Fender Jazz not cutting through the mix live

[MattFrost]

Hi guys,

Whenever I take my American Jazz to a gig it seems like I'm having difficulty to find my place in the mix, no matter what tweaking I do on the amp or pickups. The same seems to be the case for two other bassists who regularly play there on J-style basses in that venue. I 'feel' the bass lines, but don't really notice them.

When I have my P, it cuts through. Another guy's Warwick cuts through... so I figured out it's not the amp.

When I'm jamming my J along to music on the computer, plugged into Amplitube, I encounter the same problem. It kind of drowns. So I'm assuming it's not the venue.

Is there a magic setting or anything of that sort to make a J jump out a bit more? I'm sure the stock pickups on an American J should be good enough, right?

What do you guys think?

 

[SwitchGear]

Try running your j through a compressor. It will punch through

 

[Double E]

You can't EQ a Jazz like a P bass or a Warwick. J basses have naturally scooped mids, some folks are looking for that sound, slappers for instance need the mids cut to keep from being harsh, depending on the tone your after and your technique, your amp settings need to be adjusted accordingly.

You can't just expect to pull the plug from your P and plug in your J and have the same place in the mix.

 

[MattFrost]

I haven't switched basses between songs and I'm not trying to make it sound like any other bass. I just bring one bass and EQ the amp during setup. My wish is getting it to cut through properly (which is a thing I'm noticing is a problem with the other J players as well). Compressing it does seem to help, using the S-1 switch helps too, but I'm not quite where I want to be.

 

[CallMeAl]

Compressor. High pass filter. Cut bass, boost low mid. Set bridge pick up a little higher than neck (this was a big one for me, I like that warm neck sound, but not always good for the mix.)

Personally though, I just kept my j neck, put it on a P body and haven’t looked back (I know you said you have a P, my point is just I got sick of tweaking and fussing)

 

[Element Zero]

I find boosting the Mids a bit at 400 and 800 usually fixes cutting through issues for me.

 

[MattFrost]

@alanloomis1980 good point, I've been using the P lately. Maybe the J is better for specific recording situations.. But I don't want to give us tooo easily. Funny thing is that the J is quite a bit pricier.

@Element Zero I will definitely try that. Thanks!

 

[RedMoses]

I was a J guy for a long time and hated the sound of P's. One day i went to an audition, i played my couple songs and they had us sit around and watch the other players auditioning, the guy after me was using a P bass and i could not believe how much more focused and present the sound was in the mix, that got me thinking... Its been well over a decade that im a P/J player now, you have the P to cut through with a band and the J to play melodic solos if need be. J Basses always sound great when you play them on your own but in the mix, you cant beat the P or even a humbucker. The Mids are what really cut throught and J pickups have a natural mid scoop.

 

[CallMeAl]

@alanloomis1980 good point, I've been using the P lately. Maybe the J is better for specific recording situations.. But I don't want to give us tooo easily. Funny thing is that the J is quite a bit pricier.

@Element Zero I will definitely try that. Thanks!

I get it. Jazz basses are cool. I like J necks, so I’m drawn to J basses off the rack in store. But it just wasn’t working for my current situation. I can totally see getting myself another down the line. Good luck!

 

[Coolhandjjl]

P's naturally cut through better in sparse mixes as well as overly full mixes.
If your band has a sparse, or open mix, the above solutions should help.
But if your band has a full, or busy mix, you're fighting an uphill battle.

 

[bigtone23]

If you use an equal blend of the pickups, there will be mid scoop. Run asymmetrical blends and the scoop diminishes. Running just the neck pickup of a Jazz will have a cut to it, like a focused P.
As mentioned above, a little mid boost helps. I find a sweet spot somewhere around 500-600Hz and boost as needed.

 

[metron]

Hi guys,

Whenever I take my American Jazz to a gig it seems like I'm having difficulty to find my place in the mix, no matter what tweaking I do on the amp or pickups. The same seems to be the case for two other bassists who regularly play there on J-style basses in that venue. I 'feel' the bass lines, but don't really notice them.

When I have my P, it cuts through. Another guy's Warwick cuts through... so I figured out it's not the amp.

When I'm jamming my J along to music on the computer, plugged into Amplitube, I encounter the same problem. It kind of drowns. So I'm assuming it's not the venue.

Is there a magic setting or anything of that sort to make a J jump out a bit more? I'm sure the stock pickups on an American J should be good enough, right?

What do you guys think?

There is already good advice here - you need more mids, and try dialing back one of the pickups a small amount. What you are describing is the reason I ultimately moved on from J basses after considering myself a "J bass guy" for a long time.

 

[bigtone23]

Oh, and in the spirit of subtractive mixing, perhaps it's not necessarily adding mid boost, but a reducing mid cut on the amp..?

 

[FirewalZ]

I select the bass/tone i use based on the instrumentation. For example heavy guitars and/or keys & organ that may be low endy, a P bass is needed to cut. If im accompanying an acoustic, in a 3-piece, etc than a Jazz works fine and the rounder tone fills more space.

 

[Wasnex]

Hi guys,

Whenever I take my American Jazz to a gig it seems like I'm having difficulty to find my place in the mix, no matter what tweaking I do on the amp or pickups. The same seems to be the case for two other bassists who regularly play there on J-style basses in that venue. I 'feel' the bass lines, but don't really notice them.

When I have my P, it cuts through. Another guy's Warwick cuts through... so I figured out it's not the amp.

When I'm jamming my J along to music on the computer, plugged into Amplitube, I encounter the same problem. It kind of drowns. So I'm assuming it's not the venue.

Is there a magic setting or anything of that sort to make a J jump out a bit more? I'm sure the stock pickups on an American J should be good enough, right?

What do you guys think?

Why don't you just play the P?

I don't really think one is inherently better than the other. It's really about the player and what he/she wants to hear. Seems to me the J bass simply doesn't work for you, but the P bass does. Years down the road, you may find your tastes have changed and you love the J and hate the P.

For now, why force it? Enjoy your P and be happy.

 

[RattleSnack]

First thing to try - leave preamp and amp EQ flat. If that doesn't help, favour bridge pickup. You are using roundwound strings, right?
There is no reason Jazz should not be heard in any mix. It has enough high mids, that's where presence is.
Edit: I must add that having jazz with 70' pickup spacing helps also. If anything, I sometimes have problem taming my presence.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

Favor either pickup, and/or boost some low mids.

 

[Luckydog]

I was a J guy for a long time and hated the sound of P's. One day i went to an audition, i played my couple songs and they had us sit around and watch the other players auditioning, the guy after me was using a P bass and i could not believe how much more focused and present the sound was in the mix, that got me thinking... Its been well over a decade that im a P/J player now, you have the P to cut through with a band and the J to play melodic solos if need be. J Basses always sound great when you play them on your own but in the mix, you cant beat the P or even a humbucker. The Mids are what really cut throught and J pickups have a natural mid scoop.

I hate the contortions I have to do to make a jazz bass sound ok in our mix. No problems with Ps or PJs.

But this part of your post struck me as plenty weird-
“they had us sit around and watch the other players auditioning”

Really?

 

[Kipp Harrington]

It's not the most economical route, but I would look into different pickups. I noticed my Fender J sounds "tame" compared to my Squier CV P. I was playing my Squier PJ (with SD QPs) the other night and it was amazing the difference in tone and power. Just my $0.02.

 

[diegom]

Doesn't a post like this pop up every few months?
Considering the depth and breadth of recordings (live and studio) of Jazz Basses in a band setting, the Jazz Bass itself can cut through the mix quite capably, thank you very much.
Even considering that, we must accept that the Jazz Bass is a different animal. The 2 pickups and their locations promote the familiar 'scooped' sound, which is good for some things, not so with other. Lowering the volume on ONE of the pickups will change the "character" of the scoop. I hope someone better versed will chime in with the "phasing, filtering, combing, rinsing" of what I just referred to as "character". Personally, I find the Jazz more nuanced, whereas the P or PJ is a blunter, more "here I am and this is my sound" kind of bass.

Bottom line: If the sound in your head is a P, do not expect that from a Jazz, or vise versa. The other day, a friend of mine was recording at his house and I noticed his EQ had a very sharp scoop. Since I saw he was using his favorite P bass, I told him "Why don't you try the Jazz and set the EQ flat?". Indeed, that was the sound he was looking for, on that particular track.

YMMV
IMHO

Diego