Deep Thoughts on Jazz Basses

[REV]

Personally I embrace the transparency of my Jazz bass. (The Geddy is the best one Fender ever made IMHO). My P bass has a Jazz bass neck so I can get the best of both worlds.

 

[mikewalker]

I agree the 'both-pickups-on---out-of-phase' thing is pretty cool. I like it even more on a Rickenbacker with flats

 

[Kael]

snip...

I look at a P Bass as a simple, one trick pony because it is, and it does that one trick wonderfully. And I look at a Jazz as more of a 3 trick pony... neck p/u solo’ed is the ”P Bass impersonation”. It’s cool. I’d rather have a P Bass, but it’ll do. Both p/us is THE jazz bass tone. Period. (insert obligatory “your mileage may vary” here, as not to offend someone who feels differently about their Jazz Bass tone). And then there’s the solo bridge p/u “Jaco zipper”. All the different volume knob combos in-between are basically irrelevant in the mix of the band, to me anyway. It’s those 3 that pop out as the clear “tricks” that a Jazz Bass does... And for me, the middle “trick” is the only one that I really care to use. I love that trick.

Actually a P bass is way more touch sensitive and gets more variation in tone doe to where you pluck it and how much you dig in than any J will. Sure it doesn't have alternate pickup settings but as you mentioned most people pick a setting and leave it there with only tone knob adjustments. I am not a fan of changing pickup blends from song to song (or riding active onboard EQ's either). It makes the bass sit different in the mix and usually sounds like poo out front. The sound guy EQ's the bass to sit in the mix and then the yahoo on stage keeps radically altering the signal. IME 99% of the time the result of this is not beneficial. In that light, a P bass offers more options than a J since it is more touch responsive without changing the tone in a way that interferes with the FOH mix.

The only J I own any longer is my fretless. I love to solo the bridge when I am playing solo. As soon as a band kicks in both pickups are on full and the pickups are set to series mode. Series mode is a cheap reversible mod and every J ought to have it done IMO.

 

[stringtapper]

I recently picked up a used EBMM Caprice and for me it's the perfect P/J. It gets all four of the P and Jazz tones the OP described but then also somehow has a bit of that Stingray sound at certain settings.

Also, on the Caprice I find I can get a lot more variety in terms of dialing the two pickups in at different levels. On pretty much every passive Jazz I've ever played or owned I've never found anything less than 10 to be an effective setting on either pickups.

 

[The Bass Clef]

Actually a P bass is way more touch sensitive and gets more variation in tone doe to where you pluck it and how much you dig in than any J will....

...In that light, a P bass offers more options than a J since it is more touch responsive without changing the tone in a way that interferes with the FOH mix.

I really can’t agree with that. My Jazzes are every bit as responsive to touch and dynamic as my Ps are. To say a P is way more sensitive to tone and to where you pluck than a Jazz is, is not my experience at all. To say a bass with 1 pickup offers more options than a bass with 2 pickups just doesn’t compute in my brain. Syntax error.

 

[Flatwound]

If a P-Bass is a one trick pony, it’s a hell of a trick.

My only Jazz bass currently is an old SX with the Fender-style headstock. It’s been wearing a set of Chromes for as long as I can remember, probably 5-10 years. I also put a set of Duncan QP’s in it long ago. I really like the sound with both volumes up, and the tone down. I’m not going to say that it “cuts thru”, but I can hear it in a band situation. Maybe it kind of bludgeons its way thru. In any case, I used to have an American Standard Jazz and I liked similar settings on it.

 

[Pet Sounds]

I've been a P-Bass player for decades, usually with flatwounds. But both of my bands have started playing tunes that require that J-Bass snap, so I'm recent months I've been using a Nash J-63 with rounds, and I'm quite happy with the results. I favor the neck pickup about 100-75%, and roll off the tone a bit, adjusting slightly as needed for a given song.

 

[lokikallas]

I love the sound of a wide open Jazz bass. P bass is cool, but not as cool.

 

[TheLowDown33]

Am I the only one who uses a 3/4 way selector switch for their jazzes? I hate fiddling with balances live. I much rather have 3 immediately usable and different tones than have to muck around with balancing volumes while playing.

 

[Kael]

I really can’t agree with that. My Jazzes are every bit as responsive to touch and dynamic as my Ps are. To say a P is way more sensitive to tone and to where you pluck than a Jazz is, is not my experience at all. To say a bass with 1 pickup offers more options than a bass with 2 pickups just doesn’t compute in my brain. Syntax error.

Cool beans. I mean, P's do offer more touch sensitivity, but if you haven't found it, ok.

 

[The Bass Clef]

Cool beans. I mean, P's do offer more touch sensitivity, but if you haven't found it, ok.

Jazzes and Ps both have pickups that are made out of magnets stuck into bobbins with wire wrapped around them. It’s a simple design for both basses with nothing fundamentally different about them except for the shapes of the pickups. I’d really like to know how you came to the conclusion that a P offers more touch sensitivity than a Jazz? Of course a P has a different tone (which I equally like) than a Jazz, but if I play either bass lightly or harder, the resulting sound responds to my touch. Exactly how is a P different to you in that regard?

 

[mikeswals]

I love Jazzes. I can do anything I want with one from being bassy to being grindy with modern top-end sheen.

I've had many P basses and still do, but they're just too boring for me, always leave me wishing I'd brought something else to play.

 

[7615]

I pretty much always run both pickups on full and I use the tone knob to get the right amount of clarity, or definition, or whatever you call it for the line I’m playing... usually tone is about 1/2 way up for fingers or pick, and about 3/4 to full for slappy stuff. If I want the Jaco finger punch, I’ll pluck over the bridge p/u and it gets me in that world. I don’t solo the bridge p/u like Jaco though, the full blast “zipper” just isn’t my thing. If it’s yours, please by all means, zip away. I’d say 95% of my playing is over the neck p/u (and both p/us volumes on full). That’s just THE sound of a Jazz bass for me, and what I feel is the best sound I pull out of a Jazz for the majority of normal everyday playing.

I look at a P Bass as a simple, one trick pony because it is, and it does that one trick wonderfully. And I look at a Jazz as more of a 3 trick pony... neck p/u solo’ed is the ”P Bass impersonation”. It’s cool. I’d rather have a P Bass, but it’ll do. Both p/us is THE jazz bass tone. Period. (insert obligatory “your mileage may vary” here, as not to offend someone who feels differently about their Jazz Bass tone). And then there’s the solo bridge p/u “Jaco zipper”. All the different volume knob combos in-between are basically irrelevant in the mix of the band, to me anyway. It’s those 3 that pop out as the clear “tricks” that a Jazz Bass does... And for me, the middle “trick” is the only one that I really care to use. I love that trick.

Indeed a P is a one trick pony - but that trick is better than any and all the tricks the J can do.

 

[The Bass Clef]

Indeed a P is a one trick pony - but that trick is better than any and all the tricks the J can do.

I don't agree that it's "better", but what works for you is all that matters. I actually prefer to record with Ps most of the time, but usually prefer playing Jazzes live.

 

[Evanforbass]

it may have been said, but I think a solo'd J neck pup is fairly bland compared to a trad split P pup.

I also resent the reductionism towards the P. It's shockingly versatile for its simple design. It is not the hallmark bass of classic soul AND classic punk rock? Even with one bass and the same set of strings, you can get to both in the same song.

 

[57pbass]

After all my years of playing I always bring a passive P Bass and an active J Bass to my shows.
95% of the time I play my Precision Bass.
I recently acquired an active P Bass and this will become my primary bass.

 

[The Bass Clef]

it may have been said, but I think a solo'd J neck pup is fairly bland compared to a trad split P pup.

I also resent the reductionism towards the P. It's shockingly versatile for its simple design. It is not the hallmark bass of classic soul AND classic punk rock? Even with one bass and the same set of strings, you can get to both in the same song.

I never attempted to reduce what a P can do. It is what it is. I love P basses and have for decades. And I fully realize their importance in the history of music. But compared to all the bass offering nowdays with tons of pickups and switches to choose from, 1 pickup with a single volume and tone is very minimalistic. And there’s nothing wrong with that at all.

 

[Evanforbass]

I never attempted to reduce what a P can do. It is what it is. I love P basses and have for decades. And I fully realize their importance in the history of music. But compared to all the bass offering nowdays with tons of pickups and switches to choose from, 1 pickup with a single volume and tone is very minimalistic. And there’s nothing wrong with that at all.

I don't think you're hating on the P, i think i mainly am responding to the "one trick pony" designation. I agree with you it is very simple in design, but even so, surprisingly, it does have multiple tricks up its sleeve, depending on the player, the technique, etc. I agree with your original post that "the Jazz sound" (both pups engaged) is a classic, important, and usually great sound. Personally, I find the neck pup solo'd to be unmemorable, and the bridge solo'd to be simply unpleasant/undesirable. Can you tell I play a P yet?
(actually, my go-to the last few weeks has been my Jaguar bass, which has a Novak single-coil 50s style P pup in the neck position, and a jazz bridge pup in the bridge. I've been running neck at 100% and bridge at 70ish% and love it)
cheers mate

 

[1bassplayinfool]

A regular passive Jazz with both pickups full on is a beautiful thing. When you roll back the volume knob on either pickup the volume and tone will be a tad different.
I play a P bass most of the time and now have an active Jazz with a Sadowsky pre-amp. Tone options are incredible on this one.

 

[LoTone]