Fender mis-names bass IMO

[DigitalMan]

Sometimes the English language requires multiple adjectives to achieve a desired level of specificity.

It is a bass

It is a Jazz bass

It is a traditional Jazz bass

 

[LT131]

Fender is genius. They take four ingredients, a P body, a Jazz body, Split coils and single coils and create 87 different basses. Doesn't seem possible. Kind of like Taco Bell.

 

[gjohnson441496]

Fender is genius. They take four ingredients, a P body, a Jazz body, Split coils and single coils and create 87 different basses. Doesn't seem possible. Kind of like Taco Bell.

Brilliant!

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

My usa std p basses have usa std j bass necks. They say "jazz bass" on them. But wait.. they are p basses other than that.. what should i call them.. ? I was calling them p basses, but was i wrong for all these years???

 

[40Hz]

That's true of every instrument.

Sound comes mostly from pickup design and location and name comes from body shape.

Hmm...maybe not every instrument.

Gibson used the same body shape for the Ripper, Grabber, and G3. Same finishes as well. Very similar in appearance. But they were all very different sounding basses, which was entirely due to their electronics and pickup configurations. And each was given its own model name.

Interestingly enough (and to your point) that practice did seem to cause confusion with non-owners. As in:

Bob: Hey! My brother owns a Ripper just like yours.

Tod: Nice bass! But this is a G3. Not a Ripper.

Bib: Are you sure?

Tod: Yup! The model name is engraved on the truss rod cover. See? G3. The Ripper has two humbucking pickups and a rotary pickup selector switch. A G3 has three single coil pickups and a toggle selector.

Bob: I think his has one pickup.

Tod: Oh! Then he must have a Grabber.

Bob: Are you sure? I thought he said it was a Ripper. Do they make some with just one pickup?



​

 

[Ramonesfan59]

carrot-top?

I think in this case it would have to be carrot-bottom.

 

[anotherhomeysan]

Doesn't sound like anyone read the Wikipedia article.

But this is talkbass, who cares

 

[steamthief]

Of course a P/J isn't a Jazz Bass. It's so much better!

 

[Feral Feline]

P or J?

MUSIC mothMAN

 

[CGremlin]

Ironic when you consider that it's the the pickups that provide the bulk of the characteristic timbre and sonic identity of the Jazz Bass.

And then you have this:

Bridge and second pickups, it's a Jazz. Neck and third pickups, it's a 4003. What to do, what to do...

 

[Feral Feline]

And THIS is what happens to a Blacktop Precision when I own it! It gets a new paint job (because the original had been badly done in) and a j-width neck. I don't know what you call it, but I call it Big Orange.

View attachment 1005780

That's a gorgeous

bass.


I love BIG

basses.

 

[CGremlin]

I love BIG

basses.

Now what kind of amp would go best with that?

 

[bdplaid]

You can call the bass Steve if you want to

Steve agrees, and thanks you.

 

[bdplaid]

Small thing I guess, but because of established practice from the beginning, I cringe every time I see a Fender Jazz bass model, whether a Mustang or any other, sporting a P/J pup configuration. A Jazz bass uses single coils and I don't care if they'd only put 1 in the bass rather than 2.
A P/J, IMO, is not a jazzer. I have mostly P/J's and I do not consider them jazz basses.
If it's fine with you, I can only <shrug>.
Point? They ain't a jazz bass by tradition and typified sound.
Ymmv, but that's what I feel about it. A minor irritation because I want to feel a minor irritation about it.
Won't lose any sleep about it, but........

I think if you come right down to it, a Jazz bass is hardly a "jazz" bass. Wanna talk jazz bass, it'd better look an awful lot like an upright.

 

[Dynomuttasaurus]

An old Fender of mine had a reverse P pickup in the neck position and a regular J pickup in the bridge position. Fender called it a Jazz Special. It had a Precision-shaped body. I didn't know what to call it - reversed pickup and P-body, perhaps a PJP? And it was active. A powered, reverse P with J on a P? PRPJP? What? So I sold it.

That would be the Crest toothpaste colored Fender Power Jazz Bass Special. Right next to it is a Red Fender Precision Lyte with an even narrower neck. Both MIJ. Both with P-shaped bodies. Both from the late 80s. Both with PJ pickups and active electronics. The nomenclature department was just throwing darts at a name board.
Link Removed

 

[bdplaid]

Small thing I guess, but because of established practice from the beginning, I cringe every time I see a Fender Jazz bass model, whether a Mustang or any other, sporting a P/J pup configuration. A Jazz bass uses single coils and I don't care if they'd only put 1 in the bass rather than 2.
A P/J, IMO, is not a jazzer. I have mostly P/J's and I do not consider them jazz basses.
If it's fine with you, I can only <shrug>.
Point? They ain't a jazz bass by tradition and typified sound.
Ymmv, but that's what I feel about it. A minor irritation because I want to feel a minor irritation about it.
Won't lose any sleep about it, but........

And thus, behold a Jazz bass...

 

[Feral Feline]

Now what kind of amp would go best with that?

I don't care what my designer friends say ("orange and green should never be seen")...

But to Leo Fender, it was. Bear in mind, the bass was named for the crowd it was supposed to appeal to - jazz double bassists making the transition to electric.

Interesting that the Jazz neck is so much slimmer than a Precision neck, given that a double-bass' neck is usually quite girthful.


BTW, does a bull-fiddle fit in the back of a Kerflumpkin oh Kay?

An old Fender of mine had a reverse P pickup in the neck position and a regular J pickup in the bridge position. Fender called it a Jazz Special. It had a Precision-shaped body. I didn't know what to call it - reversed pickup and P-body, perhaps a PJP? And it was active. A powered, reverse P with J on a P? PRPJP? What? So I sold it.

Sold it?

Well, I guess that's fair Turnaround.






I'd love a Reverse P!

But all I can find is this Reverse Jazz...

And it's a true reverse, ie a LEFTY.

The Stigge only needs TWO strings... take that Jaco!



I like these reverse Strats.

If only these reverse guitars were basses...

HEY! I FINALLY FOUND A REVERSE P!

 

[lz4005]

Hmm...maybe not every instrument.

Gibson used the same body shape for the Ripper, Grabber, and G3.

Gibson basses don't count.

 

[mikecd1]

A "jazz" style (4 string) bass always meant to me a pair of single coil (sized, could be stacked coils like Sadowsky or Dimarzio does) pickups along with a neck that had a 1.5 inch width at the nut (very important) and likely a similar body style. As long as its got the neck and the pups, there are a lot of variations in "jazz style basses" that I've seen and played that have that kind of "feel" in that realm. Jazz profile necks are pretty specific too and the purer you get it just comes back to the original design I guess, but there are a lot of nice variations on that theme.

 

[DigitalMan]

I think in this case it would have to be carrot-bottom.

I was riffing on black-top, but either way works..