P bass vs PJ bass

[mattj1stc]

As noted in other posts, there's a P, there's a J and there's a PJ. These are mostly separate/distinct things. A P/J may seem like a combination or best of both worlds, but it's more of its own animal. With a P/J, you can (if wired correctly) get a straight P tone and a soloed bridge J tone, but you can't really get a full J tone without a J in the neck position. When engaging both pickups in a P/J, you may like the tone or you may not - it depends. FWIW, most people I know who regularly play P/Js usually have both pickups on and prefer that unique tone.

 

[robert43]

Hi all thanks for the replys I have a P bass and a J bass I was thinking of converting my SX bass with SD 1/4 pounder p to a PJ food for thought

 

[socialleper]

A PJ can sound like a P and it's own thing. It will never sound like a Jazz bass. Some people like the thinner neck most PJ basses have, some don't. I used to really like PJ basses when I was younger because that tone was very popular in the 80s and earlier 90s. It isn't as common anymore.
I tried for years to find the one bass that does everything. It doesn't exist. Having multiple basses is just a fact of life.

 

[Stewie]

All about aesthetics. The extra knob and bridge pickup are fugly. If I want a wee more bite, I'll turn up the treble on my amplifier. Truth is, I don't really care a lot about tone, as long as "thump" is present.

 

[cnltb]

You can play any bass for any genre. Does not make the least bit of a difference apart from teh visual thing... some BLs prefer to see certain things.
I personally would always go for a P over a PJ. I don't like PJs all too much.

 

[MoeTown1986]

I say get a P and a J. IF you can only have one, get a P. I tried the whole PJ thing for a while. It just isn't for me. I always turned the J pickup down and played just the P pickup anyway. I gig a lot with P's and J's and like them both for different reasons. But, the P always has my heart.

 

[ArteK]

My experience is that the PJ pickups on full sounds much more like a Jazz than the Precision (volume/punch decreases, tone softens). It's a little beefier than a Jazz, but not a lot.

When you turn off the J pickup, it gets very close to the P sound.

The J alone has always been too thin and soft for me.

Note that this is my opinion, and regarding only how the electronics sound. I'm ignoring playing style, etc. (Also, I play rootsy music fingerstyle, with no slapping, so pick players and slappers might have different experiences along those lines.)

My PJs have always had the pickups wired in series, with no pickup selector/switching (that is, just the individual pickup volume controls and the shared tone pot).

To summarize, I have managed to get a PJ bass to sound like a Precision, and to sound pretty close to a Jazz. In that regard, I guess it does what it's intended to.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Hi all I was just wondering what are your thoughts for general usage bass for say rock / soft rock type of music what do you prefer a P bass or a PJ bass ?
Is it better to have a P bass and a J bass or have a PJ bass rather than the 2 ?
Thanks

PJ and JJ. Nothing else matters.

 

[B-Mac]

PJ and JJ. Nothing else matters.

...as long as it's purple!
Still can't get over your work on that!

 

[FloydianAnimal]

I voted P bass but I have a PJ that's great also. I suppose like was said there are other factors like exactly what pickups are in the bass, neck, body shape, etc. But all else being equal, I feel I can do just fine with a P bass.

 

[BobDeRosa]

I like having both but never use the J.

 

[macmanlou]

On every PJ I've owned, I replaced the bridge pickup with a hum-canceling pickup, like a DiMarzio or EMG LJHZ.

 

[micguy]

3 pictures are worth....3 thousand words

I'm an artist. I need more than one brush.

 

[Huw Phillips]

I built a P/J hoping I would like it, I concluded I like a P or a J but not a mix.
Good luck with your quest

 

[lbbc]

I have a Carvin Passive PJ Bass and love it. I can dial in whatever tone I need for my trio or full 5 piece band.

 

[Charlzm]

Hi all I was just wondering what are your thoughts for general usage bass for say rock / soft rock type of music what do you prefer a P bass or a PJ bass ?
Is it better to have a P bass and a J bass or have a PJ bass rather than the 2 ?
Thanks

I voted P/J as I have one and it sounds awesome and had a lot of versatility (that I never use, LOL).

However...

My best-sounding bass has two split coil soapbars.

 

[DrThumpenstein]

My main player is a PJ with typical VVT controls. P is usually dimed, J blended to taste. Anywhere between 0 for a pure P tone, 3/10 on the J to give a little more bite and fullness, to both dimed to give it a little more growl.

I really like the wider range of tones I can access with the PJ combination, plus I find the typical P neck width unwieldy. That said, I replaced the stock Fender pickups in my Aerodyne with Geezers, mostly because of the noisy, anemic stock J. The Geezer J pickup is much more ballsy and less noisy. These are balanced nicely, whereas the P really tended to overwhelm the J pickup with the stock set.

So the configuration certainly matters, but the quality of the pickups themselves is important as well.

 

[JimmyM]

Every now and then, I find the J pickup handy for getting a brighter and more scooped tone out of my P's when I need it, so most of them have PJ's. But about 90% of the time (100% in my current band), the J is off.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

P/J. It's a P, but with more available. If you can hear the difference between a P and a P/J with the J pickup off, you're superhuman, but you should get one with a single volume and a switch. Problem solved. A P/J with a series/parallel switch for the P pickup coils is the most versatile passive bass in the world.

 

[Mike Vee]

I love my American Vintage Hot Rod 60s P/J. Best bass I ever played. I wouldn't be able to go back to a pure P now.