Making a J Sound Like a P
 

Can you get a Jazz to sound somewhat like a P bass? How? Both pickups full up?

Neck pick up all the way up. Bridge off

Not really

Neck full up, maybe tone turned down a bit. You can also put a switch to make the neck and bridge pickups go in series or parallel. Series makes the sound fuller kind of like a P bass. But if you want P with some J - get a PJ bass. and series/paralell the neck P bass pickup.

Can you explain what you mean by series and paralells? I'm still new to the bass lingo.

Search "Series Parallel Switch". I think All Parts or Stew Mac has them.

It's as close as you will get a J to sound like a P. From experience.

Get a Squier P.

Best way to sound like a P is to get one!!

If you have a Jazz Deluxe or something similar, you can get darn close. Blend the pickups 80% neck / 20% bridge, boost the mids 100% and cut the highs about 50%. That works for me.

I think you can definitely get 'somewhat like a P bass' sounds with the neck pickup on a Jazz bass. The P bass purists will no doubt disagree!:hmm:

I generally prefer my Sadowsky Jazz bass to my 57 reissue Fender P so I use that on my gigs and just favour the neck pickup when I want to get into that P bass ballpark. On it's own it sounds pretty different to the real P bass but in the band most people don't really notice in my experience.

Having said all that, it is nice to have both types of bass available to you for those moments when the P bass bug bites. I often get it but my Sadowsky J is so nice it usually passes quite quickly ! :D

I agree, with VanillaThundah about "Best way to sound like a P is to get one!!
", but adding a switch is probably cheaper and good enough if you do it yourself. But you don't have to have the switch to try and see if you like it. Just wire it up and see how you like it before you go installing a switch.
BUT....
That is why probably the most versatile is a PJ with a series/parallel on the neck pickup.

I'd try soloing the neck and rolling off the tone a bit first to see if that does it for ya. That option is absolutely free.

Put an Audere pre-amp in it and run it in Low-Z mode with 70% neck pickup and 30% bridge. Did that for years with my Lakland JO5s.

Flog it and get a P

Get a PJ

Adding that little $2.75 series switch gets you a BIG sonic return. I'm really a Precision guy, but that one mod added a whole lotta whomp to my Jazz bass.... which I assume is what you're looking for.

Buy a P. For real. I've been through this myself. Two different times wired my J pups with a series switch, and while the tone definitely gets hot and punchy, it's not necessarily in a good way for my purposes. It's sort of like a P with the tone cranked up, but that's it. I also bought a VM Jaguar to have the P/J setup, and the P pup soloed is okay but it still isn't the real sound. With my regular Jazz, I can turn the bridge pup all the way down and roll off the bridge just a hair and get a really nice deep P-like sound, but it doesn't work for the rock punch P's are famous for.

In the end, the best solution for me was to score a deal in the classifieds on a CV Squier 60s P for two bills. Golden. Now I have a J and a P, not some weird mix that isn't either. YMMV.

No one listening in the audience can hear the difference between a J bass' front pickup and an actual P pickup. Just roll that blend knob forward, maybe turn down the tone knob and you;re set. No need to buy another bass.

If we're being purist about this, I agree with Jumblemind, a PJ still doesn't sound exactly like a P when the neck pickup is soloed.

IMO you are wrong.