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Budget P basses with a jazz neck?

#2
The Ibanez GSR200 is a good option. It's a P/J rather than a straight P and the neck, while very slim, still has a slightly larger radius than a J (305mm vs. 241 mm on the J, about 2.5"). They sound good for the money and are very cheap. New they're $200 and I bought one used with a practice amp, gig bag, strap, and cable for $100 a few years back. In general they're widely available used for $100-150.
 
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#6
If you can find one, how about a Fender JP-90. They usually sell for about $300 used. MIA Fender with slim jazz bass neck, not to mention super light too. P/J pickups and funky looking pickguard. These sound better than any MIM Fenders out there.
Okay, that might be too hard to find. :)

There are also Peavey Milestone basses.
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This Peavey Zodiac might be hard to find, but I've seen them used http://www.guitarcenter.com/Peavey-...-4-String-Electric-Bass-110086091-i3774347.gc
 
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#7
Belgand said:
You might also want to look at the Squier Affinity P/J. Looking it over it seems to have a J neck.
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Sorry to say, but no, the Affinity PJ's have a Precision-sized neck. I was very excited when they were announced, until I saw the neck dimensions. (not my preference)

God's Favorite Bass said:
The older Squier Standard P/J is a Jazz neck (1.5 nut) as is the Eva Gardner P Bass, look for a used one of either.
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+1 to that!

Although they've been discontinued for a handful of years, the Squier Standard P-Bass Special can still be found for a price well within your budget. Check out Guitar Center's used database, eBay or Craigslist.
 
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#8
The Squier VM Jaguars have slim necks and several of them are P/Js, if you don't mind the body shape (they're a bit neck-heavy). Dirt cheap and plentiful.

The Eva Gardner is $300. It's a fairly new model, so it may be hard to find used. Worth trying out - to see if you really like the slim neck on a conventional Precision body and PU.

If that's you and your Fender P Bass in your avatar, you could easily get a Jazz neck for it.
 
#11
Malak the Mad said:
Sorry to say, but no, the Affinity PJ's have a Precision-sized neck. I was very excited when they were announced, until I saw the neck dimensions. (not my preference)



+1 to that!

Although they've been discontinued for a handful of years, the Squier Standard P-Bass Special can still be found for a price well within your budget. Check out Guitar Center's used database, eBay or Craigslist.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup: I won't part with mine...right?:thumbsup:
goldmember2.jpg
 
#14
Malak the Mad said:
Sorry to say, but no, the Affinity PJ's have a Precision-sized neck. I was very excited when they were announced, until I saw the neck dimensions. (not my preference)
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You're totally right. I have no idea what I was thinking there. Removed.

jessicabass said:
Love the look of the GSR200M. I like the maple.
Do you own one or have played one?
It says 41mm nut, i think that is 1 5/8 though
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Well, the current MIA Jazz neck is listed on Fender's site as being 38.1 mm at the nut, so not quite, but close; 1.61 inches vs the Jazz's 1.5 inches.

I own and older (2002), passive model and have played it for many years as my primary bass. It's very light (7.4 lbs according to my bathroom scale right now) and I used to use it with a cheap 2" guitar strap without any strain. The neck is fast and easy to play although I found that when I've played them in the shop I prefer a proper Jazz neck even more, although that might just come down to even the MIM Jazz being a nicer instrument. Frets are well-dressed on my model. The electronics are pretty crappy though and I always had trouble getting high pitched hum from mine that I wouldn't get with other instruments and that persisted with different amps at other locations. If I rolled off the tone knob or the bridge pick-up (J-style) it went away. The pots also tended to have a low range; if you tried to go too low with the volume it would just sort of turn off rather than go lower. Sustain wasn't incredible, but that's to be expected with a light instrument that doesn't have the best-fit neck. It always had a sound and playability that was acceptable, but I felt it might be a good bit better with a nicer setup except it wasn't really worth the cost.

I just replaced it this week with a G&L L2000, but even though that's a lot nicer I'm not getting rid of the Ibanez. It's clearly a cheap bass, but it plays better than I would expect for the very low price. I'm already missing how slim it was.

One thing is that even with the P pickup at the bridge it will not sound entirely like a P bass. Or, at least, mine didn't. If I were to go into the shop and play even an MIM P the tone is deeper with more of the characteristic growl. Try out a bunch of these suggestions before making a decision. They're all pretty easy to find and GC caters heavily to entry-level instruments and Fenders.
 
#19
P Bass w/ Jazz neck... I really think the late 80s Peavey stuff already mentioned will be your best option hands down in that price range. You also may be able to score a G&L SB1/SB2 in the $300 neighborhood if you do enough digging. If you find a used Tribute Series SB2, it'd likely be in your range. You could find a USA SB series for that amount as well, though it would likely have some "character."
 

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