PJ or soapbar

[Nicodemus17]

As a beginner looking to buy my first bass should I be looking at any particular pickup configuration? I notice a lot of entry price guitars have the pj setup, is this deliberate to assist new starters?

[Lfalex v1.1]

I wouldn't get too hung-up on pick-up configurations.
Don't get me wrong, P/J is plenty versatile enough, but it's more important that the bass you choose is comfortable to play, plays well and sounds good. How it meets these criteria is less important than the the fact that it [i]does[/i] meet these criteria.

[Lozz196]

Agree, plays good, sounds good, how it`s managed either isn`t really that much of a factor. These things may become more important later on, but learning on an instrument that plays well, and that you like the sound of will only help in your progress.

[Nicodemus17]

Ok thanks guys, TBH I suspected this would be the case. But what about in terms of the tones you would get from either? I found a buyers guide that seems to favour the pj setup for beginners.

[url="http://www.tunemybass.com/bass_guitar_buying_guide/bass_pickups_3.html"]http://www.tunemybass.com/bass_guitar_buying_guide/bass_pickups_3.html[/url]

Any credence to this? I know it mentions at least having two pickups if you dont want pj's, but almost as an afterthought.

[Lozz196]

Well having options with a couple of pickups isn`t going to hurt. This way, along your progress, you can also develop your own sound as a bassist. If learning your fave bands songs, being able to get somewhere near the right sound is only going to be encouraging.

If there is a difference between the P/J and 2 soap-bars, I`d say that the neck pickup is usually a bit fuller-sounding on the P/J set-up. So if a lot of your fave music has been recorded on a Precision, having this set-up will get you nearer to replicating the sound.

[Mr Lizard]

If I were you, I'd check out some videos to see which tone you like best....

[chris_b]

Get a cheap Precision, or a Jazz, and see where you go from there.

What ever you choose at this stage is bound to get swapped out pretty quickly.

[ezbass]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1346678020' post='1791799']
What ever you choose at this stage is bound to get swapped out pretty quickly.
[/quote]Especially if you hang around on BC too much

This .......[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1346617020' post='1791320']
learning on an instrument that plays well, and that you like the sound of will only help in your progress.
[/quote]

[BigRedX]

IMO "soapbar" in a bass pickup context is fairly meaningless since it seems to cover a wide variety of designs (mostly humbucking but not necessarily) that have little in common other than they are housed in a wide cover without visible pole pieces.

Odd them when in the context of guitar pickups "soapbar" has a very specific meaning - being a fat single coil pickup epitomised by the Gibson P90 design.

[ezbass]

^
Very true, under many bass soapbars there is basically a P pickup config.

P90s now you're talking, my favourite guitar pickup. One of the best sounding guitars I ever heard was a PRS McCarty Soapbar.

Oops strayed a bit off topic there.

[Pinball]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1346612350' post='1791233']
I wouldn't get too hung-up on pick-up configurations.
Don't get me wrong, P/J is plenty versatile enough, but it's more important that the bass you choose is comfortable to play, plays well and sounds good. How it meets these criteria is less important than the the fact that it [i]does[/i] meet these criteria.
[/quote]

+1

Edited September 4, 2012 by Pinball