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Best warm sounding bass for recording? P vs J

S

Simon Nyberg

Mar 30, 2020
28
30
Sweden
#1
Hi!

I'm new here on the forum and thought I'd drop a question I've been having for some time.

I have been playing bass for a while and I'm currently looking to get a better bass. At the moment I play a jaguar short scale from squier with EMG pups. I like it a lot but I can't really get the professional feel out of it (compared to my friends' higher end basses.) Also I want to get a long scale.

I will primeraly use it for recording as I'm also studying music production and is recording music with my band. Our music is best described as "slick" pop/rock music with an edge of electronic music on some tracks. Our songs are really "tight" and the bass is really "subby". Now I'm not sure if I should get a jazz bass or a p bass. I enjoy the P sound but sometimes I'm looking for a more hi-fi (still a lot of low end) type of sound. I guess you could say I want my bass to sound a bit like a sub bass preset in a plugin.

What are your thoughts? I know the P bass is known for it's really warm sound. I also know the jazz is considered more "hi-fi"

I understand this might sound a bit complicated but I'm not sure how to explain the sound I'm looking for.
 
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#8
Simon Nyberg said:
Hi!

I'm new here on the forum and thought I'd drop a question I've been having for some time.

I have been playing bass for a while and I'm currently looking to get a better bass. At the moment I play a jaguar short scale from squier with EMG pups. I like it a lot but I can't really get the professional feel out of it (compared to my friends' higher end basses.) Also I want to get a long scale.

I will primeraly use it for recording as I'm also studying music production and is recording music with my band. Our music is best described as "slick" pop/rock music with an edge of electronic music on some tracks. Our songs are really "tight" and the bass is really "subby". Now I'm not sure if I should get a jazz bass or a p bass. I enjoy the P sound but sometimes I'm looking for a more hi-fi (still a lot of low end) type of sound. I guess you could say I want my bass to sound a bit like a sub bass preset in a plugin.

What are your thoughts? I know the P bass is known for it's really warm sound. I also know the jazz is considered more "hi-fi"

I understand this might sound a bit complicated but I'm not sure how to explain the sound I'm looking for.
Click to expand...
Plenty of people will say you can't beat a P bass, and it's a better choice for you than the Jazz, but believe me, don't get hung up on choosing between the two.
Expand your horizons!
I'm going to suggest you try out one of these.
G&L L2000...Leo's best!
2019-gl-l2000-ruby-red-metallic-Pece8-M0.jpg
 
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#12
JRA said:
you can't do any better for "warm" than a black, unlined fretless PJ with a blend pot and TI jazz rounds. burst works too...in a pinch. :D

i know you're not chasing tones, so: good luck! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
I'm not speaking English as my first language so I'm just gonna pretend like I didn't get the sarcasm.
Of course I'm looking for tones. Specifically I'm looking for a bass with lots of low end, which would fit in modern music. Also I need a tone that is very clean and doesn't give me a lot of growl or whatever you'd call it.
Feel free to leave to give me your opinions. The only reason I'm asking between jazz and p is because that's really all I know when it comes to gear.
 
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#13
jd56hawk said:
Plenty of people will say you can't beat a P bass, and it's a better choice for you than the Jazz, but believe me, don't get hung up on choosing between the two.
Expand your horizons!
I'm going to suggest you try out one of these.
G&L L2000...Leo's best!
View attachment 3778604
Click to expand...
Thanks! Someone else suggested the G&L and I had a look. I like the concept of it. Sadly I will probably not be able to try it out physically as I'm living in a really small town in Sweden, and honestly I haven't even seen a G&L bass in even Stockholm... Guess I'll have to listen to a lot of recordings with it.
 
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#15
David Jayne said:
J bass has more deep lows. P is more about mids. J gets the slick sound. P is old school. I prefer P but J might be better for what you're doing.
Click to expand...
This was the answer I was looking for.
I love the P bass sound too. My current bass has a PJ setup, and I solo the P a lot when playing the more old-school stuff. I like it in rock a lot too. But as you said, a more slick sound is what I'm looking for when working with my current band and the music we make.
Thanks!
 
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#17
Simon Nyberg said:
Thanks! Of course. In the studio I work with lots of EQ. When playing live I feel like it's a bit stressful to go and turn the eq know on my amp however, you think an active bass could be a great idea for more hands on control?
Click to expand...

This. I'd say my active Reggie Hamilton P/J would get quite close to what i assume you're looking for. You're welcome to try it out over in Finland when the borders open again :)
 
#19
Your going to have to play/record with a few to find out what works best for you. You can EQ just about anything in the studio. Finding your fundamental sound is going be the hard part. That was the issue I had for a while.
 
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