#1872260 - 01/14/08 02:13 AM
Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
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TimR
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I'm partly prompted to post this in response to another thread (rather than Hijack it) where a fellow member seems to be having the same problems I had.
Last year I changed my El Cheapo PJ bass from three way switch to Vol/Vol. I was very disappointed in the results and I put this down to the pickup impedances being completely different. Hence the reason why they were probably originally wired with a switch. I am thinking of changing the pickups and am wondering how many PJ basses are actually wired vol/vol. All the ones I have owned have been wired blend/volume. Is it a mod people do just out of personal preference?
When I eventually get round to changing the pickups, it will be easier for me to just wire Blend/Volume when I change them, than wire using the current Vol/Vol and then change later.
So who actually has a PJ bass wired Vol/Vol from the factory?
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#1872276 - 01/14/08 03:41 AM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: TimR]
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Davo-London
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I don't have a PJ but obviously the JJ on any Jazz is similar. I'm a lover of blend and master volume and had a steamy debate about this when I first joined the forum. I find that if you like say a 70/30 % split between the PUs then by setting the blend to your fav setting and then just using the master volume - IMHO you have all you need. When I play I often pick-up and put down the instrument, in which case I use the volume control quite a lot, ie to turn to zero. I also like to set-up with 80% volume at the bass so I have a bit spare if I need it. It is so much easier than using two volume controls and then having to set up the blend again each time I turn them to zero.
But, like flatwounds vs roundwounds, I seem to be a lone voice in the wilderness ...
Davo
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#1872309 - 01/14/08 06:02 AM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: Davo-London]
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TimR
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Yes, I do prefer Blend/Volume, and roundwounds, so looks like you are in good company 
But my question is rather more of a practical nature. Does vol/vol actually work on a PJ bass? Do the people who prefer vol/vol all play Jazz basses?
I can see how either would work fine on a Jazz, but have my doubts on vol/vol on a PJ. I don't remember playing a PJ with vol/vol control, but that doesn't mean that there aren't any. Hence my question to the assembled masses.
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#1872324 - 01/14/08 06:35 AM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: TimR]
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PeteH
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Seems like an opportune moment for my first post...
I've got a Tanglewood Rebel 4k, which is a PJ, and it came wired with separate volume controls for each pickup. I actually wish it had blend and master volume, I'm with Davo on that one. How difficult an operation is it to change from one setup to the other?
Pete, forum neophyte
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#1872329 - 01/14/08 06:43 AM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: TimR]
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Paul K
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I've two J basses and a PJ, all with EMG's. I installed a blend pot in one of the J's thinking it would be easier to control. I find that with that bass I'm either using both pickups full up or just the bridge pickup. I can't seem to get any other good tones going on. Others on this list have explained why that is, something to do with impedance or capacitance or the phase of the moon or something.
The PJ bass has Vol/vol, as that's the way the wiring came from EMG. Works just like a J.
Really, what I do is set the overall volume with the bridge pickup volume and then add in neck pickup volume until the booty is sufficient but not too boomy; so the neck pickup volume sort of works like a bass tone control. Tone control on the bass works like the treble control (of course...); I roll the high's off to get rid of harshness and/or to make me sit in the mix a little better.
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#1872355 - 01/14/08 07:20 AM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: Paul K]
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Davo-London
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I could see that the output from the two PUs could be different perhaps making a blend impractical?
The Frank Bello bass just has two volume pots only, ie no tone control:
http://www.fender.com/support/diagrams/pdf_temp1/basses/0130095306A/SD0130095306APg2.pdf
That's the only PJ wiring type diagram I can find in Fenders list. The Tony Franklin and Duff McKagen basses would also be a possibility but I couldn't find them on the wiring list. The American Deluxe Precision has a PJ set-up but that seems to employ a pre-amp and the J is a humbucker so that's no good.
Davo
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#1872363 - 01/14/08 07:32 AM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: Davo-London]
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Rocky MacDougall
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I have a custom Fender Precision Plus P/J I have vol/vol/tone/tone. The output from the bridge pup is much less than the neck pup. For equal balance, I would have to set the bridge at 100% and the neck about 75%. With both pups 100% I have a very noticeble loss in volume. I really like the control I have with the setup and would not change it.
Rocky
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#1872385 - 01/14/08 07:59 AM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: Rocky MacDougall]
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saxofunk
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One of my basses is a G&L SB-2, P/J with two volume controls. On this bass it works fine to not have a tone control, rumor is that the idea was to use the P pickup primarilay and add the J to taste. Changing the volume of either pickup influences the tone a bit, IMHO a blend knob would kill the bass. I get enough variety tweeking volume knobs on the basse and EQ on the amp. However, some folks have added a tone knob, since there are only two holes for controls they generally use a stacked V/V knob in one hole and tone knob in the other.
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#1872398 - 01/14/08 08:29 AM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: saxofunk]
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dcr
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I think the choice between volume/volume and blend/master is purely one of personal preference. I happen to prefer V/V myself, based (I'm aware) on a limited experience of a few basses of each type. But plenty of people prefer blend/master and that's fine too.
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#1872449 - 01/14/08 10:08 AM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: dcr]
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Big Daddy from Motown
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Well I actually like Vol, Switch, Tone myself.
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#1872495 - 01/14/08 11:19 AM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: Big Daddy from Motown]
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jcadmus
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Put me down as a another fan of one master volume and a blend knob.
I've had this arrangement on my last two five-strings (both with j-j pickups and active elex), and find it the most convenient arrangement.
I'm thinking about switching my Jazz Bass to this arrangement, but have't decided if I want to futz with it yet.
To Timr's original question, it sounds to me like those pickups are mismatched -- there shouldn't be that much of a differential. Are they the original pickups or add-ons?
Edited by jcadmus (01/14/08 11:20 AM)
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#1872527 - 01/14/08 12:03 PM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: Rocky MacDougall]
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TimR
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I have a custom Fender Precision Plus P/J I have vol/vol/tone/tone. The output from the bridge pup is much less than the neck pup. For equal balance, I would have to set the bridge at 100% and the neck about 75%. With both pups 100% I have a very noticeble loss in volume. I really like the control I have with the setup and would not change it.
Rocky
That is exactly what I am experiencing.
From memory measuring with a meter gave me something like 10Mohms and 20Mohms for the two different pickups. Can't remember which way around though.
The pickups are El Cheapo standard issue with the bass.
The bass was £120 new in 1985. It sounds nice with plenty of sustain unplugged, but sounds like a £5 bass when I plug it in. Even when played by my £500 fingers So upgrading the pickups with something second hand from eBay is on the cards for research purposes.
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#1872534 - 01/14/08 12:15 PM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: TimR]
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Joe Bloe
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+1 for blend and master volume. My Ibanez SG has PJ pup's with a blend. It make's it easy to change the tone without changing the volume from song to song during a gig.
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#1872595 - 01/14/08 01:14 PM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: Joe Bloe]
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Nicklab
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My P-Bass deluxe 5 string (as seen in my avatar) is actually a P-J, but with a dual coil J in the bridge position. The setup on that bass is master volume, pickup blend, bass cut/boost, treble cut/boost, mid cut/boost. It's an incredibly versatile setup, IMO.
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#1872603 - 01/14/08 01:24 PM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: Rocky MacDougall]
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saxofunk
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I have a custom Fender Precision Plus P/J I have vol/vol/tone/tone. The output from the bridge pup is much less than the neck pup. For equal balance, I would have to set the bridge at 100% and the neck about 75%. With both pups 100% I have a very noticeble loss in volume. I really like the control I have with the setup and would not change it.
Rocky
+1. The SB-2 is notorious for a "weak" bridge pickup, but (like I said) I think it's design to add flavor more than operate as a soloed pickup. That's why a favor V/V for this bass.
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#1872611 - 01/14/08 01:34 PM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: saxofunk]
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Basshappi
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No,
I hate blend controls.
I have 3 PJ config basses.
2 are wired in Jazz config: Vol/Vol/Tone
1 is Vol/Tone/3-way mini-switch
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#1872624 - 01/14/08 01:46 PM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: Basshappi]
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zeronyne
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Do any basses have mastervol-vol-vol like on my Parker Fly guitar?
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#1872734 - 01/14/08 05:11 PM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: zeronyne]
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jeremy c
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I've only owned one P-J in my life, but it was volume, volume, tone and it was fine with me.
As some others have said, I'd always start with the P pickup and then add a little of the J pickup to it.
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#1872803 - 01/14/08 06:16 PM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: Rocky MacDougall]
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dcr
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I have a custom Fender Precision Plus P/J I have vol/vol/tone/tone. The output from the bridge pup is much less than the neck pup. For equal balance, I would have to set the bridge at 100% and the neck about 75%. With both pups 100% I have a very noticeble loss in volume. I really like the control I have with the setup and would not change it.
Rocky
My Rickenbacker used to be like that. I did some research & found that it was pretty common. It was because a capacitor was installed on the bridge pickup to affect the tone, & it had the result of slightly decreasing its volume. Many people, including me, bypass the cap & the pickups then balance.
Of course, if the pickups are of poor quality, and/or they are not matched to either, then there's not much to do about it. But it might be worth checking whether they're running through comparable circuitry.
I don't think it would have anything to do with whether separate volume controls or a master control was used, though.
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#1964518 - 06/30/08 10:35 AM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: dcr]
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TimR
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A thread from earlier this year.
I rewired the bass Volume, Blend, and Tone. It's better to control now. Davo played it earlier in the year and it sounded pretty good. Now if I could only keep the neck from bowing.
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#1964552 - 06/30/08 12:28 PM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: TimR]
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dcr
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Cool!
Since this thread, I've acquired a PJ bass with a pickup selector toggle switch. My first preference is for vol/vol, but I've found that I'm perfectly happy with the switch in this bass.
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#1964703 - 06/30/08 06:36 PM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: dcr]
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_Sweet Willie_
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To answer the question in the thread title: No.
Whatever works for you...v/v/t or v/b/t or v/v.
Those G&L SB-2 basses w/ v/v are pretty great sounding.
Peace.
--SW
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#1964705 - 06/30/08 06:42 PM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: _Sweet Willie_]
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Rocky MacDougall
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There is one advantage to a 3 way switch. You can preset a tone that comes for each pickup and pull up that sound by just quickly switching without turning any knobs.
Rocky
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#1964774 - 07/01/08 12:33 AM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: TimR]
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Davo-London
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Tim
yeah it sounded really sweet. Plenty of mwah and character. I agree that the action needs a bit of attention, or was that why it sounded so good? Obviously you've tried tightening the truss rod. I presume that didn't work? Can you replace the truss rod?
It's a challenge to get this bass up and running without spending any money on it. I like that kind of challenge.
I've sorted my initial need for a rig BTW. Cheers.
Davo
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#1964775 - 07/01/08 12:35 AM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: Davo-London]
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Davo-London
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Sorry for being thick but what does the three way do then? Is it one, the other or both PUs?
Or is it reggae, rock or jazz?
Davo
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#1964808 - 07/01/08 03:50 AM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: Davo-London]
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TimR
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Sorry for being thick but what does the three way do then? Is it one, the other or both PUs?
Yes
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#1964811 - 07/01/08 03:55 AM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: Davo-London]
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DavidMPires
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I've sorted my initial need for a rig BTW. Cheers.
Davo
Sorry i'm going to hijack the thread, what did you bought Davo?
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#1964815 - 07/01/08 04:09 AM
Re: Should a PJ bass always have Blend/Volume control?
[Re: Davo-London]
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TimR
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Tim
yeah it sounded really sweet. Plenty of mwah and character. I agree that the action needs a bit of attention, or was that why it sounded so good? Obviously you've tried tightening the truss rod. I presume that didn't work? Can you replace the truss rod?
It's a challenge to get this bass up and running without spending any money on it. I like that kind of challenge.
I've sorted my initial need for a rig BTW. Cheers.
Davo
The neck is a real problem. I've straightened it twice now and it returns to its bow after a while. I think its why it was originally unplayable, it used to buzz on every fret so I took out the frets. Setting up fretless thread.
I've spend a few quid on new pots as the old ones were scratchy and popy and no amount of switch cleaner would fix them. Bass Rewire
I've also spend a few quid on copper sheet for screening. I think I probably started another thread on that too.
All told I might have spent £50 on it, but learned a lot in the process.
[OT]Neat. I got £190 for the Trace in the end.[/OT]
Edited by TimR (07/01/08 04:10 AM)
Edit Reason: Where we're were
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