Pick-up upgrade PJ Fender

[Basso Elettrico]

I just installed a Fralin set on my p/j fender yesterday. I went with standard winding. The stock j-pickup at the bridge was weak imo. The Fralin set is really good. I wasn't wanting a distorted or overwound tone.

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The J on the bridge of my mine is very weak too... but even if it weren’t I’d still be looking at upgrading both neck and bridge pups. Otherwise it’s a great instrument.

 

[Basso Elettrico]

One thing to keep in mind, though - unfortunately - is price. (I know, I know... some may say “buy once cry once”). Fralins, Delano’s, Nordstrands, Aeros are all pricey. Geezers (on price alone, not sound/performance) are in the lead I think

 

[ctmullins]

Wildes are quite inexpensive for the quality they deliver.

Used is good too.

 

[JimmyM]

All 3 of them Fender? What tone were you specifically looking for?

I've got them in 4 basses myself. What tone was I specifically looking for? That one

Geezers sound like they were specifically made to suit me. Yeah, I could put different pickups in my basses to get different sounds, but then I would want to use the ones with Geezers more than the others anyway, so I just did a wholesale GZR swap-out in my Fenders.

 

[Basso Elettrico]

I've got them in 4 basses myself. What tone was I specifically looking for? That one

Geezers sound like they were specifically made to suit me. Yeah, I could put different pickups in my basses to get different sounds, but then I would want to use the ones with Geezers more than the others anyway, so I just did a wholesale GZR swap-out in my Fenders.

Talk about commitment!! If you don’t mind me asking: is the the type of music you pay that drove you to the Geezers? What do you play?

 

[JimmyM]

Talk about commitment!! If you don’t mind me asking: is the the type of music you pay that drove you to the Geezers? What do you play?

I have played everything from hard rock to pop music to hardcore funk to light jazz, and I use Geezers on all of it. The type of music I play has zip to do with it. I just like what Geezers do for the sound.

 

[JW56789]

Basso, whoever you go with, I'd suggest buying what the builder sells as a P/J set. In the old days we'd put just any old Jazz pickup in the new rout we had cut into our PBass, and it worked . . . . . but often it was the often heard complaint that it was just a lot less output than the Precision pickup.

Two things at work:

1) Of course a single coil pickup having to compete with a humbucking pickup can often be a losing proposition, just thinner sounding by nature, and to make an even bigger hill to climb . . . . . .

2) We just put this pickup under a part of the string that is vibrating in a smaller pattern than the Precision pickup sitting under the spot where the pickup is making a much wider vibrating pattern: Less input / less output.

So the smart builders will pair them as a set with adjusted outputs (both passive and active sets) to minimize the physics involved, and they just work better. The technically astute may be able to read pickup specs and know what will and what won't, but for most of us, the matched sets are the ticket.

 

[Basso Elettrico]

Basso, whoever you go with, I'd suggest buying what the builder sells as a P/J set. In the old days we'd put just any old Jazz pickup in the new rout we had cut into our PBass, and it worked . . . . . but often it was the often heard complaint that it was just a lot less output than the Precision pickup.

Two things at work:

1) Of course a single coil pickup having to compete with a humbucking pickup can often be a losing proposition, just thinner sounding by nature, and to make an even bigger hill to climb . . . . . .

2) We just put this pickup under a part of the string that is vibrating in a smaller pattern than the Precision pickup sitting under the spot where the pickup is making a much wider vibrating pattern: Less input / less output.

So the smart builders will pair them as a set with adjusted outputs (both passive and active sets) to minimize the physics involved, and they just work better. The technically astute may be able to read pickup specs and know what will and what won't, but for most of us, the matched sets are the ticket.

JWilson appreciate it. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind (paired set). So, is it fair to say Fender screwed things up from the factory with the P/Js? I’m the second one in this thread alone with a weak J

 

[sunbeast]

JWilson appreciate it. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind (paired set). So, is it fair to say Fender screwed things up from the factory with the P/Js? I’m the second one in this thread alone with a weak J

The J in a PJ set is pretty much always going to be much weaker just by design, unless you use something totally unmatched (like an alnico P matched with a ceramic split-coil J). The Dimarzio Model J is a great J option in a PJ for this reason, as it is a fairly high-output ceramic J pickup that still sounds really good soloed (many hotter J pickups just don’t sound that great soloed in my experience).

As far as sets, I highly endorse the Fralin PJ set or a Fralin P paired with a Dimarzio Model J bridge

 

[JW56789]

Basso, I think in the case of some of the Fender P/J's, they made the decision to use pickups that guys recognized as a marketing strategy or cost decision than others where they did their homework to field it as a set (the Tony Franklins come to mind, among others) and got it right for more discerning ears.

 

[Basso Elettrico]

Just wanted to give feedback to all of you who helped me w/ this: I got a deal for a set of EMG GZR P/J for 25% off retail (brand new shipped free). It will be shipped in the end of April but I figured it was worth the wait, and the deal was too good to pass up.

I'm still not done considering the other options you folks suggested here for my other basses (the J and the P):

Fralin, Delano, Nordstrand, Wilde, Aero.

Hoping the Geezers will deliver what I lack in the stock P/Js. Many thanks for your replies and help!!

 

[JimmyM]

Just wanted to give feedback to all of you who helped me w/ this: I got a deal for a set of EMG GZR P/J for 25% off retail (brand new shipped free). It will be shipped in the end of April but I figured it was worth the wait, and the deal was too good to pass up.

I'm still not done considering the other options you folks suggested here for my other basses (the J and the P):

Fralin, Delano, Nordstrand, Wilde, Aero.

Hoping the Geezers will deliver what I lack in the stock P/Js. Many thanks for your replies and help!!

I feel you. I just ordered a pedal on backorder so I'm waiting, too. Covid done messed a lot of stuff up.