J/P/J/P

[Chienmortbb]

Does this make sense?

Edited Thursday at 16:05 by Chienmortbb

[Doctor J]

I would say no. That bridge P will be next to useless other than to add the thinnest of flavours to something else. I built this a few years ago, interesting experiment but, in the end, there wasn't really anything in it I couldn't get close enough to from the likes of a L2000. 

 

Unless, of course, you're just playing solo in the bedroom and are feverously chasing microtonal changes. In a mix, nobody will notice how clever your pickup choices are 😄

 

 

Edited Thursday at 17:24 by Doctor J

[Hellzero]

It's missing one more pickup and some LEDs...

 

[tauzero]

2 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

Does this make sense?

 

No, shoving a plectrum into the scratchplate like that is bound to stress it around the neck end screw and may break it.

[HeadlessBassist]

Just needs a Mudbucker at the bottom of the neck and it'll be perfect! 🤔

[Bassassin]

Ibanez Blazer & a lot of vintage PAF-stickered DiMarzios!

 

Hard to understand what the thinking behind that would be, particularly the P unit right up at the bridge - you'd think you'd at least reverse it so the D & G strings don't just go "plink".

[Hellzero]

2 hours ago, Bassassin said:

you'd think you'd at least reverse it so the D & G strings don't just go "plink"

 

 

[Beedster]

Might work rather well, I doubt you'd ever use the bridge P-PUP soloed but it might blend very nicely with one or more of the others. If it were for sale at a decent price I'd certainly give it a go, especially as it appears to be wearing a bunch of cream Dimarzios, defo my fave PUPs, the colour has a huge effect on tone  

[JJTee]

22 hours ago, Doctor J said:

I would say no. That bridge P will be next to useless other than to add the thinnest of flavours to something else. I built this a few years ago, interesting experiment but, in the end, there wasn't really anything in it I couldn't get close enough to from the likes of a L2000. 

 

Unless, of course, you're just playing solo in the bedroom and are feverously chasing microtonal changes. In a mix, nobody will notice how clever your pickup choices are 😄

 

 

I’ve always been intrigued by this arrangement since I first saw Metallica’s Jason Newsted’s Alembic Elans with this configuration:

 

[JPJ]

I built a five string with a pair of J’s and a P, along with a five-way switch (N, N+P, P, P+B, N&B) but only ever used P & P+B options live. It was inspired by the Fender Stu Hamm signature bass, and include John East active eq (bass & Treble stack, and a mid-stack). 

Edited 12 hours ago by JPJ

[Hellzero]

My Le Fay has 4 single coil pickups under the hood in a more elegant way that said...

 

 

And here is how it's working:

 

[HazBeen]

I am with @Beedster (hey mate, long time).

 

My take, this will work just fine, but it is very dependent on what you do with what pickup. I quite like the idea of the 4 mini switches and this appears to combine a J with an 80s Precision Elite concept - which sounded really good.

 

J/J - will sound like Jazz with both pickups open. It does appear the bridge J is a little more forward than 60s position, so it will be a little rounder sounding

Single P - will give the P vibe

P + bridge J will give a P sound with a little more clarity - due to J placement I expect it will be very P like

P + Neck J will give a pretty woolly sound, that will not resemble en EB-0 and is not too useable I expect

The P/P setup will actually sound quite similar to the P + bridge J but with a bit more zing

Bridge P - ehm well… just don’t go there

 

https://www.vintageguitar.com/16076/fender-precision-bass-elite-ii/

 

 

[SICbass]

On 19/06/2025 at 18:04, Chienmortbb said:

Does this make sense?

 

On 20/06/2025 at 01:09, HeadlessBassist said:

Just needs a Mudbucker at the bottom of the neck and it'll be perfect! 🤔

And a piezo under the bridge, obvs.

[SICbass]

All joking aside, on a visit to Maruszczyk some years ago, I tried out a Fendery-shaped bass with 3 p-bass pups on it. It wasn’t pretty, but all the tone-shaping variety of an active bass within a passive set-up. Lovely.