Here's another 'What-should-I-do' thread.

J bass not cutting it? I'd look at amp/cabs first. What are you using now?

 

Er, yeah, I agree, I'd say try a better amp first. Buy as much power as you can afford, the extra headroom is always useable and will greatly add to a clear sound....

LS

 

get new pickups for your fender.

 

1. Wait for the amp to come in and see if that improves your situation.

2. Try a booster first

3. Try dropping some hotter pups in. If this doesn't work you can always switch back to the stock ones and sell the replacements for your money back.

 

+1

Try DiMarzio Model J and your bass probably will cut through a little better. They are som loud pickups.....

 

id say just spend some more time with your amp, namely your EQ. maybe you need graphic EQ with more bands on it.

 

Try rolling the volume of the neck pickup off slightly. Look at some preamps, look at your mids, play those songs with a pick, or maybe try running a dual channel system w/ some overdrive or distortion. There are lots of cheaper options to get yourself heard in the mix than buying a new bass. Tim Commerford plays Jazz basses exclusively, and there's never any problem hearing him.

 

i love the laklands, so i chose that..however

if your jazz bass isn't cutting through it may be due to your EQing or your amp/cab

i am not a huge fan of Jazz basses, but cutting through isn't usually the problem.

IME

 

If you need a more aggressive tone, you could try some stainless steel strings as well; DR lo-riders are favored really well around here, as are D'addario pro-steels, which are about as bright as you can get, and a bit cheaper.

 

A few thoughts:

IMHO, a p-bass sits in the mix (and sits really well) rather then cuts through the mix, so even though I'm a p-bass guy, if you want to cut, I would not get the Tokai.

Dimarzio J's are great pups. I have a set in my jazz and they definately punch through the mix. If however, it's high end that you want, the Dimarzio Ultrajazz pups are probably a better choice.

It sounds like you would benefit from an active bass. I don't know anything about the sandberg, so it's between the lakland and the Ibanez. I really like having more than one bass, especially if my backup is a passive bass. That said, it sounds like you're fine with one bass, and the Lakland is a great instrument.

Thus, I would say Lakland 55-02. It will feel alot different than your Jazz, so before you sell the jazz and get the Lakie, make sure you try one out. Switching to a new neck profile, 5 string, and pickup arangement sight unseen is not a good idea.

 

+1000. Dimarzio Js ooze tone, character, and edge. Will make a $50 plank of any kind of wood sound good.

 

i dont know what CIJ means, but if its not american, you should certainly get new pickups. mexican and japanese fenders come stock with pretty bad pickups. i just replaced the pups in my MIM jazz and the difference is night/day.

 

Agreed, if you look at Dimarzios website, the tone spectrum on the Ultras is very much the same, but with alot more high end, and you can always roll that off if you don't need as much.

 

I had the same issue for my classic rock gigs using jazz basses - there just ok. I've tried fender CS jazz basses, sadowsky, ken smith, musicman, etc - basically the most expensive versions of these insturments.

Last year I moved to an 85 rickenbacker 4003 I bought. Rick for classic rock is the bomb. I've never had so many positive comments on the bass tone. I play it through ampeg and markbass rigs. I can get a deep mean tone or a sole tone. Even slap tones have this cool tone.

 

Not all Fender Jazz basses are created equal. I can easily believe it might be the bass. My thoughts:

1) My favorite tones are from passive basses when I'm playing alone. In a rock band setting, active basses work better for me. I use a Sadowsky outboard preamp with my Jazz bass to get me there.

2) The 44-02 that I had sat in the mix more like the P-bass stereotype rather than cut through like the Jazz stereotype. Based on what you said, I'd rule out the Tokai and the Lakland. Can't say I've ever seen a Sandberg in the flesh.

3) Even though it might be the bass, don't rule the amp out. Be patient and see what you think once you get your Aguilar. One of my favorite gigging amps is an SWR Super Redhead. It helps just about any bass cut through the mix. I don't like to use it when I practice by myself, though - it tends to be too bright and harsh by itself.

4) It sounds like you really want a new bass. Nothing wrong with that, but keep the Jazz. Check out the ATK, and consider it in a 5 string, depending on the type of rock you're playing. I don't own one, but I can't imagine it being to much different from my Stingray in a band setting.

 

Keep the jazz. Wait for your new amp. See if the problem consists.

Then save some cash for a Sandberg! =P