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P/J 5 string

B

Bio-Bassist

Jan 17, 2011
210
8
#1
So I've been considering getting a 5 string P/J bass, and I wanna keep it around 300 if possible but don't want it to be ****, I was considering the LTD B-55 but kinda iffy on it, what else is out there within the price range of say 200-350ish :help:
 
#9
Dr. Cheese said:
Look for Yamaha BB415 or 425. You can get a 415 for right around $300 sometimes and 425s run around $500 new. They are great basses, and their P-pups rock.
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+1 to this. Not in the OP's stated budget, but not too far off. the 415s pop up in TB classifieds sometimes and they never last long. GREAT bass for the money.
 
#10
The LTD’s are surprisingly nice for the money. I use to have a B-15, which is the same bass without the J pickup. Great hardware, nice fretwork, good pickups, sounds like a P bass. The main downside for me was the tight string spacing, but that may or may not be a problem for the OP
 
#11
I played a LTD yesterday. For the money, it was a great deal. It played and sounded good. The fit and finish were spot on. The only knock I would have on this bass is that the string spacing was pretty narrow. Probably 17.5 mm. I believe it had a MAP price of $299.
 
#16
bassgod0dmw said:
Why would a P pickup be a weak link?

Significantly over the budget, but my Sadowsky PJ5 is pretty friggin' awesome.
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I would not have a doubt in my mind that your Sadowsky has it all & then some. I'm just goin' by playing a 1st year production run of a couple of Fender P-Bass 5'ers. I despised it, and so did every single bassist that reviewed the bass in mags/videos that I had seen/read.
I guess that I should give a P-Bass 5'er another chance now. Because they sure didn't get it right with 'em in their 1st year of production,for sure.
But, then again, I've never been partial to P-Basses. At all.:rollno:
 
#17
millsbass5 said:
I'm just goin' by playing a 1st year production run of a couple of Fender P-Bass 5'ers. I despised it, and so did every single bassist that reviewed the bass in mags/videos that I had seen/read.
I guess that I should give a P-Bass 5'er another chance now. Because they sure didn't get it right with 'em in their 1st year of production,for sure.
But, then again, I've never been partial to P-Basses. At all.:rollno:
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I'd tell you to check out the reviews of the 08+ Fender P5's, but it's kinda pointless if you're not interested. They get excellent reviews. I still don't understand why a P pickup would be a weak link. Just because you don't like them?

In any case, OP wasn't asking specifically for a Fender...and the P5 isn't a PJ, so that doesn't really work either.
 
#19
millsbass5 said:
I would not have a doubt in my mind that your Sadowsky has it all & then some. I'm just goin' by playing a 1st year production run of a couple of Fender P-Bass 5'ers. I despised it, and so did every single bassist that reviewed the bass in mags/videos that I had seen/read.
I guess that I should give a P-Bass 5'er another chance now. Because they sure didn't get it right with 'em in their 1st year of production,for sure.
But, then again, I've never been partial to P-Basses. At all.:rollno:
Click to expand...

A PJ 5er had trouble for a number of reasons. One of the first was that Fender just never figured out how to build a decent B string until quite recently. Fender 5ers from last few years (P or J) all have great B strings now.

And another reason was the fact that bridge J pickup doesn't balance the P-bass neck pickup. So if you turn both knobs up full they don't balance right. The P is overpowering. Therefore, Fender (and many other builders) underwound the P-bass pickup so the P and J volumes would match. Well, Duh, then that changed the tone of the P-bass pickup. And the rumor started circulating around that a PJ when set with ONLY the P-pickup on, didn't sound like "real" P-bass!

And then Squire enters with their "special 5" PJ bass. Only to get around the problem they use TWO Jazz pickups. Well SURE they balance, and yes, the neck, body shape and all the rest was pure P-bass, but cripes, they didn't even put in 5 string pickups, so the strings weren't covered properly. Hardly a P-bass though. Worst bass on the planet!

But I bought a used one anyway. And I ripped out the Squier nasty pickups and installed a Dimarzio ultra J in the bridge and a NOS actual Fender P-bass 5 string P-bass pickup in the neck position (actually the p-bass position).

Guess what? With just the P-bass pickup, yes it really now sounds like a P-bass and with both you can bring up the Jazz bass tone with a great sounding mix. And you can go all the way to pure Jazz bass bridge-only sound. I love it!

But what about the balance "problem"? Well obviously it's still there. You DO have to remember to pull the level on the P-pickup down a bit if you want to mix both pickups right. But to my way of thinking, it's a minor hassle compared to not having a true p-bass tone.

This is what I learned about Fender and the PJ. They still don't make a PJ 5er, but if they would I'll bet with the new improved Fender B strings, they would kill. Especially if they quit worrying about the balance "problem". Probably the "answer" is just to build a hotter Jazz pickup for the bridge "J".

I think Sadowskys are active, yes? That would make balancing a LOT easier to deal with.
 

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