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Awesome jazz bass tone

#21
I started favoring my single-coil Jazz with Labella flats recently in an Americana/Country band--especially for the flats with a pick sound--so good. Of course my usual go-to P's for that music(flats and rounds) work great but it's just fun to shake things up a bit. And on the J I'm using plenty of bridge pickup, often everything dimed, but with the well-worn flats it sounds killer with the tone rolled back a bit--tons of punchy mids, not "scooped" sounding at all. Interestingly, my hum-cancelling J (Area J's) doesn't sound as good in that context--too "polite".
 
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#23
Simon Ferocious said:
Last night I got one of the best sounds I ever got from the jazz bass but I think it was down to the amp EQ - completely flat and everything sounded great.
Click to expand...

Just FYi - happy you found a tone you like, but "all knobs at noon" is, on most bass amps, not actually flat. The notable exception is Ampegs, which actually are flat with the eq at noon, and the "ultra" switches off.
 
#24
I don't really mind what setting I'm on as long as it sounds good.
I fell in love with the bass mostly with the cure, but one of my favourite sounds is carlos dengler with interpol. I also was given a jazz bass to play with a band back in uni, I'm not sure what pickup setting I used back then but that's how the jazz got into my life. When i started playing bass again I 1st thought of the jazz bass but got a p bass next and I love it no less than the jazz. I love the pickup and not having another pickup.
I do like jaco and appreciate what he did for the instrument but it's just not my kind of tone. I just don't have any need for the bridge in anything I play at the moment. Once i learn to slap that'll probably change. I see the bridge as a spare neck pickup in case the neck fails
 
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#26
My jazz is my first bass. I had it almost 30 years ago, liked it, played it, but was not a sound nor gear nerd in any way.
Last year I disvovered the P with labella flats sound and feel and thougt my perfect bass was found.
But since this I started playing with a cover band of 90's rock and pop, and the P with labella or fender flats was a bit lost in the mix at rehearsals. Or at least i was clearly lacking definition.
Aaaand I installed TI flats on the jazz, and it was versatile and perfect in the mix with the band. I don't play the PS anymore and consider selling them.
I even usually also play the amp flat, no pedals and all knobs full on, just moving my hand to change the sound or closing a bit the tone.
I'm glad I kept it
 
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#27
ximun said:
My jazz is my first bass. I had it almost 30 years ago, liked it, played it, but was not a sound nor gear nerd in any way.
Last year I disvovered the P with labella flats sound and feel and thougt my perfect bass was found.
But since this I started playing with a cover band of 90's rock and pop, and the P with labella or fender flats was a bit lost in the mix at rehearsals. Or at least i was clearly lacking definition.
Aaaand I installed TI flats on the jazz, and it was versatile and perfect in the mix with the band. I don't play the PS anymore and consider selling them.
I even usually also play the amp flat, no pedals and all knobs full on, just moving my hand to change the sound or closing a bit the tone.
I'm glad I kept it
Click to expand...

That's exactly why I don't play the p bass at rehearsals as it is at the moment. The labella 1954 set is 2 years old at the moment and is sounding better than ever, but when I did take it to rehearsal, the sound was lost in the mix, we also play 90s covers.
I did use the p bass with flats to jam along to the ramones at home and it was so good I ended up playing for 2 hours, I should have used rounds but it was glorious, so I do need the p in my life
 
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#30
Simon Ferocious said:
I've been primarily a P bass player but have a jazz too. Since the P bass has flatwounds it doesn't really fit in the band I'm playing in, so I'm using the jazz with rounds.
I've never been too happy with the sound and don't like the bridge pickup and never use it. Im always on the neck. Last night I got one of the best sounds I ever got from the jazz bass but I think it was down to the amp EQ - completely flat and everything sounded great. I think I'm slowly converting towards the jazz. The sound was round, but mean and meaty. No overdrive but gelled really well with the distorted guitar and was a joy to play.
I'm using old swing bass rotos and my pickup is a Seymour Duncan antiquity 1 that has lost some output and is reading 7.8 instead 8.7.
After last night, I'm not changing a thing l!
Anybody else notice the Jazz bass pulling you away from a P bass for whatever reason?
Click to expand...
I played a Jazz Bass for about 10-years before I ever picked up a P-bass. I was immediately put off by the wider, fatter neck, to the point that if I ever bought one, I'd get a Jazz neck to put on it.

However a few years ago my grandson down it Australia got a Squier Affinity Precision Bass Kit for Christmas and we were there for it. I had to try it out of course, but was surprised to find that it was fairly comfortable for me to play. Come to find out it was still a wide neck, but it was a slim, wide neck. I would be OK gigging a P-bass with that neck on it, but I still prefer the sound of my Jazz.

I have a passive Jazz with 70's era pickup spacing, which puts the bridge pickup almost 1/2" closer to the bridge - 0.4" closer to be specific. That makes my '82 Jazz that I bought in 1985 sound a little brighter than my '65 Jazz that I bought in 1966. It also has better sustain than my '65 did. I run everything all the way up (all controls dimed) and with my Eden amps just use a little boost up to about 1:30 at either 250Hz or 500Hz depending on the amp. All other EQ's are set flat. With my DNA-800amp, I also boost the bass up to about 1-o'clock because that bass EQ is shelved at 35Hz compared to the Eden amps where they are shelved at 30Hz. That little boost in the bass makes my DNA gets the same sound like I get from my Eden amp with the bass set flat.

***NOTE*** If you boost your low mids too high, your sound will honk at you. If your sound honks at you, just slowly reduce that boost until the honk goes away - you'll hear it. Then note where that boost is and use that same setting next time. It doesn't take much boost, but it does require a little bit in the low mids (anywhere from 250Hz to 550Hz) to get the presence and definition you want when playing a Jazz Bass in a group.

After using round wounds (Dean Markley-Blue Steel and then DR-Black Beauties) for 35-years on it, I switched to LaBella White Tape-wounds about 4 years ago and prefer them. Unlike most of the flats out there, these tape wounds still have plenty of high harmonics. They are not quite as bright as either of those round-wounds, but are much better balanced from string to string. I really like them and the sound I get from them.
 
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#31
I typically play a p bass but put split-coil aguilars in my j and that helped it fit better in the mix to my ear. Played it at band practice last night and appreciated the extra low end it brings. But like you, I favor the neck pickup.
 
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#33
I'm a P guy but really get a lot of enjoyment from a fretless Jazz strung with nickel rounds. The sound of the bridge p/u dimed, the neck on about 7 and the tone turned down to about 3 is simply perfect. A little compression and a hint of grit brings out the character of these basses. For fretted, I'll stick with the trusty old P bass.
 
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#34
To me, the classic jazz bass tone is stainless Rotosounds with the bridge pickup dimed and the neck pickup between 7-8. However, if you like neck pickup only - run with it. What works for you works for you…

Note that this setting (neck rolled back with bridge dimed) eliminates the midscoop some people like on a jazz bass with both pickups dimed.
 
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#35
Same thing kinda happened here. I started giving my neglected Nash jazz bass som love and the first time I played it out… wow. And I got lots of compliments from the electric player!
My favorite jazz bass settings is neck pup full on, tone full on, start with bridge pup full on and roll it off slightly till it opens up. Probably in the 10-20% range. You'll hear it.

so approximately: neck pup 100%, bridge pup ~ 80-85% and tone 100% TRY IT!

the jazz bass is a flexible instrument. I still love my P bass but I'll be playing the J live for a bit now, I think. Sometimes is fun to change things up!
 
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#36
Rip Van Dan said:
I played a Jazz Bass for about 10-years before I ever picked up a P-bass. I was immediately put off by the wider, fatter neck, to the point that if I ever bought one, I'd get a Jazz neck to put on it.

However a few years ago my grandson down it Australia got a Squier Affinity Precision Bass Kit for Christmas and we were there for it. I had to try it out of course, but was surprised to find that it was fairly comfortable for me to play. Come to find out it was still a wide neck, but it was a slim, wide neck. I would be OK gigging a P-bass with that neck on it, but I still prefer the sound of my Jazz.

I have a passive Jazz with 70's era pickup spacing, which puts the bridge pickup almost 1/2" closer to the bridge - 0.4" closer to be specific. That makes my '82 Jazz that I bought in 1985 sound a little brighter than my '65 Jazz that I bought in 1966. It also has better sustain than my '65 did. I run everything all the way up (all controls dimed) and with my Eden amps just use a little boost up to about 1:30 at either 250Hz or 500Hz depending on the amp. All other EQ's are set flat. With my DNA-800amp, I also boost the bass up to about 1-o'clock because that bass EQ is shelved at 35Hz compared to the Eden amps where they are shelved at 30Hz. That little boost in the bass makes my DNA gets the same sound like I get from my Eden amp with the bass set flat.

***NOTE*** If you boost your low mids too high, your sound will honk at you. If your sound honks at you, just slowly reduce that boost until the honk goes away - you'll hear it. Then note where that boost is and use that same setting next time. It doesn't take much boost, but it does require a little bit in the low mids (anywhere from 250Hz to 550Hz) to get the presence and definition you want when playing a Jazz Bass in a group.

After using round wounds (Dean Markley-Blue Steel and then DR-Black Beauties) for 35-years on it, I switched to LaBella White Tape-wounds about 4 years ago and prefer them. Unlike most of the flats out there, these tape wounds still have plenty of high harmonics. They are not quite as bright as either of those round-wounds, but are much better balanced from string to string. I really like them and the sound I get from them.
Click to expand...

Since you do not seem to have GAS and monogamous on one bass, I think you a role model of "music comes first."
 
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#38
I enjoyed the sound of my P-bass, but every time I picked up one of my jazz basses, soloed the neck pickup, with the Kent Armstrong single coils, (the passive J has GHS Pressurewounds, the active J has EB Cobalt Flats) it just sounded better. Sold my p-bass and rolling with the J's! :thumbsup:
 

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