... none of those had a tone or feel that really blew me away.

As far as the 'entry level' gear options go... I've been playing for more than 20 years now and I've had my share of 'starter' gear. I'm not knocking any of those options, I'm just looking for something special that 1) does not require any mods to sound the way I want and 2) will (hopefully) retain its value over the years.

At this point I'm confident that there isn't anything out there that meets all my requirements AND costs less than $2,000. I'm either going to save up the extra $ for a Lull PJ4 that meets all my requirements or get a Tony Franklin fretted and maybe have it refinished.

Again, thanks to all for input/suggestions.
 
#36
A-Step-Towards said:
Reggie hamilton
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Zeb Norris said:
The Squire Jag Bass has A P/J configuration; the thread on this axe makes it sound pretty damn goog for $300.
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EagleMoon said:
+1. Nice basses!
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adam on bass said:
Second this, if you find a good one it'll rival any out there.
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Sparkdog said:
I too was on a holy quest for the perfect P/J but finally gave up on it. Why? Because like you I prefer passive pickups but I couldn't find a passive PJ that would let me switch between the P and J pups without a big difference in output...really not workable mid-song (or even between songs in a fast paced set) because you have to do fairly radical EQ'ing to balance them. You can devote an EQ pedal or preamp to this task of course, but I find that to be a PITA.
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cymatics said:
To all others who replied, thanks for your input. I've tried the Hamilton the Aerodyne, a USA SB-2... none of those had a tone or feel that really blew me away.

Again, thanks to all for input/suggestions.
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Since I got the VM-Jaguar, I too have been wanting to play the Reggie Hamilton. P/Js seem to have so much going for them that I am surprised that they aren't 'way more popular.

@ A-Step-Towards Yeah! I'm gassing for it big time! I'm going to GC this morning to put a pre-sale down payment on one. Hopefully it works out OK, but now I see it won't be at GC until the middle of January. Hrrrumph! :hmm:

Reggie%20Hamilton%20Black_Rosewood.jpg


@ Sparkdog :: The Jag has absolutely no loss to the output when you move to blending either p'up, and the volume drop to which you refer doesn't happen on this bass.

SquierVMJaguarBassLargge.jpg


@ cymatics: what can you tell me about the neck? Is it rolled over and rounded off on the E and G sides to where it feels uncomfortable? I prefer to have a flatter neck than rolled over and rounded.

This is what made me not like the Marcus Miller.....
Marcus%20Miller%20Jazz.jpg


......as I thought that was one of the most beautiful basses I've ever seen - the neck just didn't work for me.

I just had some free time this AM so I added some GAS-pixs.
 
#37
You know, I've always associated P/J pup configurations with cheap basses. If you look at most of the cheapest basses out there, the majority of them have P/J configurations.

Also, while I've always liked the idea of a P/J, I've never gotten one to sound good. The only one I've ever liked is the Lakland Glaub P/J but even then I haven't played it in person, I've only listened to the sound clips on their site.

This is just one reason why I decided a plain old P bass was better for me than a P/J. Plus, even on basses with two humbuckers I tend to favor the neck pickup anyway.

If you can find a P/J you like, great. I don't know why you're so against getting and modding a "starter" bass. If it's about the work involved, you could pay a tech to mod the bass just how you like for probably less than buying the more expensive bass. You could buy a Squier or SX P/J, get the pickups you want (The Nordstrand NP4 + NJ4SE sounds killer IMO), get any new hardware or other parts you want, hand it all to a tech and have him put it all together. Will cost you maybe $1000 if you want really nice stuff. Well worth it, IMO.
 
#38
KingRazor said:
You know, I've always associated P/J pup configurations with cheap basses. If you look at most of the cheapest basses out there, the majority of them have P/J configurations.

Also, while I've always liked the idea of a P/J, I've never gotten one to sound good. The only one I've ever liked is the Lakland Glaub P/J but even then I haven't played it in person, I've only listened to the sound clips on their site.

This is just one reason why I decided a plain old P bass was better for me than a P/J. Plus, even on basses with two humbuckers I tend to favor the neck pickup anyway.

If you can find a P/J you like, great. I don't know why you're so against getting and modding a "starter" bass. If it's about the work involved, you could pay a tech to mod the bass just how you like for probably less than buying the more expensive bass. You could buy a Squier or SX P/J, get the pickups you want (The Nordstrand NP4 + NJ4SE sounds killer IMO), get any new hardware or other parts you want, hand it all to a tech and have him put it all together. Will cost you maybe $1000 if you want really nice stuff. Well worth it, IMO.
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Ya know - I was very pleasantly amazed at the ability of the Jag to blend, and when I found that I could add significant amounts of 'cut' to the P by dialing in some J, then it was a cooked deal and I fell more so in love with the VM-Jag.

I have both active and passive Js and a passive P, but the P/J-Jag combo just sits so well with me tone-wise that I grab the Jag almost as much as my VM-Jazz for home practice - not to mention the times I take it for an outing.

The Reggie certainly doesn't qualify as a cheaper-bass by any means, although I am not set on buying the Skunk-Works model for 3-Grand+. :rollno:

That in and of itself isn't a great testimonial, but certainly it can stain the water if you think a P/J is just a cheap way out for a manufacturer.

I can understand the chagrin at a $300 Jaguar in P/J config, and while that may add fuel to your negative statements, I don't think it's a fair appraisal of a really good instrument. If it's just about the P-to-J fade-volume situation as you said, that's not evident on the Jag at all.

I'll see in a few days/weeks if the Reggie is to ultimately be mine as the neck is the biggest problem to me if it's wrong, and it certainly will have a warm place on my wall and my heart if it works out.

Time will tell, but I really like the P/J combos.
 
#39
I'm assuming that your price limit is for a new bass. If new is not a requirement, then a used Lull PJ4 would be a great choice. I have a PJ5 and love it. It cost me $2300 in 2005 with the matching headstock option ($150). Used Lulls can be had in the $1500 range.
 
#40
KingRazor said:
I don't know why you're so against getting and modding a "starter" bass.
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Like I said, I want this instrument to be something that retains its value. A tricked out Squier or Sx will most likely not be worth the sum of its parts in just a few years

KingRazor said:
If it's about the work involved, you could pay a tech to mod the bass just how you like for probably less than buying the more expensive bass.
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The work doesn't bother me. If wanted to put that kind of effort in, I'd likely go with a custom Warmoth build.

I have never played a $300 instrument that meets or exceeds the feel and tone of $1,500 instrument.

I AM NOT saying that expensive = good
I AM NOT saying that inexpensive = bad

I am simply attempting to find the best possible instrument that can be purchased "off the shelf" to meet my requirements.
 

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