Antithesis of Fender Jazz
 

Hey TBers - this is a wildly open-ended and subjective question that might aggravate some...

Right now I'm playing a 2012 Hand Stained Jazz (mahogany w/ maple neck) and I friggin love it... BUT

I have chronic GAS syndrome and really want to find something that sounds totally different. Something with a little less "smoothness"? I guess... I was thinking something along the lines of one of the new Gibson EB basses - My budget is more like half that so I'm debating something like a Blacktop P-Bass or Yamaha BB424.

Just something that will give a different sound - maybe hotter and grittier.

Let me also put the caveat in here that "go play a bunch and see what you like" is a crap-answer. I really don't have the time and if you've noticed, brick and mortar stores have the diverse selection of a mid 1940s German army...
so that's why I ask my TB homies.

Thanks in advance.

raise the pups and lower the strings!;)

Let's see: something with a little less smoothness/grittier tone & half the price of the new Gibson EB series...

Seems to me that you just described a MIM build (or similar) Precision. Squier CV, if you want to save a little extra coin.

I think we're done here. ;)

Well, I can always cite the two basses I play nowadays, since precisely because they _don't_ sound like a jazz bass is why I have em :)

They're my G&L L2K and Carvin Bunny Brunel 4 string FL's. Probably anything with a big musicman style humbucker at the bridge will sound quite different.

The L2K is an oddity because it actually is easy to get a jazz bass tone out of it, at a rate of approx. 80%. Soloing the bridge PU in parallel mode gives a good approximation of the jazz nasally burp. Any other setting, though, and it sounds very different, with a much hotter, woolier tone.

The Bunny I can't get to resemble a jazz bass at all no matter what I do, for which I'm truly grateful.

The MM Sterling or Stingray is another couple basses I've played that give a very different sound than a jazz bass. So I'd check those out also.

LS

+1 on the MIM Precision for grit. The MIM I own is very treble-heavy and raw sounding, as opposed to my MIA which is pretty smooth and fat. MIA also has a good share of treble, but not as much as the MIM.

I'm hearing a lot of P-love. But I was thinking Blacktop because of humbuckers --- or then what about the Blacktop jazz since these split coils are a real difference maker... I am a big fan of the J-neck too - so that might work.

epiphone? thunderbird? EB? i dont know these instrumenst but they might be quite cool..

Is a Sterling BY MM Ray34 in your price range? Might be a nice departure.

I think hollowbody basses are also a great choice for you. Jack casside epiphone seems to be what you looking for I think. And don't forget use either flat or an old roundwound string on it.

Blacktop J should be another good choice. Very different sound from a normal J. The neck pickup is closer to the neck, and sounds very grindy in many demos I've heard. Like a cross between a P and a Rick.

I played that blacktop....its EXACTLY what u r looking for and pretty cheap too...

P or J?

I'd go J... Same Jazz feel (body, neck) that you're used to, with two grittier P pickups in a J-type configuration.

C'mon man: you got that
 

Fender MIM BlackTop Jazz

dual split coil pickups on a higloss finished Jazz bass neck and alder body, with himass bridge already onboard

What d'ya need more?

Cheers,
Wallace

Thanks for the input guys. Blacktoppie looks like a winner atm

This should only further solidify that the Blacktop J is what you're looking for.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6crFlBz3-M

Your J is smooth? I find a J is usually punch with a lot of treble.

I'd go for something with growl, like a P or Spector. ^_^

I always thought of p's as the polar opposite because I can actually cut through a dense mix with them, whereas I'm off to an EQ noodle-fest when it comes to getting jazz's to work for me.

Also, I don't subscribe to the whole "I can get my J to sound like a P with the neck pickup" thing. To my ears, they sound vastly different. To me, P's have a throaty bark with the tone up, while J's have sizzling snap. With tone rolled off, P's "fart" and J's "burp". Sorry for the gross analogy....

Really depends on what song... Can't get no better while jamming some bluesy stuff at an open mic or something. But then we turn around and do a medley that goes from 'Bringing Sexy Back' to 'Killing in the Name' --- need some more punch 'n growl