Your Koan just made me enlightened - but nothing to see here 
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I shall ponder this for the rest of the day… 
No one stopping you 
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Hahahaha - I can’t hear the difference between P and P/J with J volume to 0 anyway.
But all those discussions about pickup tone lately got me thinking.
I had several PUs here: DiMarzio, EMG, some chinese … active, passive … installed them, mixed them wildly, repositioned them, removed and replaced them. Used them with different electronics.
I noticed huge differences in different PUs types and brands (on essentially the same bass).
And I learned that I don’t care about sounding like [insert classic PU, famous artist, specific tone in a song, or legendary bass here].
I also learned that active PUs always sound better to me.
And in terms of tone: soapbar > P > J, neck/middle > bridge.
Of course, that’s all personal. But the least important is: sounding like XY…
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Get the Aria Pro II - as mentioned a much better Bass, especially if it was MIJ.
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You have the strings being affected* by the extra magnetic field of the pickup, and you have the extra resistance/inductance/capacitance from the second pickup being wired in there. I’m certain there is a difference in sound been a P and PJ with the same neck pickup. I’m going to need a lot of convincing that the difference is bigger than overwound vs under wound pickups or other differences everyone would still agree are p basses
I think if you want a p bass because only a volume and tone knob and the vibe is play the thing stop messing with tone a PJ doesn’t really fit. If you’re after the sits in the mix and is the iconic sound of bass recordings across many genres, I don’t know how you can convince me a PJ doesn’t do this with the neck solo.
*This English thing is dumb, effected vs affected before I’ve had coffee is a real challenge
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Just knowing what basses you’ve had and I’ve seen you play, the Aria is you! I can’t see you with a Squier tbh. Nothing wrong with the Squier, but I feel the Aria is a better bass IMO and looks way cooler, and it would look more believable when you transform into John Taylor for your cover of RIO! 
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My Fender Player Plus PJ has, to date, killed any GAS I’ve had for other basses. Just something to potentially add to the list lol
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I want an electric car, ok I’ll get a hybrid.
Most PJ comes with a Jazz profile neck and the narrow 1.5” nut width. That’s before the tone is a deal breaker for me right off the bat.
You know this more than most people. Want better sound change the pickups, which one? Well that the fun all by themselves 
Feel is not interchangeable especially when it comes to neck profile. The only bass I played with such space generosity with the 1.5” neck is the Yin Yang. I don’t know how they did it but the entry price to find out is about $5000 
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This is the most dangerous itch of all. That the itch I had when I came back to play a few years ago and look what happened. 
Get a proper P bass mate. Most if not all your basses have fast narrow neck while you may not feel it right away but when you discover the magic of extra width and the feel of a chunkier neck you’ll know what it’s all about.
There’s nothing wrong with the Squier just get the right one. If you want a keeper I’d start looking for the Classic. Vibe series or the 40th anniversary.
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This is hard to respond because we want different things. You have/ had 3 PJ with 3 pickups upgrades with all of the flexibility and tone. Yet, in the end (so far) you not only change the pickups, you change the type of pickup altogether.
If the trend continues you’ll soon see my way that the less flexible the tone you have the better you like it. Why own many basses if they could all do the same thing worse feel the same way.
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That’s the question for Sheldon
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Buy that Peavey. That is unbelievably gorgeous, especially at that price. Play it for a while. If it’s not quite what you’re looking for, flip it for something different and share the love.
The Squier looks about as “an bass” as you can get.
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I think MB is saying you’re a little bit posh. I tend to agree with him irt the Squire vs Aria. 
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That metaphor is not as good as it sounds
Though:
- Squire PJ: Nut Width 1.625" (41.3 mm)
- Aria Pro II 313 Detroit: NUT WIDTH 40 mm
That’s mainly cause I wanted a heavier sound, but still defined. The biggest issue for me was the Bridge/J Pickup, that sounded too thin. So I either did not use it or only to set an accent in the tone.
On two basses I replaced the mediocre Jazz pickup with a fuller sounding Humbucker that can be switched to a not too bad single coil (35TWX, thank you!).
On one bass the active EMG JX will remain, mainly cause I just want the three basses to be sufficiently different.
Hey Al - it was you that advised me NOT to get the 35DC (not flexible) and go for the 35TW (flexible) .
I quote: “You could go for the 35TW so you can select the coil. Much better tonal option for a few bucks more.”
Getting back to the OP’s actual topic: get the Aria, @sunDOG. It’s quite stunning.
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well, yes. P’s are built different than PJs. They have beefier necks with a thicker profile and a wider nut as a rule. They simply play different, pjs mostly have jazz like necks.
Also the J is wired to the same tone pot, so even when set to 0, it’s still in the circuit. Unless you’re like my pink mustang, with a dedicated vol/tone pot for each pup. And the magnetic field from the pup is still interacting with the strings even when set to 0.
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Understood. Though, again: in this case of the basses mentioned the neck is beefier.
I do get the difference, as I started with 42/40mm and enjoy 38mm much more now! But: this is very personal, of course.
Tonewise I ask myself, if anybody can hear the difference, in the sense that the listener screams: "Hey, that is no P-bass, that’s merely a f#cking P/J "
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A lot of the tone comes from the individual player, that’s a huge difference no one mentions. What Les can do with a bass and what I can do - he makes bass soufflé, I make scrambled eggs.
And in a mix the difference is less pronounced. Does it matter? Not really.
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Continuing the off-topic P vs PJ 
Two current models on the Fender page both show the same necks, but very different wiring. The pup is also a different model/part number.
I would EXPECT the tone to be different, but I myself can’t hear it. Old ears.
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Holy crap, amen to this!
Not every damn thing has to be a nuclear navel gazing exercise, regardless of the propensity of some.
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