Best body fit - Precision or Jazz?

[Wisebass]

Hi ThingsAbove

Added a poll...

You know the rules: No "carrots" option - No poll!!

may the bass be with you

Wise(b)ass

 

[ThingsAbove]

Hi ThingsAbove



You know the rules: No "carrots" option - No poll!!

may the bass be with you

Wise(b)ass

Yeah I thought about that right after I hit return.

 

[cholyoke]

It looks like the P bass is the same scale, but off set lower than the Jazz bass in the image above. The Jazz bass body is bigger than the P bass. I've had three jazz basses and they always feel off to me. I love the shape, but the jazz body never feels right. Put a jazz neck on the P body and life is good.

 

[ThingsAbove]

Is it me or is the photo flawed. The P Bass is looks smaller in size than tne J. If they were both lined up at the 12th fret the horns would be the same

The image (apart from the annotations I added) is from a Fender website. I'm guessing they got it right.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[jonnybass1]

I am a smaller guy and to be honest neither especially the Jazz fit me.

 

[sheltjo6]

I tend to prefer precision style bodies over the jazz style bodies.
But, my preference is G&L's L body.

 

[James Collins]

They are fairly interchangeable for me. Both can have neck dive if the body gets too light. Both are better with an arm contour.

I think my favorite for ergonomics goes to the design of the Spector Euro/Warwick Streamer. I've never played the rather is why I list the latter. They balance really well sitting and standing, have a deep neck pocket with really easy upper fret access at least in the NT models, and are smooth contours for days.

Sorry, I didn't have any individual pictures, but front left is a Streamer and on the left in the chair is another.

 

[jmlee]

Best idea I've seen for a long time was G&L's JB-2 bass which is a Jazz-style instrument built on the L-2000 evolved P-bass body. I find it more comfortable playing standing or sitting than my Fender J's.

—> Now if they could have built it on an SB-type body: Bingo!

I love my JB-2 (Tribute with Bartolini pickups in it) *and* it sits nicely on a non-suspension floor stand which a Fender Jazz bass body simply will not do properly.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

I had a recent epiphany that a Precision bass body fits me better than a Jazz body. My plucking arm and hand fall to a more natural position and the P balances better on my leg when I practice sitting than my J.

Have you found a bass body style fits your body better than others?

I've done a markup on the image below to show differences in where the J vs P balance on my leg and where my arm crosses. I didn't realize that the J was so much longer than the P.

My arm crosses much further forward on the J when sitting due to the balance point being further forward causing my forearm to be higher and requiring much more bend in my wrist. It's not as bad when standing but I do most of my practice sitting.

View attachment 3393092

Well, you know those indentations on the lower part of the body is where you are **expected** to rest it on your knee or leg. The balance points you show on your pictures don't work at all for me. You know, that's the whole reason for the "offset body." The uncomfortable posture using the P-bass when sitting down was one of the main reasons the Jazz Bass was designed with the "offset-body". The lower waist of the bass rests on your knee to the right of where your body leans over the bass. It was originally designed specifically for use in that manner, not to try to balance it up on the front horn somewhere. There is no neck-dive when it's used as it was designed. You are of course welcome to use it however you like, because it's your instrument, but to expect that everyone else uses it in that manner is perhaps more than a bit of a presumption.

Long ago, I was given some advice to adjust the strap on my bass so that it was in the same spot on my body regardless of whether I was sitting down or standing up. So I don't find the balance points you have mentioned to be useful at all. I do however like the fact that when I have to use my stage stool (nerve problem in one leg), I'm not repositioning my bass all to sit. I can sit down as I play it if needed.

Different strokes for different folks, but I far prefer the shape of my Jazz to that of the P-Bass!

 

[Rip Van Dan]

I'm much shorter than you (5'9") and while I don't have T-Rex arms it's a real stretch for an F when the instrument is strapped on. I can't even reach the G tuner by stretching without pulling the instrument toward my body. I think tall versus short players will see big differences between the two body styles.

Maybe it's just my J but it balances on my leg waaay out toward the end of the lower horn, shifting the body further to my right.

I have to laugh. With the exception of a 5-string I use once in a great while, I have exclusively played a Jazz Bass since 1966. I am far from being tall. On a good day, I'm all of 5'6" tall...what most folks would consider short. Take a look at my avatar to see how I hold my bass. I have the strap adjusted so the bass is in the same position whether I'm standing up or sitting down. The lower waist is over my knee and my upper chest is over the upper waist. I have no trouble at all reaching my tuners or playing a low F.

I like to pluck over the bridge pickup and that causes my wrist to really have to bend to unsustainable angles.
View attachment 3393092

Here's a simple fix to keep your wrist from getting too bent and starting to hurt - move your elbow back when you play by the bridge pickup and move it forward when playing by the neck. That way your arm will always rest on top of the bass and you won't have to bend your wrist awkwardly to play by the bridge...just pivot at your shoulder to pull it back.

I usually play just in front of the neck pickup often resting my thumb on the top edge of the pickup. In my avatar, I have shifted my hand forward a little to get a little warmer sound than I get above or slightly in front of the neck pickup. I will often move my plucking hand around to get different sounds out of my Jazz as needed. Moving my elbow back and up makes it easy to stay back by the bridge if I need to.

 

[skaine]

If i have the opportunity to get a custom made jazz bass, i might prefer a precision bass body instead. That might be interesting.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

I got j basses, and p basses with j necks. They feel the same to me.

 

[TIMD]

Jazz, stingray and Pbass all feel great to me. Any traditional style bass and I’m good to go. Hofners just feel odd to me, the body is just too small for me.

A bass with bad neck dive drives me crazy too. I’ll take a heavier bass over a bass with neck dive any day.

 

[TimboZ]

My Fenders with Jazz and P bodies. They are lined up at the 12th fret. The P body dose not look smaller like on the OP's post.

 

[TimboZ]

The image (apart from the annotations I added) is from a Fender website. I'm guessing they got it right.

Invalid Link Removed

The image from Fenders website is not to scale. The P is smaller
I realigned the 2 photos so the 12th fret is the same. Look at the bridge.

 

[CGremlin]

P's fit me better than J's do as well, and my Stingray sits on my lap about like a P. One of the things on a potential purchase that I look at now is where the lower bout curves in - if it's around where the 24th-25th fret would be, it'll probably be comfortable for me. If it's further back, probably not as comfortable.

 

[Dabndug]

I find both the P and J to be comfortable, but my old Rickenbacker 4000 remains the bass with the best fit for me.

 

[ThingsAbove]

Well, you know those indentations on the lower part of the body is where you are **expected** to rest it on your knee or leg. The balance points you show on your pictures don't work at all for me. You know, that's the whole reason for the "offset body." The uncomfortable posture using the P-bass when sitting down was one of the main reasons the Jazz Bass was designed with the "offset-body". The lower waist of the bass rests on your knee to the right of where your body leans over the bass. It was originally designed specifically for use in that manner, not to try to balance it up on the front horn somewhere. There is no neck-dive when it's used as it was designed. You are of course welcome to use it however you like, because it's your instrument, but to expect that everyone else uses it in that manner is perhaps more than a bit of a presumption.

Long ago, I was given some advice to adjust the strap on my bass so that it was in the same spot on my body regardless of whether I was sitting down or standing up. So I don't find the balance points you have mentioned to be useful at all. I do however like the fact that when I have to use my stage stool (nerve problem in one leg), I'm not repositioning my bass all to sit. I can sit down as I play it if needed.

Different strokes for different folks, but I far prefer the shape of my Jazz to that of the P-Bass!

Note I said that's where my Jazz bass balances. If I set it on my leg at the cut-out my bass head dives to the floor. Similarly I can't move my elbow back because I have to rest part of my arm on the rear of the instrument or it head dives to the floor. I'm glad your Jazz balances perfectly on your leg at the cutout.

Different strokes for different folks was the point of the OP.

 

[RandM]

The image from Fenders website is not to scale. The P is smaller
I realigned the 2 photos so the 12th fret is the same. Look at the bridge.

View attachment 3393665

They're both 34" scale though, so one photo was taken from a slightly different distance, making the magnification slightly diferent too. Otherwise nut to bridge would be the same (same scale length) so you can't accurately tell from those photo's.

Cheers Maurie

 

[ThingsAbove]

They're both 34" scale though, so one photo was taken from a slightly different distance, making the magnification slightly diferent too. Otherwise nut to bridge would be the same (same scale length) so you can't accurately tell from those photo's.

Cheers Maurie

If you set your P-bass and Jazz on the floor facing each other, the nut on the Jazz will be higher because the body of the Jazz is longer. The upper wing (the part your arm crosses) of the Jazz is also taller. Set the Jazz behind the P front-to-back and you will see the Jazz sticks out on the lower bout and the upper wing.

If you have a Fender hard case it will fit both basses but you'll see space around parts of the P-bass in the case because it has a smaller body.

The cutout for the leg is in different places on each body and the curve of the upper wing is in different places. That's what may make one style work better for some body shapes than others.