Fender Jazz Just WON'T Cut Through!

[GainOFfunction]

I've found that the solution to this problem is to play a P bass instead.

Works every time. LOL!

 

[bigdaddybass12]

Did you really just type that?

Yeah! Goofy shaped? Won’t sit upright in a stand.

 

[FRoss6788]

Yeah! Goofy shaped? Won't sit upright in a stand.

Hangs just fine from the headstock. You know there are more than one kind of stand, right?

Love the Jazz bass body shape.

 

[crucislancer]

Sometimes an instrument just has a baked in EQ that doesn't do what you need it to. You can try messing with the electronics and boosting the missing frequencies, sometimes it helps, but sometimes it will just be like playing catchup. It's not the model or make necessarily, could be just that one instrument in particular.

So much truth to this. I have 3 Jazz basses, and they all sound different in some way from each other, and there have been several in the past that I sold because they didn't have the tone I wanted, even with a lot of EQ help.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

Hangs just fine from the headstock. You know there are more than one kind of stand, right?

Love the Jazz bass body shape.

Haaa! Yeah, use a headstock type stand at my gigs. Just another reason not to like them! I looked at the G&L “jazz” bass,
Has a normal body shape but I read where some G&L’s; not all, have truss rod issues.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

Hangs just fine from the headstock. You know there are more than one kind of stand, right?

Love the Jazz bass body shape.

Ok I am back. I Have to admit that I keep looking at jazz basses. I’ll wind up with another one someday. Local guy has an old squier standard jazz that I keep seeing

 

[FRoss6788]

Ok I am back. I Have to admit that I keep looking at jazz basses. I'll wind up with another one someday. Local guy has an old squier standard jazz that I keep seeing

I love em both

I played one of my P’s at last night’s gig, but that was just a mood thing. I’ve two J’s as well, one that I just wired up a series/parallel switch in, super cool mod that I highly recommend.

 

[Pacman]

Yeah! Goofy shaped? Won't sit upright in a stand.

I was referring to the part where you said you hardly ever see anyone playing j basses

 

[groove pump]

I'm at my wit's end with this Fender Jazz Standard, I cannot get an articulate tone out of it when playing with my band (classic rock trio, not overly loud). All of my other basses (a lot of other basses) all work, some active, some passive, some with rounds, some with flats. I run a mid heavy EQ and never have a problem cutting through, except for this particular bass. I've run it with both pickups, just bridge, just neck. Just neck is the best but it's still not what I want or expect. It's strung with round steels.

What else can I try before I sell it?

EDIT: I should say that the bass sounds fantastic by itself.

Also have a Jazz - parts bass with a P neck that fits my hands much better than a traditionally narrow neck on a Jazz - and a passive layout including a pair of DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pickups (humbucking J's). This bass also sounds fantastic by itself, but when I gigged it, I had to eventually learn to solo the neck pickup to give my tone some more of those audible woolly mids. Too much mid scoop to stand out at all in a band mix when both pickups are turned full up. That bass is also much too heavy at 10 lbs. for me to keep using it for shows that run the course of a full evening.

What I rather like to use now is a 2-pickup layout, either in a Jazz or something else that might have a HH pickup configuration along with a preamp to let me dial in this or that tone on the fly during a show with the band. One example of this layout is the G&L M-2000. I've enjoyed a couple of these including an Indonesian Tribute model. Terrific sounds, but I ultimately didn't get a good fit with any of their necks and I didn't keep them.

For the last year and a half, the bass that's been my #1 player has been the LTD B-1004 Deluxe strung with my favorite DR Sunbeams. I can get a Jazz tone with the pu blend control on the center detent, nudge the blend slightly toward the bridge for a more nasally-funky Duran Duran tone, nudge it slightly toward the neck pickup for a fatter, smoother tone, or solo the neck pickup to give me a sound more toward the neighborhood of a P. The no-name 3-band preamp is rather good and the pickups are Nordstrand Big Splits, which seem to be quite potent!!

This bass is about a half pound heavier than I'd prefer, but the neck has a wide and also somewhat shallow (front to back) profile that's remarkably easy on my fretting hand. I was initially leery of the LTD label - they seem to be marketed toward the louder 'n prouder rockers out there - but this has turned out to be one of the best instruments I've ever touched.

Something like the active HH style bass I'm describing might be really useful for you, but if you're bent on sticking with a Jazz, I'd recommend a look at perhaps the Cort Elrick NJS. That could literally be the last Jazz you'd need for a mighty long time. If you stick with that Jazz, I'd say grab an eq pedal to tweak up more of what you want to hear. I just missed on a Genzler re/Q at a nearby shop - the other Genzler pedals also look pretty useful.

 

[vindibona1]

I'm going to sound like a broken record but…
Add a series parallel switch and run the pups in series. In series the pups don't midscoop.
Series parallel switch is a cheap modification people having been using on J basses for years.

I think rewiring the bass with series/parallel is an EXCELLENT idea. During COVID I did that to my Jazz bass and it made a ton of difference and gave more options for tone. I must add that I had already swapped in some Aguilar Noiseless pickups that was required for the gig I was playing. The wiring is simple. If you can solder and have a soldering iron and can read a wiring scheme it's easy. I think it's now under $20 for a push/pull pot or you can configure a switch if you like.

 

[AK Bass Guy]

I think rewiring the bass with series/parallel is an EXCELLENT idea. During COVID I did that to my Jazz bass and it made a ton of difference and gave more options for tone. I must add that I had already swapped in some Aguilar Noiseless pickups that was required for the gig I was playing. The wiring is simple. If you can solder and have a soldering iron and can read a wiring scheme it's easy. I think it's now under $20 for a push/pull pot or you can configure a switch if you like.

I love the series sound on a J bass. So much so I have rewired my J bass to be neck solo or both pups in series.

For those following at home, here is a simple wiring diagram for series/parallel on a J bass or PJ.

 

[bass12]

Oh dear. 6 pages of at least half or more commenters being non-Jazz Bass players, advising to get a different bass. How illuminating. /s

First, the Jazz Bass has two pickups. Set up and modded properly, the Jazz Bass can perform as well in any mix as any other bass guitar.

No bass guitar will perform well in a mix with two Marshall stack / out of control guitars, purposely dominating a wall of sound "mix." Or, another way to say it is that the Jazz Bass isn't the problem in such a mix. The best solution to this kind of gig is don't do them.

Contrary to the Precision Bass (and I DO adore my Precision Bass), the Jazz Bass needs a certain amount of attention to detail. It doesn't require a lot, but one does have to work with the instrument.

First is Set Up. Roger Sadowsky properly covers set up aspects of the Jazz Bass here:


That video will take a bit of study, which is well worth the time. But, if you are TL;DR, the discussion about pickup height around 44:35 is well worth the effort.

Second is modification / signal chain. There are a mountain of hardware modifiers and signal chain options for the Jazz Bass. Unlike the P Bass. An off the shelf Jazz Bass plugged into a random amp will NOT give the same instant gratification as a P Bass. Jazz Bass players have long used significant signal chain adaptation.

First and foremost of my recommendations would be to get a Sadowsky Outboard SBP-1. This unit is the guts of the Sadowsky Onboard preamp, with some nice routing options for tuner etc. This "preamp" is CUT ONLY Volume and BOOST only Treble and Bass. With a stock Jazz Bass, you set the Volume all the way up (no cut), and the two band controls around 30% to 40%. That simple signal chain enhancement will get the Jazz Bass sitting in pretty much any mix, with a number of voicing options, depending on pickup balance.

On the instrument, fading the bridge pickup about 30% will get you into P-ish territory, particularly with backing off the tone control. Both pickups on full puts you into modern slap space; though the aforesaid P space also produces nice old school slap sounds. Cutting the neck pickup 30% puts you into the staccato overtone land. I tend to set my passive bass with the pickups at about 80%; leaving me both pickup boost and cut options.

String choice is another personal choice. For my purposes, DR High Beams do most of what I want. But, there are certain tunes requiring the upright gut string kind of thud. The rounds with effective palm muting technique can get that as well. Here is an excellent palm muting reference:


Making categorical statements that such and such a bass "doesn't work" either indicates a predisposition for that result or a lack of effort. Or both. Most bass guitars can be made to "work." This includes the Jazz Bass. I also gig my P Bass, which has its own charm. BTW, that Outboard Sadowsky preamp also is amazing with the P Bass.

Carry on.

Some of the absolute best bass tones I’ve heard (IMHO and all that) at concerts have come from Sadowsky Js. And the best thing I ever did for my 2012 Lull M5V was install a Sadowsky preamp. I’ve never had a complaint from FOH with that bass, just “It’s great - all I have to do is raise the fader and add a touch of compression”.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

I was referring to the part where you said you hardly ever see anyone playing j basses

Well, it’s kinda true. I see some people playing a jazz. Probably less than 1/2. Most TB polls lean toward p being more popular. But more than 2/3 jazz group bass players don’t play a passive jazz. Jazz is good for its own sound. Like a music man style bass.

 

[Bass Motifs]

I wonder if solid state amps and roundwound strings have something to do with it? Those have put jazz bass into that scooped tone niche, especially with slap.

With a tube modelled amp, flats and fingers it sounds plenty punchy to me. And I love being able to deal in some sizzle on the pick ups, or get a totally different tone with hand placement. Maybe that's the rub: versatility vs great at one thing.

 

[FRoss6788]

I wonder if solid state amps and roundwound strings have something to do with it? Those have put jazz bass into that scooped tone niche, especially with slap.

With a tube modelled amp, flats and fingers it sounds plenty punchy to me. And I love being able to deal in some sizzle on the pick ups, or get a totally different tone with hand placement. Maybe that's the rub: versatility vs great at one thing.

So solid state amps are scooped?

News to me…

 

[Bass Motifs]

Haha you know what I mean . I didn't say solid state amps or rounds were scooped. But the fashions changed from 60s/70s to that bright 80s sound . The kit and the sound preference worked together. I still think the j bass psyche/ bias is captured by that trend. And hence the inevitable "get a p bass" comments

 

[Pacman]

Well, it's kinda true. I see some people playing a jazz. Probably less than 1/2. Most TB polls lean toward p being more popular. But more than 2/3 jazz group bass players don't play a passive jazz. Jazz is good for its own sound. Like a music man style bass.

You're really confident with those numbers. Care to share how you arrived at that conclusion?

 

[Ritter667]

You're really confident with those numbers. Care to share how you arrived at that conclusion?

72.3742 % of all statistics are made up.

 

[Baker69]

I’ve had 4 Jazz basses and none have really cut through in the mix, problem solved by switching to a P Bass.

 

[Jay Corwin]

I've never heard someone say that a mid-heavy EQ on a jazz bass can't cut through. Quite the opposite IME.