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Fender J neck vs P neck, which you prefer and why.

#23
Malak the Mad said:
Ever had the opportunity to try out a Classic '70s Jazz neck? Front to back, they're on the thicker side. (That, combined with the vintage-style radius has some folks compare it's feel to that of a "baseball bat".) I'd be curious how your chunky-lovin' hands would take to it. ;)

Time for a gratuitous pic or two… :snaphappy:
70sJazz01_zps10e97b2c.jpg

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Can you have a Jazz with two P pickups?
 
#24
I prefer the P bass B neck like on my highway one, similar to my ray neck. Those feel the best to me. I used to play J necks (I thought slimmer meant easier), but now it doesn't feel as good to me. Gotta have that wider chunkier feel.
 
#25
Which P neck (there have been several nut widths and profiles) and which J neck (there have been 2 nut widths the original 1-7/16" and the more recent 1-1/2" and a couple of profiles)?

Personally, in a Fender P or J neck I prefer either with the nut width of 1-7/16" with a bit of a chunky profile.

My favorite Fender neck is the "pencil" neck on the Performer bass.

My favorite neck is the Vox Hawk IV, with the Hofner Ignition Club a close second.
 
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#28
I play 95% of the time with fingers rather than pick. And when it comes to Fender-style necks, I prefer the wider 1.625 PBass type with either a 7.25 or 9.5 radius fretboard. I also prefer a slightly chunkier- but not ridiculously fat neck overall.

Everybody has their Goldilocks Zone where it's "just right." In my case I generally find a more curved fretboard with a little more width across the top and a hint more thickness front to back (with a C type profile) is just the most comfortable neck for me to play as a rule of thumb. But I do play other types of necks as well. So it's not a situation where it's got to be "this neck" or I'll have a problem playing it.

But here's the funny thing. My flat out favorite neck is the one on my Ripper. That's 34.5" scale, 1-5/8 at the nut, and what is either a 10 or 12" radius. But it has a slightly different feeling flattish C profile that feels very different (in a good way) than anything else I've played. And it's a also bit in the slim side - so go figure. It's definitely doesn't have the specs I prefer for everything else. Weird huh? Maybe the profile has more to do with it than anything for me? :cautious:
 
#30
Matt Dean said:
Over the years I've been gravitating towards wider and flatter necks. I used to play jazz type basses and now I'm more of a vintage P neck guy.
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I've been playing a new (to me) '83 Fullerton AVS '57 precision. It has a very wide and flat neck... slightly over 1.75. While I am finding it a different feel than my last B neck P, it's actually more comfortable and find it easier to be more articulate in my fingering. I also like how my fingers are slightly more spread apart and extended. I have larger than average hands and find myself thinking "why did I wait so long to try a wide, flat neck."

Anyway, I'm digging the vintage C neck profile!
 
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#33
todd0864 said:
So I still have not come to a decision on which neck I prefer. Some days I prefer my MIM P and others I prefer the MIA J. I would like to hear from people who own both or logged some hours on both and why they prefer one over the other. Do you prefer the slimmer profile and narrow nut on the J or do you prefer the chunkier and wider nut of the P. Are there some techniques with your style that work better on one neck or the other? I'm not concerned with the pickups or if you put a J neck on a P body etc. Let's focus on neck profile only. Why do you prefer one over the other.
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Either one really. I've been playing a P with a 1.75" width nut a lot lately but I have two basses with Jazz necks on them. I started on Jazz necks. The 1 5/8" P nuts are comfy for me generally but I don't own a bass with that nut width at the moment.

In general what makes a neck uncomfortable for me is the interaction between the profile and the fretboard radius. If I get a really thick neck (like U or B shape) with a flat radius (12" or higher) it's tough for me to play. I've also found rolled fretboard edges help out my comfort.
 
#37
I've been playing a jazz bass for about 40 years and definitely feel much more comfy on a 1.5" neck. I'd love the neck of my Skyline hollowbody to be a bit narrower, though it remains quite comfortable. I recently bought a P bass clone with a neck 1.5" at nut and a bit thinner than classic jazz necks. This is definitely my favorite neck
 

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