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Fender P Bass vs Jazz (neck pickup)

#61
fhm555 said:
Which is why you drop in a set of Dimarzio Model J or Ultra J humbuckers. They are a side by side split design rather than a stacked design like so many other J bass humbuckers. Both Dimarzios have different sounds so if you need to be a god of thunder it’s the Model J you want, if you want a hot wound single coil sound, the Ultra Js are your huckleberry. :D
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That’s totally true. I have a “vintage” Jazz with Dimarzio model J’s and stacked pots, and it can go from “polite” to thunderous or growly. My other Jazz has Fender SCN’s that are stacked, and a bit more “diplomat” on its tone, but thanks to a Lusithand 800TS pre can algo go anywhere you want
 
#63
I caught an act at Montreaux Jazz Festival, a blues band full of young guys. Bassist was playing a Moloon J Classic, but with my eyes closed I certainly would have guessed P with flats. Talked to him afterward about his tone -- he was running rounds, both pickups on full, but with tone rolled almost all the way off.

Took me by surprise.
 
#64
fhm555 said:
Which is why you drop in a set of Dimarzio Model J or Ultra J humbuckers. They are a side by side split design rather than a stacked design like so many other J bass humbuckers. Both Dimarzios have different sounds so if you need to be a god of thunder it’s the Model J you want, if you want a hot wound single coil sound, the Ultra Js are your huckleberry. :D
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I agree with the above. I have several Js and Ps. Neck pickup of the Js do not compete with the Ps. Except for one of my Jazz that has Seymour Duncan quarter pounder single coils and it stresses out the speakers in all of my cabinets and holds it own against all of my Ps including a '51 P bass. A little compression with the right settings added it its punch can be felt in your chest. In my opinion of course.
 
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#66
Stewie said:
The tone is immaterial. The fact that the P-bass will sit in a stand without a fight is way more importanter.
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Dust2Dust said:
:laugh: Of COURSE the one that suits me best is the one that I have to fist-a-fight with when putting it back on it's stand :roflmao:
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Alexander said:
What kind of stands are you folks using? :smug:
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If only someone would come out with a stand that holds any bass, even a Thunderbird, I'd probably buy one.
 
#67
I generally prefer Precisions to soloed neck pickup Jazz basses, but I have had moments when recording where I can't really tell if I used my Precision or my Jazz. That makes sense to me given that they're both Leo Fender designed and have pretty similar passive circuitry. In a live situation it seems totally different, though. The P Bass seems more equipped to blend in than the J for the way I play, although sometimes that "mean" aspect of a J is perfect for particular grooves. But if I'm being totally honest, I usually prefer to use a StingRay live ;)
 
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#71
petermwright said:
Ahh, and here was me thinking it was going to be one of the big hits :)

I’m not certain but I think Sting used his fretless P with flats a lot around that time. I don’t know if that’s the case on that particular song.
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Nah man, deeper tracks are what’s up.
We base our cover on the live Tokyo version.. either way, I’ve heard that J just neck sound closer to those non split single coil Ps. And from experience If I bring my J to the gig and If we play stuff that needs more P “honk” I roll off on a the Bridge pup and it gets the job done. Bar audiences are not gonna really notice or probably care.
Having 4 P basses I can certainly notice and tell the difference. But getting to bring one “quiver killer” bass to a gig. J’s are awesome, so versatile, so playable.
 
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#72
Jtown690 said:
Nah man, deeper tracks are what’s up.
We base our cover on the live Tokyo version.. either way, I’ve heard that J just neck sound closer to those non split single coil Ps. And from experience If I bring my J to the gig and If we play stuff that needs more P “honk” I roll off on a the Bridge pup and it gets the job done. Bar audiences are not gonna really notice or probably care.
Having 4 P basses I can certainly notice and tell the difference. But getting to bring one “quiver killer” bass to a gig. J’s are awesome, so versatile, so playable.
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Yeah I agree. When I’m using my Jazz for a set, I solo the neck pickup for songs that were a P originally - Message In A Bottle, Don’t Stand So Close To Me etc.

For the tribute gigs I use whichever bass is appropriate for the costume (which in turn depends on the era we’re theming the set on) - J, split-coil fretless P, single coil P, P/J. The J neck is a better match for the split-coil P than the single-coil P is, I’d say.

For non-Sting/Police gigs I choose the Jazz every day of the week.
 
#73
petermwright said:
Yeah I agree. When I’m using my Jazz for a set, I solo the neck pickup for songs that were a P originally - Message In A Bottle, Don’t Stand So Close To Me etc.

For the tribute gigs I use whichever bass is appropriate for the costume (which in turn depends on the era we’re theming the set on) - J, split-coil fretless P, single coil P, P/J. The J neck is a better match for the split-coil P than the single-coil P is, I’d say.

For non-Sting/Police gigs I choose the Jazz every day of the week.
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Word
Man, you’ve got all the basses covered!

Bro, I’m seeing sting live next month.
 
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