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PJ's do not bring a jazz bass tone. get over it
- Thread starter jellymax
- Start date
Yes, and vice versa, you can't get a True PJ tone with a Jazz Bass.
I agree 100 percent. So does the bass tech at Bass Gear. Turn up the J pickup and you get the hum, making it even more useless. I had the Peavey Zodiac DE Scorpio bass and it was a true badass but only with the J dialed out. Dialing it in made it sound thinner and not clearer nor more defined. I still wish I kept because that Seymour Duncan split-coil P pickup was a monster. Plus it looked cool and played well.
https://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/peavey-zodiac-de-scorpio-signature-bass-guitar#productDetail
The most classic example is Jaco’s tone, but there are lots of others like Verdine White in the late 1970’s in the All ‘n All album. Ross Valory in Journey got that tone sometimes too.
Whatever. Couldn't care less.
devnulljp
Supporting Member
I get that, I haven’t used a straight J in years.
You did “not care” enough to express your opinion and I’d like to think that’s relevant.
Yeah, okay, you win the intranets tonight
I'm with Jimmy. We can't get over something we don't particularly care about. What gave the OP the idea to start a thread like this? The idea of 'getting over it' would assume the TB collective has a strong opinion on the matter. And I don't see that.
Because it's 3:30AM and I'm bored:
The cool thing about the PJ is ya can get the P, and 1/2 the J, and the combo. I like using the different sounds, say the thinner J under the verse, the P under the chorus. Or mebbe the P the whole time except the intro, etc.
I have the VVT and the 3-switch set-up, and they are different, but good.
The cool thing about the PJ is ya can get the P, and 1/2 the J, and the combo. I like using the different sounds, say the thinner J under the verse, the P under the chorus. Or mebbe the P the whole time except the intro, etc.
I have the VVT and the 3-switch set-up, and they are different, but good.
Plenty of burpy tones when soloing pickups on a J bass. Even the neck pickup can be burpy.
Maybe you'll referring to that typical nasal/scooped/growly tone you can get with a Jazz bass with all the controls dimed?
That kind of sound isn't 100% the same with a PJ, but bringing in that J pickup adds articulation and definition and it's impossible to not hear that.
A PJ with everything dimed usually sounds less nasal, bigger and bassier. Definitely a peculiar tone for modern slap bass, but it works for Wooten.
I prefer a J to a PJ, but I'd choose a PJ over a P.
Maybe you'll referring to that typical nasal/scooped/growly tone you can get with a Jazz bass with all the controls dimed?
That kind of sound isn't 100% the same with a PJ, but bringing in that J pickup adds articulation and definition and it's impossible to not hear that.
A PJ with everything dimed usually sounds less nasal, bigger and bassier. Definitely a peculiar tone for modern slap bass, but it works for Wooten.
I prefer a J to a PJ, but I'd choose a PJ over a P.
Of course, a J-J can't sound like a P-J either.
I have a less common P-J configuration, with a pickup switch, volume, tone, like a Telecaster guitar. Electronically, it can be identical to a P-bass when the switch is set to neck only.
On a standard J-bass, there's no direct electrical equivalent to my switched arrangement. If you completely turn down the neck pickup, there is still some residual electrical loading on the bridge p'up, no matter what you do.
My switched P-J can't present the same electrical load to the neck pickup when selected alone.
Of course, the center switch position is both on full, which is not at all like a J-bass from an electronic standpoint. And the P-pickup has a very different inductance and resistance and characteristic frequency response than does a J-style neck pickup. Nor is switching them together the same from an electronic standpoint, as the two volume controls to blend on a J-bass. The pickups in my P-J were designed to work as a set and they do pretty well.
So agree, not the same.
However, it doesn't mean it is bad. It is different.
I have a less common P-J configuration, with a pickup switch, volume, tone, like a Telecaster guitar. Electronically, it can be identical to a P-bass when the switch is set to neck only.
On a standard J-bass, there's no direct electrical equivalent to my switched arrangement. If you completely turn down the neck pickup, there is still some residual electrical loading on the bridge p'up, no matter what you do.
My switched P-J can't present the same electrical load to the neck pickup when selected alone.
Of course, the center switch position is both on full, which is not at all like a J-bass from an electronic standpoint. And the P-pickup has a very different inductance and resistance and characteristic frequency response than does a J-style neck pickup. Nor is switching them together the same from an electronic standpoint, as the two volume controls to blend on a J-bass. The pickups in my P-J were designed to work as a set and they do pretty well.
So agree, not the same.
However, it doesn't mean it is bad. It is different.
Maybe I'll start my own, "P/J's do not sound like P's or J's! GET OVER IT!!" thread.
Oh, wait! That would be redundant!
Seriously and for truly…bassists already put P's and J's in their own, respective categories. Wouldn't it be a lot easier on our collective minds, not to mention our bandwidth usage, to simply see P/J's as a whole as it's own, unique category of bass guitar? This way, people can knife-fight over "Which <insert type of bass here> is better?" on their own, unique merits, strengths, flaws and shortcomings without muddying the waters so badly that we end up with thousands of mushed-up and retreaded threads.
[/mini-rant]
Oh, wait! That would be redundant!
Seriously and for truly…bassists already put P's and J's in their own, respective categories. Wouldn't it be a lot easier on our collective minds, not to mention our bandwidth usage, to simply see P/J's as a whole as it's own, unique category of bass guitar? This way, people can knife-fight over "Which <insert type of bass here> is better?" on their own, unique merits, strengths, flaws and shortcomings without muddying the waters so badly that we end up with thousands of mushed-up and retreaded threads.
[/mini-rant]
My favourite threads are those that start with completely unverified assumptions about peoples' beliefs.
Anything with two pickups and a blend can get close enough that your audience won’t notice.
There are more basses than just a Precision or Jazz.
There are more basses than just a Precision or Jazz.
I love a PJ configuration! Agreed, the sound is never exactly like a J bass, but if that's what I was after I'd play a J! The blended sound gives a little more bite and clarity when I need it, the P sound is dependable as ever, and the solo'd J sound is punchy and cutting!
For me it's not that a PJ serves to combine both basses into one so as to give you full access to both tones, more that it gives you the advantage of choice between a wider range of sounds, and can add a little more nuance to a traditional P tone.
For me it's not that a PJ serves to combine both basses into one so as to give you full access to both tones, more that it gives you the advantage of choice between a wider range of sounds, and can add a little more nuance to a traditional P tone.
