Fender S-1 switch

[harlon]

What your experiences with this switching system. Just a gimmick or does it really do what they say?

As just a Jazz bass - does it indeed hold it's own against other MIA Jazzes without the S-1? Does it really sound like a P when setup that way?

Just curious. I'm getting A Jazz in the near future, and I'm curious if this is an option I want or do not want! Hopefully I can give one a test drive before I decide.

Thank.

 

[BDR]

I would try it for yourself first be for making judgement. I just bought a American jazz 10 days ago and love the tone of it.

 

[bassmodder]

I have modded some fenders to do that. Gets you about half of the way there. Still has the growl but does not seem to have the "heaviness" and force of a P. If anything it seems to give you a volume boost. Cost me about 20 bucks to get all the parts from stewmac. That replaced all of the pots and the jack.

 

[Zooski]

Truthfully, I hadent used it on my MIA P for the last two years...i thought it was kind of pointless in a live setting, it seemed to cut off some real potential of the bass. Just this year though I have started using it while jaming at lower volumes where it kind of Jazzes things up. It kind of gives you a taste of that wide jazzy range the J bass can do, but it doesnt turn your bass into a jazz by any means.

 

[bass.player]

Had it on both my basses (former) Jazz and Precision but never used it (and probably never will)

 

[scary bill]

I think on a jazz thw S1 is ok, it does fatten the sound. I agree with other who stated its not exactly a P tone, but not bad either. The S1 on Ps don't sound sound good tome, though.

I say go spend a ittle time with one if you can.

 

[MobileHolmes]

I have yet to play a Fender Jazz with the S1 that did much for me, but I dont' think it is the switch per se (as it should essentially be electrically invisible in its standard mode). It seems like something else changed around the time they introduced the switch. FWIW, I've got series/parallell switching on a couple of guitars, and it does have a pretty profound impact on the tone. Unfortunately, on the Js I've tried, it is just two tones I don't dig

 

[bass_fish]

I wouldn't use it on a P... but I love it on my jazz!

 

[BassBob185]

I like the S1 on my Jazz. I can replicate pretty closely a P sound with it using my GK amp. Also gives a slight decibel boost. Combined with the already tone varieties, you can get many different sounds. I use it about 40% of the time.

 

[Mr Venus]

I have a new American Series Jazz and generally I think it's absolutely terrific. The S1 switch thickens the sound without really mimicking a Precision, but it's still a useful option.

 

[Nedmundo]

I have Jazz and Precision basses with the S-1. As others have said, it's useful on the Jazz to get a fatter, heavier tone with some "thump" from the enhanced low mids. But doesn't duplicate a Precision -- the different pickup placement and configuration preclude that. It doesn't have that split-coil "grind," for example. In some situations it will sound close though.

On the Precision, I didn't use the S-1 because I had no desire to thin the tone on my P. But it could be good for recording some tracks or some mellow live situations, and a parallel option would be great on a fretless Precision to enhance the "mwah" factor.

After replacing the pickups on both basses, the S-1 switches are useless, and I'll admit I don't miss them. If, however, I could only have one bass, a Jazz with a series/parallel switch like the S-1 would be near the top of the list.

 

[MtManiac]

After replacing the pickups on both basses, the S-1 switches are useless, and I'll admit I don't miss them. If, however, I could only have one bass, a Jazz with a series/parallel switch like the S-1 would be near the top of the list.

Do you mean that you cannot replace the pickups if you have the S-1 switch? I have a P on order and was planning to install a set of Vintage '62 Fenders that I have in another bass - I won't be able to do this?

 

[Jeff K]

Do you mean that you cannot replace the pickups if you have the S-1 switch? I have a P on order and was planning to install a set of Vintage '62 Fenders that I have in another bass - I won't be able to do this?

I have an American Jazz w/the S-1. I replaced the pups on it, not problem.

 

[MtManiac]

After replacing the pickups on both basses, the S-1 switches are useless, and I'll admit I don't miss them. If, however, I could only have one bass, a Jazz with a series/parallel switch like the S-1 would be near the top of the list.

Do you mean that the S-1 is useless in that it adds nothing with your new pickups, or that you can't use it with the new pickups?

 

[YCBass]

I have a J and rarely use the S1... But when I do it's pretty cool. It's just nice to have yet another tone variation to a chameleon of a bass. And same as the previous posts, I don't dig it on a P.

 

[3dbdown]

Nothing will make a Jazz sound like a P. Get a P, and have them both !

 

[Medford Bassman]

I own an American Jazz with the S-1. I agree it doesn't sound exactly like a P-bass but it does fatten up the tone nicely and add a few decibels as well.
I don't use it often but I do when I play classic rock or 60's music that has a heavier bass tone.

Just fun to have yet another tone coming from the Jazz

 

[CapnSev]

I actually like it on the P bass only. It gives it a thinner sound that makes the P much more pleasant for slap.

 

[Nedmundo]

Do you mean that the S-1 is useless in that it adds nothing with your new pickups, or that you can't use it with the new pickups?

One of each. I have Lindy Fralin pickups in both. The Fralin P-bass pickup has only two conductor wiring, which means the S-1 switch no longer works. The leads are attached to the "series" connections on the volume pot. Some P-bass pickups, like the DiMarzio Model P, have four conductors for series and parallel wiring options, and thus take advantage of the S-1. If you want to change the pickup in an S-1 equipped Precision and use the S-1, you need to find out whether the new pickup has four conductor wiring. Someone on TB had a Nordstrand NP4 custom made this way, for this exact purpose. I probably could have asked Lindy Fralin to do this, but the possiblity didn't occur to me.

My Jazz has Lindy's noiseless Split Jazz pickups. I think the S-1 still functions in theory, because when I depress the button the neck pickup knob is the only one that works. But I can't notice a change in tone as I did with the stock pickups, so it's effectively useless. I have no idea why. But noiseless Fralin tone is so much better than the stock setup that I don't care!

Sorry if I confused anyone. I should have clarified this before.

 

[Nedmundo]

I just messed around with my Jazz for awhile, and I'll amend my previous post about the S-1's functionality with the noiseless Fralins. It does alter the tone, but not as dramatically as it did with the stock pickups, and with a different effect. Compared to both pickups on full, the S-1 adds more grit or "grind" to the sound, and doesn't reduce the treble as it did with stock pickups. It "opens" the sound a bit for growl. The volume doesn't change much, and it doesn't produce the same considerable bump in the low mids as it did with the stock pickups.

In short, it produces a sound very similar to rolling off the bridge pickup 25%-33% (from what I could tell at home practice volume). Since that's how I play almost all the time, it's no wonder I didn't think it did much to the tone. But I can certainly hear the effect when both pickups are dimed. And it might be useful to have one volume knob sometimes.