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Recommend me a passive P/J

LowEZ

LowEZ

Mar 29, 2011
958
685
Central NJ
#1
I hit my 50's a couple of years ago and these days I find myself acting more my age and playing in classic rock and Motown cover bands - something I once swore I would never do. :laugh: My two EBMM Sterling 4H's aren't doing it for me in these situations so it's time to say goodbye to one of them which is gathering dust. What has been working surprisingly well is an 80's Ibanez Roadstar P/J with a decent set of pickups. So I'm on the hunt for a well built (preferably American) passive P/J with a 1.5" nut width in the $800 used range and I'm not aware of much. The G&L SB-2 comes immediately to mind but then I draw a blank. It doesn't ultimately need to be P/J, I just need big, deep and warm and much prefer the versatility of 2 pickups, plus that split P fits so well in the music I am playing.

Recommendations?

Thanks much,
-EZ
 
#4
JPkstms said:
SQUIRE
Click to expand...
Squier. Not SQUIRE. Squier. Squier makes musical instruments. Squire is a young nobleman acting as an attendant to a knight before becoming a knight himself, or also could refer to a man of high social standing who owns and lives on an estate in a rural area, especially if he's the chief landowner in such an area.

Also, the OP is looking for something a bit higher end.

I'm recommending a Fender MIJ Jazz Bass Special. Not American, but fantastic. PJ with a pickup selector switch, two volumes, and the TBX tone circuit. It's fantastic.
 
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#5
Gorn said:
Squier. Not SQUIRE. Squier. Squier makes musical instruments. Squire is a young nobleman acting as an attendant to a knight before becoming a knight himself, or also could refer to a man of high social standing who owns and lives on an estate in a rural area, especially if he's the chief landowner in such an area.

Also, the OP is looking for something a bit higher end.

I'm recommending a Fender MIJ Jazz Bass Special. Not American, but fantastic. PJ with a pickup selector switch, two volumes, and the TBX tone circuit. It's fantastic.
Click to expand...

:) Interesting one there. Thanks for the recommendation, GC.
 
#8
Yamaha BB Series. Hard to beat for a PJ. While not USA made (made in Japan, Taiwan or Indonesia), they're an awesome value and they're a hard match to beat with the alnico vintage P pickup and ceramic blade J pickup. $500 new for a BB425X, or you can get a used BB1024X for under $800. I think you can even get the old MIJ BB3000s within your price range.

Session great Nathan East likes them:
 
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#12
Have both a US SB2 and a BB614F. Both great basses, but the BB's tend to be active. SB2 isn't really a PJ in the sense that both pickups are soloable, I find i Play with my P WFO and the J sometimes mixed in to tame the roar.

Sometimes :)

The MIM Special is nice, P body, Jazz neck, PJ pups. But only the older models are passive, unless they changed them around again?
 
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#14
I honestly can't say enough good things about my mid 80's MIJ Fender Jazz Bass Special. I play classic rock, rock, modern country and alternative with it in a trio format and it has a nice, thick, tone that cuts through in live situations. Precision body with Jazz width neck (It's fairly chunky depth wise...which I like) Easy on the shoulder too and has a nice, strong output.

You can usually find them on eBay for between $300-$500. I picked mine up here in the TB classifieds for slightly less than that in a local purchase and modded it to my liking (bridge, pickguard, straplocks, etc)

IMG_3019.JPG
 
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#15
i have a MIJ 75 LTD jazz which is a fantastic bass...if one pops up in the classifieds, give it a try, you won´t be disappointed.
became my no1 four banger. the original pu´s are great, playability and workmanship are second to none.
p is a little closer to the neck than usual p, j is in 60ies position. combined, it is a great slap/snappy fingerstyle tone. j favored=great burpy fingerstyle tone, p favored=fatness, though less articulated than classic p position.
 
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#18
ggvicviper said:
Yamaha BB Series. Hard to beat for a PJ. While not USA made (made in Japan, Taiwan or Indonesia), they're an awesome value and they're a hard match to beat with the alnico vintage P pickup and ceramic blade J pickup. $500 new for a BB425X, or you can get a used BB1024X for under $800. I think you can even get the old MIJ BB3000s within your price range.

Session great Nathan East likes them:
Click to expand...


I would go with the Yamaha BB, or even a Schecter Model T. Again, not USA made, but I think the best choices in the price range.
 
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