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Can a P sound like a J?

SteveC

SteveC

Supporting Member
Nov 12, 2004
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#1
I know you can get a J bass to have a P tone by favoring the neck pup. My question is can you make a P sound like a J? Can you EQ that in or are you out of luck because of pickups and placement.
 
#6
NO....sorry.....and even the J won't really sound like a P with neck pickup only...you just can't get that "fat & meaty" enough sound....
 
#11
Are we talking about a stock, passive P vs a stock, passive J? Plus, there are so many good tones in a Jazz. Which J tone are you after, and how close do you need to get?

Getting a dead-on Jaco imitation, or really accurate Marcus Miller slap tones out of a passive P-bass, is pretty unlikely.

But: Doing covers, I used to get a moderately good Geddy thing going with my P-bass, with the right EQ and effects. And I could cop a great John Paul Jones tone with careful technique and a little judicious EQ. In the context of a live band, both tones were more than close enough to suit the music, and probably good enough to fool some musos in a blindfold test.

But that's only half the story: Even when the tone was pretty close, I didn't get the same inspiration that I would have gotten from actually playing a real Jazz. Trying to claim that my P-bass ever truly felt or sounded like a Jazz under my fingers, would be as silly as pretending that I could truly nail the sound and feel of a sixties-style P-bass, just by fiddling with the blend on a passive Jazz. Close, for sure, but no cigar.

Of course, a Jazz can get really, really close with series wiring and the right aftermarket pickups, but then you might as well start talking about PJ's as well, because at that point, the distinctions between the two families have started to get pretty fuzzy...
 
#12
darkstorm said:
You dont get a P sound from a J by favoring the neck pup. You only get a neck J pup sound. Never heard a J that came close to a P as far as fullness of sound and P thickness of tone.
Click to expand...

Oh no! This debate AGAIN?! Can't we just agree that athough nuances might not be there, that a J can at least get CLOSE to a P tone? I mean the difference between my '77P to my '95P was about the same difference as my Nash J (with Lollars) to my '65P.
 
#13
Doubt it .. But your best bet is to get a multitonal bass .. Perhaps a MTD where you can set it up to get both p & j sounds .. Also, Im sure its rather expensive but the Warwick PUT III Signature Bass is built with one P-Bass pickup as well as a Humbucker pickup .. So see what works for you.
 
#14
I was thinking about getting a passive p bass. Something that won't buzz or hum. Something passive. I like a P tone for lots of stuff, but I don't think it'll work for smooth jazz or the ocassional slap tune.
 

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