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Best body fit - Precision or Jazz?
- Thread starter ThingsAbove
- Start date
P bass. I'm fun sized so while the offset J body looks cool it's only comfortable for me to play if it's a skinny/slim/shrunk version, like Sadowsky, Lakland DJ, etc.
I have one of these too. It's awesome. I just am so used to long scale Fenders. Not sure if I will keep the JMJ long term.
No mods needed on this sig model at all. Just a good set up and your choice of strings!
No mods needed on this sig model at all. Just a good set up and your choice of strings!
In general, I prefer the shape/fit of P-Basses unless you enter those small bodied J Deluxe Basses from the late '90s, early 2000s into the equation. I really like those, when comparing Fenders. Other than that, I'll take a Kubicki or a Spector NS over any of them.
Remember when I said I was getting a Precision Body made with Jazz routes... Well I didn't do surf green....
Interesting thread! This question popped into my head recently while I was at a long gig where I was seated most of the time. I normally play standing, but for longer gigs/playing in a pit/practice I will often sit.
I rest the waist of my bass over my right thigh while seated (as I imagine most people do). Unsupported, the neck would fall--and this is true of all basses I have played. I typically play 5 stringers, so this may be at play as well.
But the waist on a P bass is noticeably closer to the headstock than the waist on a J bass--I have to think this would make the P bass balance better while seated. (Having played both while standing I never noticed a difference, but I haven't A/B'ed while sitting.)
My main bass is currently a 5 string Yamaha that isn't an exact copy of either a J or a P. I will have to A/B some P and J basses next time I'm at the music store.
If anyone has noticed a difference in neck dive while seated between P and J basses, I would be interested to hear... Especially if you've played 5 string variations of each!
I rest the waist of my bass over my right thigh while seated (as I imagine most people do). Unsupported, the neck would fall--and this is true of all basses I have played. I typically play 5 stringers, so this may be at play as well.
But the waist on a P bass is noticeably closer to the headstock than the waist on a J bass--I have to think this would make the P bass balance better while seated. (Having played both while standing I never noticed a difference, but I haven't A/B'ed while sitting.)
My main bass is currently a 5 string Yamaha that isn't an exact copy of either a J or a P. I will have to A/B some P and J basses next time I'm at the music store.
If anyone has noticed a difference in neck dive while seated between P and J basses, I would be interested to hear... Especially if you've played 5 string variations of each!
I definable prefer a P over J body for comfort, and smaller bodies in general. My SB-2 (downsized skinny P) fits me perfectly. I love the contours of an NS-2 body, but the upper horn ends at the 14 fret causing an uncomfortable reach for my left hand in the lower register. Switching to a Schecter Stiletto has fixed this for me.
I have and play both P & J.
I prefer the P over all.
I will say that the P is about 8.5 pounds and the 5 string J is 10.5.
No doubt that plays a part in my preference.
I prefer the P over all.
I will say that the P is about 8.5 pounds and the 5 string J is 10.5.
No doubt that plays a part in my preference.
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,016
- 1
- 31,730
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
Was thinking about this earlier this week when trying out basses. Wanted a Jazz Bass but I just find the P more comfortable, and since I have done the majority of my playing over the years on Ps, the ergonomics are familiar. Every time I'd switch from a Jazz back to a P it just felt 'right'.
From the survey it looks like I'm not alone!
From the survey it looks like I'm not alone!
I cannot decide if I am too poor a player, or clueless (most likely a combination of the two) but, there does not seem to be much of a difference to me.
The size of the neck, yes I "get" that, but body shape? I really do not "get" that one. My JB and P are contoured, but my Ray34CA is not. Even between those I fail to notice any appreciable variance in feel.
The size of the neck, yes I "get" that, but body shape? I really do not "get" that one. My JB and P are contoured, but my Ray34CA is not. Even between those I fail to notice any appreciable variance in feel.
For me the body shape is important as it relates to where the bass hangs when standing (based on horn length over the fingerboard) and when sitting where the lower cutout occurs. The P-Bass hangs more to the right, and when sitting the lower cutout that sits on your thigh is more toward the neck which moves the bass to the right which makes it less neck dive prone when sitting.
When I was young (the 1980s) I developed a perception of all Fenders as big clunky and old fashioned. My first bass was an 84 Ibanez Musician, a bean bass - which was not so large! Over the 90s and mid aughts I went through a ton of basses, but never really even considered Fender until one year ~ 2005 I went to a Nor Cal Music Festival and noted for the first time that almost 90+% of the acts that I saw were using Fender basses. As I spent time on Talkbass listening to y'all I started to consider the merits of the P and J bass, and have a Fender collection that started slowly and then took over
I do find that the Fenders are more cumbersome to wear and play, but as someone who plays URB and has adapted to different scale lengths and strings over the years most things can be adapted to. Even things that I originally didn't like, such as the baseball bat neck on my Dirnt P, eventually grew on me I am playing a Thuderbird inspired Schecter Ultra right now, and it was a big change but I am starting to love it as well!But the main thing I came to say is that my USA early/mid 90s Sterling has been my main player for most of my professional career - as all the other instruments have come and gone. I had a Stingray early on that I thought was too big and clunky (as per Fenders) but the Sterling has always felt like home. It's just fun to leave home every once in a while
