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Removing the j on a P/J bass

Discussion in 'Hardware, Setup & Repair [BG]' started by Eilif, Nov 11, 2001.

  1. Nov 11, 2001 #1
    Eilif

    Eilif Grooving under the MDW runway.

    Oct 1, 2001
    Chicago
    I have heard alot of people removing/turning off/disconecting the j pickup on squire and MIM P/J basses. Is the J pickup that useless? I was curious about this, because I hate the look of a P/J, and was wondering if their is a logical reason to hate it besides my asthetic point of view.
     
  2. Nov 11, 2001 #2
    Slater

    Slater Leave that thing alone.

    Apr 17, 2000
    The Great Lakes State
    On most "budget" basses (like MIM Fenders & Squiers) with P/J pickups, the P and J pickups aren't matched-up very well. The J pickup is usually much weaker, which causes a very noticeable difference in output when switching between the P and J pickups. Also, when the wimpy J pickup is blended with the P pickup, it seems like the J pickup sucks the tone away from the P pickup, and you get an odd out-of-phase sound from the blended pickups.

    I had the problems mentioned above with a Squier Pro-Tone 4-string. I replaced both pickups with a matched P/J set of (active) Seymour Duncan Lightnin' Rods, which cured all of the pickup problems.