Miscellaneous bass questions

[Ben1123]

Ok, i am a new bass player with a Peavey Zodiac bass and i have a few questions

1.I am looking for a lower sound, what type or brand of strings should i use?

2.What is the difference between a p-bass and a j-bass? I have read about them but do not know the difference.

3.When my amp is turned up it makes a humming sound, im not sure if it is the bass or the amp that does this, it is a trash amp though but i am not sure.

Thanks if you could help

[baalroo]

1. strings are not really THAT big of a determining factor on "lowness" bass, amp, and how you EQ them both will determine that a lot more. If you'd like to learn more just start browsing (and "searching") the STRINGS forum, that's what it's there for man.

2. a "J" bass is a Fender Jazz style bass, a "P" bass is a Fender Precision style bass... they are the "standard" most popular styles of basses. The main differences are the thickness/width of the neck (P neck's are bigger), the shape of the bodies (J bodies are more asymetrical), and the pickups (P's have... well, a P pickup, and Js have... you guessed it, a J pickup). The tone is different on each for probably all of these reasons. A J bass is arguably more versatile, while a P has a fairly specific (and sought after) sound to it.

3. Try turning the amp up with having anything plugged into it, if it hums it's the amp. Then turn it up with just the cord you're using plugged into it (making sure the other end is in the air and not touching anything) if it hums then but not when the amp is by itself then it's probably the cord. Then turn it up with the bass plugged in... I think you get the idea.

[bassmanrocke]

A Zodiac has a P pickup in the neck position and a jazz pickup in the bridge position. The p-pickup is actually two pickups that are reverse wound,reverse polarity and wired in series. This results in a humbucking pickup. P pickups are traditionally very quiet. Jazz bass pickups are actually single coil, and thus have no way of cancelling 60 cycle hum that is introduced by electrical current. In a jazz bass there are two of these pickups that are reversed polarity and when turned up to equal volume act as a single humbucker. Your "hum" is probably a result of the bridge pickup being at high volume, but not having another pickup to cancel the interference. Usually this hum is more pronounced with the tone turned up. To reduce the hum turn down the rear pickup, or turn down the tone control, or both. I hope this helps.

Also , the closer to the neck a pickup is located the "bassier" it tends to sound. Turning down your bridge pickup may help you with this problem also.

[OtterOnBass]

1. Do you mean like in Motown music? The strings used were flat-wound. Most likely your problem is your amp being too weak to give you the low-end you want. You can get a lower-sounding tone using the bridge pickup and plucking close to the neck with your right hand.