Alternatives for Fender P

Having both a P and a PJ, rolling off J is damn close to a P. My Jaguar has the same P pickup as a P. So you’re not thinking wrong

You started with wanting “that Fender P tone”.
I thought I could sneak that from a PJ…no dice IMO on 2 differernt ones i have/had.
Close, but not “that Fender P tone”.

It’s a P pickup in the P position, it’s going to sound like a P. But as I mentioned I’d like to avoid derailing to a P vs PJ debate.

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I’m with you on that. Good call.

A PJ bass is not a P bass even Fender miss that boat, lol.

A P bass in Fender parlance is a bass with a P body. A Jazz has a Jazz body. Which is why it’s the Aerodyne Jazz bass. The pickups don’t determine the label.

Crazy, yes

The body difference is ok but the neck width is a major issue. The squier pj I have one is with p bass neck and another is with jazz neck. Hmmm!

Just FYI, a nice Rockbass Streamer LX demo was posted by a French magazine just a few weeks ago. No words, just playing, and he tests the P and J pickups separately:

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I’ve owned two Rockbass Streamers - an LX4 and LX5. Both were really good basses for the money. But that said, the LX4 did not sound remotely like a P-Bass, and the LX5 did not sound at all like a J-bass, despite their pickup configurations.

That said, people that want a lightweight, affordable, good quality P/J should definitely check out the LX4.

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I still have mine. With the P pickup soloed, it doesn’t sound a million miles away IMO, especially in a mix. But, yeah, pure P is pure P.

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They are fine basses! But they definitely have a bright, modern tone.

This was my LX4’s P soloed:

It sounds really good, but not the same :slight_smile:

Actually it’s maybe more versatile in some ways. That’s a more mids-heavy, mix-cutting tone than a stock Fender P.

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The LX4 has their passive pups.
The LX4 NT has the MEC active pups, same as the German pro series.
The Adam Clayton sig is a P with Seymour Duncan quarter pounder pickup, which isn’t a particularly modern sounding pickup, and passive EQ. I reckon with the right strings that model could do a fair impression of a P.

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The thing with Warwicks is they tend to have a distinctive, growly, aggressive sound. That said, even if what you end up with does not sound just like a Fender P, it will still sound amazing :slight_smile:

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And there’s a whole potential discussion around how much of that house sound (or any other house sound) comes from exotic woods, body shape, pickup selection,pickup location,electronics,neck construction, hardware, phase of the moon at the time of construction, string choice etc…

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Sire P5. Basically Fender P as it seems.
Passive, different pick up from PJ one. Soundwise as Ive heard seems they nailed it. And you get that fancy roasted neck.

Check out LowEndLobsters latest videos about it. He seems to like it alot.

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This is the real factor in all this.

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Yep yep totally valid point. Especially if you put in an active/passive switch when you swap out the pickups, to take the preamp out of the picture.

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Warwick is known for that growly sound and as an previous owner I can vouch for that. I had one with a passive/active switch and active MEC pups. Pretty sure the eletronics and pups make up 99% of that sound. :blush:

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And the winner is…

The Lakland Skyline 44-64 GZ PJ

I’ve only played it for 5 minutes, but oh man what a bass so far. Tone is awesome, exactly what I was looking for. No noticeable noise on either of the pickups, and no finger noise on the poles. The J neck feels great, not glossy and sticky like the Duff was, and it feels easy to move around. Balance is great as well, no noticeable neck dive. I was initially a bit concerned about the weight, because a lot of reviews mentioned that it’s heavy AF, but it’s only 4.3 kg (with strap), so I’m not sure what everyone was talking about. I’m pretty sure the Fender was heavier, but I forgot to measure that one unfortunately. (For reference, my SR500E is 3.5 kg.)

And the looks… I was initially a bit hesitant about the colour, but it kind of grew on me, and in person it looks even better than on the photos. It definitely has character, that’s for sure.

And most importantly, everything is working so far. crosses fingers

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions in this thread. Hope it’s going to be useful for others as well in the future.

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That is freaking gorgeous!

(Sigh) Now I suppose I have to investigate if they make them left handed.

Side note: one of my favorite bass players, David Hood of the Muscle Shoals rhythm section, in a fairly recent interview, had a Lakland in his lap.

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