Thunderbird Club

[Albert Ross]

As far as P pu's go, the EMG Geezer Butler (passive) as well as the Fender PV64 are both very good.

I'm a big fan of the passive GZR pick ups too. It's a nice, easy upgrade for a cheap P bass, in part because the GZR pick up set comes with good quality pots and output jack, and the complete (solder less) wiring harness. Not expensive, and super easy to install.

 

[Ringhammer]

So what about the PJ pickup configuration ? Love it, hate it, mildly indifferent....? Never played or had one so I ask ...

I’m definitely a two pickup bass guy. Never loved the P/J thing, but I tried an experiment on one of my P basses a long time ago:

…never looked back. Not that other basses don’t have this configuration, I just never had one. I found it really works for the tone I go for. Dial back a smidge of the bridge pickup and it’s awesome, and noiseless. I have done this to all but one of my full scale P basses, using a variety of pickup pairs.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

I’m definitely a two pickup bass guy. Never loved the P/J thing, but I tried an experiment on one of my P basses a long time ago:

View attachment 7442897

…never looked back. Not that other basses don’t have this configuration, I just never had one. I found it really works for the tone I go for. Dial back a smidge of the bridge pickup and it’s awesome, and noiseless. I have done this to all but one of my full scale P basses, using a variety of pickup pairs.

I dig the bridge bucker....P meets Ray....

 

[Engle]

Good colour - looks to be coral. Good price too - for a relatively rare bass it's pretty affordable.

Here's an early '80s pic of its creator John Page in Fenders back lot playing an early prototype w/standard Fender hs.
View attachment 7442855
...and here's a Florida collector of them (a tb member) holding one of those early '80s prototypes - this one with the Fender Deluxe locking-saddle bridge.
View attachment 7442858

Yeah they are a cool design.
I've seen some pretty good deals at Japanese stores lately. I suspect they've had a drop in US buyers.

 

[bylar13]

Cool! What does it need to get running?

Power transformer, full tube set ( I have those) some repairs of obvious solder connections and whatever else it might need!

 

[GBassNorth]

FSO Friday on Saturday morning:

View attachment 7442539

Yep, I can do a FSO (Fender Sourced Object)…

 

[GBassNorth]

Around $2700 for a IV. There was a brief look at those on here some years back but it was too difficult to get information about them. Now the site is in English so that helps. I love the blue. Shocking, right?

Odd, when I checked today, google indicated 268,000 Japanese yen was about $1700 to $1800 USD depending on the exchange rate for the day. If that’s correct it’s not a bad price, but shipping and import fees might make it a lot more.

 

[Instagator]

Notice anything different?
I was at the boat today and saw a bottle floating by. I scooped it up with a net.
While I was rubbing the slime off a genie popped out and gave me one wish (I guess in Southern Maryland you get just one wish instead of the usual Three)
I said I wish my vintage Mesa Rig was as cool as the Legos that my grandkids play with.
That’s what I found when I got home.

As Jimmy Buffet says..It’s a semi true story.
It went to an awesome Dad and Young man who moved it all by themselves.
They have a professional family band that does a lot of work for military family causes.

A successful pass on to a new generation with a cool dad that is teaching his son the 70’s classic rock tunes.
Great Karma day I think.

Cheers to my T-Bird fam.

 

[ectoflanger]

The PJ Mustang is the model from when they reinstated the Mustang in the lineup in about ‘14 (before that there was a Squire Mustang, but I think it had the traditional pickup). It kind of reignited short scales as a thing and was a hit so they started making other Mustang models with different pickup configurations. I bought it when they came out for like $449.00. It came with cut 7250s (they didn’t even bother to load short scale strings on them). The tuners were horrible so I replaced them with Hipshots. It’s a nice bass now, decent 1.5 but width neck, and sounds great to me. I like the pickups enough to not think about changing them.

The surf green PJ is one that I have never bonded with. I bought it new in ‘15. I like the looks of the color and the tuxedo J neck on it. It developed a bad case of sprout early on and I’ve always been chicken to mess with the frets myself because of the binding. But the real issue is the anemic noiseless J pickup. It’s a POS IMO. The P pickup is ok, but it doesn’t sound as good as what is in my LPB MIM Standard. Once the fret issue is sorted, I’ll replace the pickups and make a concerted effort to bond with it.

The LPB MIM P is great. I got it as NOS from a store up in Redding for $300 in ‘16. I play it a lot. It has Chromes. It’s my only bass with flats.

Have you ever played a PJ with quality pickups that you liked apart from the Mustang? I guess what I'm asking is do you like PJ as a. concept or configuration? I thought about getting the Sadwosky Metro Express PJ for when I'm Florida just to have something other than my Warwick Fretless Five which has a passive J/J setup. Because I just can't bring myself to leave my Fender Jazz Or Precision basses there where I spend less time overall- though I might spent a one to four month stint there. Mind you I sometimes fly over there and don't want to hassle with traveling with a bass- so I would like something I could just leave there-

 

[Engle]

Power transformer, full tube set ( I have those) some repairs of obvious solder connections and whatever else it might need!

Hopefully the transformer is not too difficult to source.

 

[JJR58]

who needs a 5 string..... @JJR58 thx Jeff!..

 

[MCF]

Have you ever played a PJ with quality pickups that you liked apart from the Mustang? I guess what I'm asking is do you like PJ as a. concept or configuration? I thought about getting the Sadwosky Metro Express PJ for when I'm Florida just to have something other than my Warwick Fretless Five which has a passive J/J setup. Because I just can't bring myself to leave my Fender Jazz Or Precision basses there where I spend less time overall- though I might spent a one to four month stint there. Mind you I sometimes fly over there and don't want to hassle with traveling with a bass- so I would like something I could just leave there-

I’m really not the right guy to advise on this. I’m a humbucker guy. Others here play a bigger variety of basses. And I don’t record like you do.

But the green PJ will remain at my mountain house when I get it out of the shop and complete the pickup swap. The others up there are just Epis. I won’t leave anything up there worth more than a grand. Other than my Ampeg rig which is just too heavy to move.

 

[bylar13]

Hopefully the transformer is not too difficult to source.

Agreed. From what I read about the amp, it was pretty much a copy of a 1976 Marshall. Hopefully that would not be too difficult to source.

 

[BuddhaFingas]

Mid year '85-mid year '86 Fender 24 fret MIJ Performer - I restored & sold it to a tb member. Very cool CBS back to Fender employees transition model.

View attachment 7442680
My take on the Performer - EMGX active "Supersonic"
View attachment 7442681

Love the Performer/Katana... sadly, far as Ive been able to find, no lefty Performers out there for me to grail after.

And completely forgot to add my self-made FSO to my prior shot...

Repost photo from when I'd just finished it:

 

[JIO]

who needs a 5 string..... @JJR58 thx Jeff!..

Focusing more on your question - 5 string basses seem like a popular choice with players. First started commonly appearing in the early '80s, and because of that some music made after its debut hinges on that low B. But most music doesn't. Their players say they can play 1st position notes lower (toward the body) on the fb which they claim is an advantage. Ok, sure... whatever works. My recent 5-string that I made (the Meteor-lite) is the first 5-string I feel comfortable playing specifically because I designed it for me. Will I play it live in either of my bands? That would be no, but possibly for a future recording where I deliberately incorporate that low B into the composition. There's a few basses every bass player should have at least one other than a 4-string; a hollow-body, a fretless, and a 5'r. (a 6'r is for those frustrated guitar players who are 'stuck' playing bass...)

 

[JIO]

Love the Performer/Katana... sadly, far as Ive been able to find, no lefty Performers out there for me to grail after.

And completely forgot to add my self-made FSO to my prior shot...

Repost photo from when I'd just finished it:

View attachment 7443073

Awesome - yes, no lefty Performers were made. Kudo's for doing a sorta' lefty version on the 'spear" hs. The Performer neck aside from being a full 34" scale 24 fret fb was a J nut-width to more of a Gibson width heal. (narrower than a Fender) It was familiar but different and I really dug the narrower spacing at the bridge. People say the pu's were lacking but I found them pretty tasty. It also came with the Fender TBX stacked tone pot, which is still available today and is a useful (passive) upgrade in the tone dept.

 

[JIO]

I’m definitely a two pickup bass guy. Never loved the P/J thing, but I tried an experiment on one of my P basses a long time ago:

View attachment 7442897

…never looked back. Not that other basses don’t have this configuration, I just never had one. I found it really works for the tone I go for. Dial back a smidge of the bridge pickup and it’s awesome, and noiseless. I have done this to all but one of my full scale P basses, using a variety of pickup pairs.

Someday I'll try one - the double P has been around since the early '80s. The '83 Fender Elite II had double P's, a 9v pre and the Fender/Schaller fiine-tuning bridge. It also came with an ebony fb and the cool F-stamped sculptured tuners. (some of my faves)

 

[JIO]

I dig the bridge bucker....P meets Ray....
View attachment 7442910

I agree - my Glam PJ was ok, but with the double J at the bridge... mo-betta'.

 

[dagrev]

who needs a 5 string..... @JJR58 thx Jeff!..

No body.

 

[dagrev]

I dig the bridge bucker....P meets Ray....
View attachment 7442910

I was fascinated by those and almost bought one a couple times.