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Which one is a more versatile 5er: active HH with coil splits or PJ with active/passive switch?
- Thread starter yanlin1985
- Start date
I haven't yet encountered an active/passive bass that I actually use in passive mode for sonic effect. I'd certainly love to, but for the time being, IME that is one option that has never yielded a larger relevant sonic palette for me.
I also haven't had much luck over the years with coil splitting. Again, I'd love to have it work out eventually, but for all practical purposes thus far coil splits have been nothing but an unwelcome distraction for me.
My main workhorse 5er at the moment is a P/J that I always leave in active mode. It does have a passive tone knob which I do like and use, though the inherent character is so dark & round I could almost do without. I usually run both pickups for a bit more growl, but sometimes run just the neck for more old school thump. Maybe crank the active treble if I really need more sizzle. For most of my situations, the sound fits well and those choices are plenty.
YMMV. You're probably going to get the whole of opinions in this thread.
I do find that the devil's in the details, and implementation is key. Many of my preferred basses are passive and there is a variety of coil configurations among those. So I haven't 100% given up on the concept of someone successfully incorporating all that (plus a preamp) into one instrument.
I also haven't had much luck over the years with coil splitting. Again, I'd love to have it work out eventually, but for all practical purposes thus far coil splits have been nothing but an unwelcome distraction for me.
My main workhorse 5er at the moment is a P/J that I always leave in active mode. It does have a passive tone knob which I do like and use, though the inherent character is so dark & round I could almost do without. I usually run both pickups for a bit more growl, but sometimes run just the neck for more old school thump. Maybe crank the active treble if I really need more sizzle. For most of my situations, the sound fits well and those choices are plenty.
YMMV. You're probably going to get the whole of opinions in this thread.
I do find that the devil's in the details, and implementation is key. Many of my preferred basses are passive and there is a variety of coil configurations among those. So I haven't 100% given up on the concept of someone successfully incorporating all that (plus a preamp) into one instrument.
Assuming the HH has the pickups located so that the coils somewhat match with traditional pickup spots, it might be more versatile. Otherwise, I would think the PJ would be better.
I'm going to be putting an MM in the P position of this bass:
The MM's will be quad-coils, so I'll have hum canceling J's in four locations, pretty close to where the J's are in a Jazz and the P is on a P. It won't exactly sound like any of them but I should be able to get a good variety of tones.
Really depends on the bass. For example, a G&L L-2500 with single coil mode has much more tonal options than a Stingray 5 HH. Speaking of Stingrays, I always got more out of a 5H than a HH. The fewer options were just more usable for me. With that being said, for years my main bass was a 4-string PJ but a passive JJ with series/parallel switch is hard to beat. How's that for a straight forward answer?
Too many options aren't helpful either. I've owned a lot of L2000 Tribute basses and wired one of them up to have parallel, series, inner singles, outer singles, and OMG mode options. With all of that I tended to use a few settings most of the time.
I had the same issue with a Big Al SSS. Loved the bass at first but after a while, all of the options became overwhelming and I ended up using only one of the many variants. Anymore I stick to a passive bass and EQ at the amp or with a pedal.
The Delanos that I have are soapbar quadcoil on a TUNE BEB-6 I got this bass used. The previous owner installed this to replace the original tune pickups and preamp (This is now a Mike Pope) Delano explained that 4 coils are laid out in the same plane rather than a top and bottom coils arrangement. There is actually a virtual P-bass setting where only 2 coils are on and staggered. The two other switching are parallel and series in that one soapbar. Since it has a passive switch, without the EQ, I can get a lot of tones by just combining different modes. I change it up depending on my mood but all combos seem to work for me.
Having said that, A PJ will be very useful if you have a pickup selector switch and a hotter J. P+J with J at zero volume is a different tone with just the P alone. Make sure you have a hotter J that can be used alone and carry the low end. I have 2 PJs, one is passive and has treble and bass active controls.
Having said that, A PJ will be very useful if you have a pickup selector switch and a hotter J. P+J with J at zero volume is a different tone with just the P alone. Make sure you have a hotter J that can be used alone and carry the low end. I have 2 PJs, one is passive and has treble and bass active controls.
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An active bass with a passive switch makes me feel safer on gigs. Despite having a backup bass nearby.
Neither? Unless the shielding is good, split coils will hum (I'm fixing that issue right now on one bass). And active/passive isn't a significant tone selection. I have a PJ with the usual neck/both/bridge selector, and a parallel/series selector for the P pickup, and that is easy and versatile. And that's independent of any tone knobs provided by a preamp.
Active HH with splitting, definitively. Gets my vote even without splitting, just with balance pot.
But I'm not a fan of PJ combo and played only couple models that I liked. Those P and J pickups are like apple and orange, finding good combo is lottery.
But I'm not a fan of PJ combo and played only couple models that I liked. Those P and J pickups are like apple and orange, finding good combo is lottery.
I have several HH Musicman basses and have to say the coil splitting is great. I like to run the inner coils on those basses - it sounds best for my playing style. Runner up setting is all on followed by neck only. I have several PJs and I'm not a big fan. I recently bought a cheap SBMM Stingray 5 B level from MF. It is a surprisingly competent bass. Maybe worth a try for you. This is coming from someone who decidedly DOESN'T like single H Stingrays and definitely likes Jazz Basses.
I'd go with the HH because I am not a PJ fan. I think MM/P does that better.
That said, if you really want the PJ then perhaps a Spector of G&L SB-2 could be excellent choices.
Good luck. I hope you like what you go with.
That said, if you really want the PJ then perhaps a Spector of G&L SB-2 could be excellent choices.
Good luck. I hope you like what you go with.
I own, play and love both. Neither is better than the other per-se, they compliment each other.
The HH is the most versatile, but does not provide that yummy P-family of tones that is just the right so much of the time, especially when dialing in a little J for sparkle (never do I favor the J pickup as I detest that J-at-the-bridge tone for some reason).
But in the right genre, I can get soooo many other, different tones out of an HH (Sterling Sub Ray 5HH), including the HB at the bridge and when switching between HB and single coil modes. I never really cared for straight up dual-J basses, but for some reason, the single coil mode sounds great to me on the HH.
One of my PJ5s has flats all the time and has the Sadowsky pre with A/P and to be honest, I never use the passive. I know it's there as a fail-safe, but I check batteries before every outing, and change them once a year whether they need it or not.
The HH is the most versatile, but does not provide that yummy P-family of tones that is just the right so much of the time, especially when dialing in a little J for sparkle (never do I favor the J pickup as I detest that J-at-the-bridge tone for some reason).
But in the right genre, I can get soooo many other, different tones out of an HH (Sterling Sub Ray 5HH), including the HB at the bridge and when switching between HB and single coil modes. I never really cared for straight up dual-J basses, but for some reason, the single coil mode sounds great to me on the HH.
One of my PJ5s has flats all the time and has the Sadowsky pre with A/P and to be honest, I never use the passive. I know it's there as a fail-safe, but I check batteries before every outing, and change them once a year whether they need it or not.
I guess it depends on what one is looking for. I’ve only found active/passive basses to have extra versatility in that the bass has a built in back-up system in case the battery dies, but sonically, the coil splitting HH should have more options.
