PJ players, how often do you use the J pickup?

[Jeff Scott]

When I had the California Precision Special in the mid '00s I'm pretty sure I always used both pickups up full.

 

[Cadillac_Mike]

My Guild Pilot PJ’s , with reversed P, blend is in the center.

My Fender PJ, almost always solo the P, so much better, to me.

There’s something about the layout of the Pilot that doesn’t produce the plinky sound on the D and G strings that I get from the Fender, or any standard PJ layout.

I have a Guild Pilot too and lately I've been trying to shape my tone purely around the P which is what I used to do when I gigged with it. Mixing the jazz a lot with the P generally makes a naturally punchy and farty sounding bass a lot more punchy and farty sounding lol (sounds perfect on some metal and 80's stuff though). For funk I use the J full-on with P sprinkled in for added sustain and warmth.

 

[oren]

On my Fender with Aguilar pickups and flat wounds I like them both wide open, usually with the tone rolled off a bit. Sometimes I’ll favor one or the other ain’t an 80/20 mix.

 

[NotColinGrigson]

Mainly p with a touch of j to add some top end.

 

[Bass Ameg]

Both on 100% all the time, the J adds some nice mid growl to the P tone.

 

[pcake]

for decades, i played mostly PJs, and i always dimed both pickups. although i have less PJs, i still dime 'sm.

 

[Andre678]

To me a good PJ requires a humlbucking J. Because a single J can't cancel noise and won't be able to match the output of the P.
Given that, the J alone or mixed gets just as much use as the P.

I have been finding that myself lately. Most of my basses are P/J's and I used to blend in the bridge pickup more but these I tend to keep it off simply due to unwanted noise. I do like the tone but not enough to justify the single coil hum. It is not always there easier to just not even deal with it.

 

[RomanS]

Never.
I got a late 80s Precision in 1991, I was playing in a hardcore punk band back then, and had a Bartolini J pickup put in at the bridge.

Frankly, I think I haven't used that J pickup for more than 10 minutes since the turn of the millennium. I simply prefer a classic P bass tone for pretty much everything I play these days.

I would have removed that pickup years ago, but never had a good idea for covering the hole; recently turned that bass into a medium scale (with a Jaguar neck, and moving the bridge a bit towards the neck) - now the distance from the bridge to the J is close enough so that a Jaguar mute (Sean Hurley-style) would cover the hole, so that's what I'm going to do.

 

[BaltBass5]

Never. I play Spectors and aside from a custom shop at $6K+ I am stuck with the J pickup. I basically just use the Reverse P at 100% and the J stays off.

 

[RattleSnack]

Yamaha BB witj PJ just has that great tone with select switch in mid position (both on), so I play that way most of time. If needed by song, I use P solo, but that's rare.

 

[Bassdirty]

I don't play my PJ much and HATE the sound of Bridge P/U solo'd.

When I do play it, I have both on 100% - BUT the Bridge P/U is lowered as low into the body as it can go.


T$

 

[Thundar]

Im a Spector freak, and I love the reverse PJ's, and 90% of the time I use both pickups. Now if I want to pull off some 80's-90's Geddy Lee then I will definitely roll back to the rear J pickup a bit, and if I want some fat P growl, I will favor the Rev P...as for a standard Fender PJ...I just sold my American Elite, and I pretty much ALWAYS used both pickups together just because I find regular P pickups muddy and too mid forward.
Nothing growls like a Spector, Baby!

 

[ElectricBass72]

Any time I bust out the Rush and Yes riffs.

 

[Thumb n Fingers]

I have a Performer PJ also, my only current PJ, although I love that configuration. I always have at least some of the J blended in, then dial it up or back as needed. I don't love the P alone sound, or the (bridge) J alone sound. Some combination of the two, always heavier on the P, is my sweet spot.

 

[mongo2]

I never use the J pickup on my Mustang PJ. I'm not a fan of the sound of bridge pickups so I don't use them.

 

[TomB]

Joining the ranks of always both, I usually roll off the bridge a bit; it’s never soloed.

 

[socknroll1]

I guess I'm not a PJ player anymore technically, but my answers are the same for all 2-pickup basses:
P alone when the song calls for it.
P+J when the song calls for it.
J alone, never.
And I have said here several times - the J pickup often needs to be raised quite a bit for the P+J tone to compete volume-wise with the P-alone sound.

 

[LowEndSoul]

The J pickup often needs to be raised quite a bit for the P+J tone to compete volume-wise with the P-alone sound.

I'm thinking of using a high output pickup like a quarter pounder as my J pickup to see if that helps balance the outputs a little better.

 

[stevensivak]

In the wiring diagram for a parallel/series switch, what is the "jumper wire?"

 

[pbass888]

a fretless pj here. J volume and tone at full. Dial in p for "required girth". Ballads may have more , rock fusion less so. Depends on the song. Its amazing how many sounds the pj config can do along with finger placement of the right hand.