Sell me on your favorite PJ pup set!

[Corevalay]

The Geezer P is phenomenal! I didn't think much of the J that came with it though; it just kind of seemed like an afterthought and was fairly low output in comparison.

I had the same experience with many different sets of Geezers. The J sounds good, but definitely isn't an overly powerful jazz pickup. I have to wonder if that's intentional so that it is more of an added bonus to the P, rather than a standalone. That said, the set does sound great together.

I'd throw out Nordstrand and Lindy Fralin as great PJ sets as well

 

[Old Fart]

My TF is the best sounding P/J I have ever heard.

 

[oren]

I put Aguilars in my PJ and like them. Here's a vid I did of before (stock Fenders) and after.

 

[mrperkolator]

I haven't used them yet, but Lace Alumatones look like they'd be a good HiFi choice. If all goes well I will be trying the P version. Couple those with a Nordy tone drop and it should be both quiet, and versatile with the extra features of the Nordy tone drop.

 

[Killing Floor]

Fralin. Hands down favorite. Don't overwind, they don't need it.

 

[39-Bassist]

Well I have had the opportunity to try a LOT of pickup combinations so here is my liking:

S.D. STK-2J bridge and S.D. SPB-1

Reason is that I wanted no hum, a FULL bottom end without being boomy, clarity and when mixed together had a full range tonally.
Also when I get into the jazz pickup I can get that aggressive tone if needed.

I usually play with both pickups full and really enjoy the tones, plus when shifting position of hand it's easy to control tones.

Good luck on your choice.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

I think we have a new TB phrase: "pj pup set"

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Getting a custom PJ bass made, deciding on what passive pickups I want to put in.

Some things I want:

- VERSATILITY.... if the pickups try to sell themselves to a very specific genre clique, it won't work for me. Sometimes I want to dial in ultra dark Reggae and hiphop tones, sometimes I want to have 2 delays on playing crisp chords and sliding leads, sometimes I want to play the entire neck for jazz.... and pretty much everything in between. I need this to be...as much as possible a "one bass fits all" situation for a guy who wears a ton of hats

- I especially don't want something with an excessively hot output, or a very bright/modern tone

- Preferably, I don't want a super wimpy J-pickup just because its a PJ configuration

- I don't want something that it sounds like muddy doodoo in the highest register, I play above the 12th fret all the time - and am in fact getting a 24 fret bass specifically because I use all of them

I tend to look for a darker more vintage tone most of the time, especially with P all the way up.... but I like to dial up and even solo the bridge J every now and then and do really whacky stuff.


Right now, the top of my list is The EMG GZR's, as it seems they are a faithful vintage replication that seemingly offer versatility and a surprisingly affordable package.

However... am willing to be sold on another set before I pull the trigger! Please give me your opinions!

The stock pickups on my 90's N series MIA PB (it's a stock pj) are pretty darn good.

 

[Zbass82]

Nordstrand NP4A + NJ4SE. To me they are more lively than the Geezer PJ set. I had the Geezers and swapped in the Nordstrands and couldn't be happier. You can get a more agressive top end with the Nordys but they can easily be tamed with the tone knob. Just my experience with both sets.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Getting a custom PJ bass made, deciding on what passive pickups I want to put in.

Some things I want:

- VERSATILITY.... if the pickups try to sell themselves to a very specific genre clique, it won't work for me. Sometimes I want to dial in ultra dark Reggae and hiphop tones, sometimes I want to have 2 delays on playing crisp chords and sliding leads, sometimes I want to play the entire neck for jazz.... and pretty much everything in between. I need this to be...as much as possible a "one bass fits all" situation for a guy who wears a ton of hats

- I especially don't want something with an excessively hot output, or a very bright/modern tone

- Preferably, I don't want a super wimpy J-pickup just because its a PJ configuration

- I don't want something that it sounds like muddy doodoo in the highest register, I play above the 12th fret all the time - and am in fact getting a 24 fret bass specifically because I use all of them

I tend to look for a darker more vintage tone most of the time, especially with P all the way up.... but I like to dial up and even solo the bridge J every now and then and do really whacky stuff.


Right now, the top of my list is The EMG GZR's, as it seems they are a faithful vintage replication that seemingly offer versatility and a surprisingly affordable package.

However... am willing to be sold on another set before I pull the trigger! Please give me your opinions!

My go to has always been quarter pounders. But right now, I'm really digging the more vintage vibe from the standard nordstrand set. Np4 and Nj4. They're pretty perfect.

 

[Zoffy]

Dropped a set of Geezers in my Spector Legend 4 PJ and, to paraphrase Robert Frost, "that has made all the difference."

 

[ComicBass]

I have Aguilar's on my PJ and I love 'em!

 

[bdplaid]

As a person who has a bass with a Geezer PJ set collecting dust, I have to warn the OP not to get this set, especially considering he specifically mentioned wanting matches outputs. The GZR P by itself is good, but the PJ is not a good set as the J output is not high enough.

I was going to post the same thing. The P is good, the J is good, but they don't work well together. Volume drop when both are active, and yes it's wired correctly.
If you want to proceed with Geezers anyway, pm me and I'll sell you mine.

 

[JW56789]

I have a blend knob on my current PJ, and was considering doing two volumes for this bass. Sell me on why you would suggest I don't please, I need to hear different takes!

Thanks for your time

I far prefer one knob for overall gain and adjusting a blender. Two separate gains is just aggravating to control overall volume, having to drop both if I'm too loud or not loud enough, and trying to get the same blend turning two gains up and down is too much work. Far faster and easier with one gain and a blender.

I'd never owned a Jazz Bass till a few years ago. I'd played active setups with vol/blend layouts and was quite satisfied at the simplicity and speed of adjustment. This Jazz was the classic gain/gain/tone, and it made me nuts if I had to turn up or down on two knobs, then finding that exact blend I had . . . . but lost when I moved everything. Life is too short, so I had it rewired (and it's a passive setup) gain/blend/tone, and never looked back, sanity had been restored.

You get arguments about 'well, you go all front pickup, but you never lose all of the back pickup' and other considerations, some will say 'well adjusting the two gains IS the secret', and I could care less, it just suits me, and that's all that really matters.

It's entirely subjective, and what works for me may not be your best choice, but for me it's the only way I'm happy.

 

[AndyLES]

Another vote here for the Geezers.

Had a Seymour QP PJ set and grew to dislike them. Way too scoopy in the mids, sizzly top, absurd amounts of bass, and WAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY too much output, to the point where I had to lower the pickups significantly to prevent intonation problems and downstream clipping issues.

 

[AndyLES]

I was going to post the same thing. The P is good, the J is good, but they don't work well together. Volume drop when both are active, and yes it's wired correctly.
If you want to proceed with Geezers anyway, pm me and I'll sell you mine.

Your pickup heights are out of wack. I have these on my bass and have absolutely no problems with output.

 

[AndyLES]

As a person who has a bass with a Geezer PJ set collecting dust, I have to warn the OP not to get this set, especially considering he specifically mentioned wanting matches outputs. The GZR P by itself is good, but the PJ is not a good set as the J output is not high enough.

If you can find a Tony Franklin set , that's great for matching. I also hear good things about Aguilar sets. Trust me, don't get the EMGs.

I got my current bass (tony Franklin body with jazz neck) specifically because those TF pickups have nicely matched outputs. I use the J all the time with my TF, but could not find any use for the J in the GZR set. That J is worse than useless in that set IMO.

My suggestion is since you are going custom on the bass, get custom wound pickups from Lindy Fralin. They will over wind the J to get it to match perfectly for you. Or an Aguilar st to save some coin.

Your set up is wrong. The pickup heights are out of wack.

 

[LowWay]

I'm surprised no one like the bartolinis.

I've had man PJ basses, including GZRs, and my barts were by far my favorite. So much so I'm doing a custom bordwell p/j build with them.

 

[AndyPanda]

I read the first several posts but I haven't read every post yet.

Most PJ sets have too weak of a J pickup IMO. That may be why some say PJ isn't easy to switch settings without fussing around with volume. I have several vintage Yamaha BB PJ basses with extremely hot J blade pickup and the balance between P and J works really smoothly for me. On a couple of my "roll your own" PJ setups I will have an SPB-1 or SPB-3 as the P but I have to go with a really hot J pickup like a Barden double blade. Even the QuarterPound J isn't hot enough to match the QuarterPound P in my experience. You can get around that by adjusting the J pickup as close to strings as possible and the P pickup not close to the strings.

That's my 2 cents.

 

[packhowitzer]

I really like my DiMarzio Model P and Model J combo, but it's got blisteringly hot output for a passive bass. May not be what the OP is after...