Why aren't PJ basses more popular and more available?

[4001]

You'd think that with the bass player in G&R playing one, the sales would be more brisk.....
He's the only popular bass player (stadium filling gigs) I can think of, at this moment (it's early) that plays one.

 

[4001]

Typical P/J basses have more noise when both pickups are on full-volume or when the bridge pickup is soloed.
Sure it can be fixed by getting a split-coil design J pickup, but it's still not as good as having two P-style pickups:

That's what I wonder, why aren't Double-P basses more common?
IME they're better!

NICE !
I'm loving my Fender Blacktop Jazz upgraded with two sets of Lindy Fralin P-Bass pickups.
My G.A.S. bass is an old BC Rich Eagle....

 

[nilorius]

They are not more popular.

 

[MarkM13]

There are plenty of PJ basses out there; they happen to one of my favorite combos. Just look at the Yamaha BB series and Sire. Both have quality far superior than Fenders at the same price point. In fact, you'd have to step up to an American series to find the same quality in a $500 Yamaha BB.

 

[Joebone]

Just want to to give a shout-out to the great old Yamaha BB2000 - a neck-through, ebony-board P/J, with a reverse P. These basses eat Fenders for breakfast. The BB3000 and 5000 also were great P/J basses, albeit with conventional P placement.

turning to P/P configurations...

* I understand the Lakland 55-01 looks like two soap bars, each of which is a Bartolini P with a soapbar cover. Rumor has it that replacement of the preamp in these basses can make those pickups come alive.

* I've seen Jimmy Earl playing a P/J/P (or was it a J/P/J?) through an old GK RB800 and an Ampeg 4-10, and he had tone for days.

* I'd love to hear from anyone who may have played or heard a P/P with one or both of the pickups reversed.

 

[JoeWPgh]

I thought Fender was putting out more PJs than Ps these days

 

[Cardsfan_69]

The 80s MIJ jazz bass specials are the bomb.

You need look no further for a quality PJ!

Yep, this. Especially the Power Jazz Bass Special from the late 80's - see my avatar - reversed P, active/passive mode, graphite reinforced neck, growly, thumpy beast. The one in my avatar has been my main bass for 30 years.

 

[nightchef]

I love PJ basses in theory, but in reality find that I use the P pickup soloed 99.999 percent of the time.

This. I've had a couple of PJs now, including one that I gigged heavily with for several years, and in both cases I found that I was using the P pickup nearly all the time. I don't find the soloed J bridge sound very useful; the sounds I like on a Jazz are the neck pickup soloed (which is unavailable on a PJ, obviously), and both pickups together (which doesn't sound as good to me on a PJ, and doesn't cancel hum). So for me it makes more sense to have a plain old P, and complement it with an actual J.

 

[bearfoot]

They are everywhere. They are quite popular, and easily available. I don't know what the OP is talking about.

 

[G On Bass]

PJ bass, the sound I never knew I wanted! I prefer P basses to Jazz basses and when I have used Jazz basses, Ive never liked the bridge pickup, even with the neck pickup. Been going thru lots of P basses lately and rosewood/Pau Ferro boards always seemed a bit too dark and the maple board P I bought a month ago is just sounding too bright to me lately, especially with the new strings. The local GC got in some 2019 Squiers and they had a 3 tone burst PJ with an Indian Laurel board sitting there for cheap, picked it up and couldn't put it down. Was finally able to get the P tone I loved but could brighten it up a bit when I needed with some of the J pickup and with both pickups wide open, I could get another useable tone I liked and that was all without touching the tone knob or EQ on the amp!

So now Ive been looking for a Fender PJ bass with a rosewood or PF board, but the options are few IMO. Don't want an active bass and don't want a signature bass, so that leaves the American Performer as the cheapest option at $1200. At this point, I think I may just hold on to the Squier and even if I upgraded the pickups, electronics, bridge and tuners, Id still come in well under $1200. Why are there no MIM options for PJ basses? Anything used I should look for? Really surprised at how limited it is and how few I see being played by popular bands, I can only think of one. Extremely versatile bass with lots of tonal options, pretty perfect bass IMO.

Another option: Get a P you like and get a guitar shop to drop in a matched J pickup.

But if you are stuck on "Fender only" and don't want signatures or actives (where many of the PJ's are), then you get what you get with such narrow, specific requirements. Personally, I never found a Fender PJ (or any of their basses in general) that spoke to me. I settled on PJ's years ago and will never go back to anything else, especially now that I play all 5's. The selection outside of Fender I found to be wider and the basses more suited to my tone and tastes and expectations. Good Luck!

 

[Stranger Danger]

Thanks but that's a signature model, not into those at all. Ive owned lots of other brands, all the major ones and always come back to Fender.

Why do you think that's a signature model?

 

[chris_b]

Preferences are fine until you find that you've "preferenced" yourself out of the marketplace.

The OP has so many exclusions that my advice would be to either customise an existing bass or forget the red-lines altogether and just listen to as many basses as he can and pick the one that sounds the best.

 

[wraub]

OP- I feel your pain. I have a 2017 Squier PJ and it is exactly as good as yours. It's easily gig-able stock, the PUs sound good and fairly balanced, the satin neck feels great, the Indian laurel fingerboard is nice... I bought it silly cheap to flip it, and it's a keeper. The price/quality ratio is crazy.

Which is why I understand your consternation with other offerings, and agree with others that you may have to pick and choose through Fender's offerings, make what you desire, or look elsewhere than Fender. Many others make good PJs, and many builders could make exactly the neck/ bass you want.

 

[JtSD619]

Love my PJ! Fender Elite

 

[Chrisk-K]

Fender wants to sell more Js and Ps, not PJs. Yamaha, Ibanez, Spector, Warwick, etc. make tons of great PJs.

 

[Thundar]

Fender Hot Rod Precision...I think we are about done here

 

[bassstrangler]

Build your own:

 

[AngelCrusher]

P/Js are amazing. I love them too. I think the way to know if its for you is to see how you like the tone of both pickups on or soloed. Thats pretty obvious but the slap sound is different from a j bass and then you need to make sure that the bridge pickup is dialed in and it is a tone you need.

This is where you should reconsider active versus passive a little because if you have an active p/j you can quickly boost the bass a little on your bridge pickup and it is a game changer.

A lot of guys who play passive or some active p/js dont use the j on its own because it cant really match the neck pickup. They use it more for flavor.

The ideal p/j for me can be played active or passive and has extremely well balanced pickups. It has a treble and bass knob and most importantly has a tone control knob that works in both modes. The tone control knob is a game changer in active mode.

With all those factors i bought a sadowksy p/j and i have been quite happy. You may or may not need all of those things but it is a very powerful combination since the modern sound producers keep wanting seems to be a defined bass tone that retains its warmth. When you have an active bass that you can roll the tone off of, you get just that.

I posted this before but a lot of guys playing active basses are getting amazing tones by rolling their highs and mids way back. So that may be another p/j setup to consider.

When it comes to passive only ones i agree that there are not too many options. But i believe there is a reason for that and thats why i touched on it above.

 

[Bioflava]

Hey @mbell75 : A few thoughts...

The P/J does seem like the best of both worlds and I bought a Geoff Gould passive P/J that is an amazing bass -- but think about your application. In a rock band setting, the P-pickup is going to be your home bass -- and I play mine in full-P 95% of the time. The bridge pickup on it's own is too thin for my taste in a rock context. That said, it can be nice to blend in some of the bridge pickup in certain settings so I don't fault you for the choice.

It seems like your issue is you have a very specific set of criteria that off-the-shelf axes are not satisfying -- so may I suggest either modifying your existing bass or going Invalid Link Removed? Although their phone operators are not always the most helpful, after some back-and-forth I was able to get them to make me exactly what I wanted: A P/MM top-routed body with a reversed P-pickup. I paired it with a J-neck, but you can just order a Invalid Link Removed in any wood combo you like. Their workmanship is really top notch. Let us know where you land!

 

[mbell75]

Yeah I don't get the "hard to find" thing either. Virtually everyone offers a PJ model, from Alembic & Fodera, all the way through the conga line of builders, and down to the cheapest stuff on the market. Wut?

Take out the 1.5 nut width, active electronics and models that cost thousands of dollars and you are left with very few. I also have no interest in brands like Ibanez, Yahama and others because I've never liked the sound of them and usually hate the designs. I prefer Fender.