How do you perceive a Jazz/Precision/Tbird/Ray sound?

[May Cassidy]

Maybe we knit pick a touch more than our audience? Self critique can be harsh.

We absolutely do. In listening to live recordings of myself, the only tonal difference I really notice unless I'm really listening is flats vs rounds and pick vs fingers.

 

[dustinymichaels]

There are so many variables at play, and I think the setup and string type plays a big factor. I have played around with rounds and flats on all of my basses, and I've found a similarity across brands. There's clearly a difference between the Jazz and Precision, but there's a certain "Fender-y" sound and feel to both of them. The StingRay, being a Leo Fender design, has similarities, but the pickup type, pickup placement, and active EQ put it in a different ballpark. The Thunderbird in my mind has some tonal similarities to an EB-type bass, both having a "Gibson-ness".

And for what it's worth, everyone gets fooled. Often times you associate a particular player with a certain type of bass, and you don't even notice when they're using something different. The players that many of us look up to have such distinct tones that are reliant more so on technique and amp settings that the subtle differences in pickups and bass types pass us by. In the case of Geddy Lee, for example, there's still people who argue about whether certain tracks on Moving Pictures were done a Rickenbacker or a Fender.

As for telling the four described apart, it's all about the midrange character. The Jazz and Thunderbird both have the same pickup configuration and control layout, so there's that dual-pickup "scoop" happening with everything on full. The single coils of the Jazz allow for a clearer top end, but fresh roundwound strings and the right amp settings can bring that out in the T-Bird as well. In my head, if it's more "grunty", I'm tempted to think it's a Gibson. The Precision and the StingRay, being single pickup designs, have a clearer, more defined midrange. Thanks to the EQ, there's crisper highs on the StingRay that separate it from the P-Bass, and it's easier to scoop the mids there. But that tone works on the StingRay IMO, because of the pickup placement.

My personal favorite of the four is the StingRay. If I someday get my hands on an American StingRay, I might let a lot of the other basses go. But I think there's equal potential in all of them.

Buy mine!

 

[Iristone]

I've got a vintage-style Thunderbird with the alnico pickups. I think of it like a PP (or PJ with a hot bridge) bass, but its olivewood (similar to mahogany) body gives it a bit of EB-3-like roundness. The more modern Gibson ceramic pickups sound much darker, and I'm not a fan of them despite having better wood and neck profile.
A Ray is very bright, quick, and punchy to me. It fits in a modern mix like a P bass in a vintage mix. I'd like a Ray with an Alembic style cutoff/resonance control, since I rarely fiddle with the treble/bass controls.
Honestly, I'd rank Rickenbacker before Bird in the list of essential bass tones. Despite being a fan of several Gibson designs, I just far prefer my Ric for its artistic heritage (and also tone, ergonomics and versatility).

 

[May Cassidy]

Buy mine!

Oh if only I could...

 

[dustinymichaels]

You can do it! haha I've got a mint one advertised here that's begging for somebody else to rock it. I bought it on a whim and decided I just prefer a rosewood board.

 

[SteveCS]

...
I just want to start a discussion of what your perception of them is. How do you see/hear them?
...

Jazz Bass: Capable of producing a variety of useful bass tones that can work well in a range of settings
P-Bass: Capable of producing a variety of useful bass tones that can work well in a range of settings
T-bird: Never played one, but probably capable of producing a variety of useful bass tones that can work well in a range of settings
StingRay: Capable of producing a variety of useful bass tones that can work well in a range of settings

That's about all I have.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

I love listening to these comparisons as much as anyone, but they are not and never will be representative of a live situation.

In a processed video they are all decently clear and defined with each for note definition and clarity meaning - if the player plays a run or lick or whatever local term for it is, each note can be heard.

This is never, ever, nor ever has been, the situation live. (The sole exception perhaps being open air concerts) lower notes (E string) get lost when playing live turning into a boom wash, blending in with surrounding frequencies again, as you local language defines it.

I have played all these basses over decades and no-one would equate a Precision with a Thumb bass for note clarity/cutting through with note definition. Or a Ric for that matter, or even a Jazz with a P whereas the Jazz will alway have more note articulation on the E string. A defining characteristic for me.

But, please don't stop presenting them as they are a great help for people unfamilair with them all to gain an idea of their base, net sounds as for this purpose, they are equally represented.

This is also the reason why a P (and any other bass for that matter) records so well, the sound is isolated with its own channel, eq, and volume setting within the mix. It will always sound great in a recording as will any bass, but live playing is the most often exposure for many and although a P is my first choice for home practice, it is my last choice for live work because it washes into surrounding frequencies live, putting a heavier demand on amp settings and speaker configuations to hold those lower notes open to definition.

My point is that they don't represent equally in a live band situation. IMO.

Hope this is seen as the constructive comment intended.

I appreciate this comment because it defines an issue I’ve encountered many times over the years. I LOVE the recorded sound of a Precision in many online videos, but they rarely work for me on a gig. By comparison, Im usually uninspired by the tones of (most, but not all) recordings of Jazz and StingRay basses and am lukewarm to them during solo play, but I love them both on a gig. Lesson learned - you really need to get a bass into a live situation to see how it works for you.

 

[Geri O]

I won't even try to deliver an impression of these tones in words or conversation.

(leaving out the T-Bird....)

These 3 basses have distinct voices that I find useful and desirable in my playing.

The end.

 

[Vanheusen77]

P bass: dry, solid, filling, heavy, slower attack (not with pick), ringing, dirty, warm, dynamic, open.

Jazz: (both pickups on) quacky envelope at start of note, sneaky, refined, transparent, light, wide frequency range, bright, neutral, quick, slightly compressed when played hard.

T bird: I don’t own one but to me sounds like a dark jazz bass.

Stingray: Dry, solid, wide frequency range, clean, tight, quick, ringing, compressed, not that complex.

 

[Iristone]

After a few days of playing, I'm more and more appreciating my Thunderbird. The tight resonance of the lightweight (compared to Ric) olive body and snap of alnico pickups really make it feel alive with a rich midrange. The narrow neck doesn't hurt the playability, either.
I feel like the Thunderbird is designed more like a guitar. The body is more of an active resonator than any other solid-body bass. It brings out the higher string zinging harmonics like no one else, and really takes the vintage style alnico pickups to shine. (Or the modern dark ceramics to dampen if you don't like it, but why play a Thunderbird if you don't like its tone?)
I highly recommend anyone with a Gibson Bird to upgrade their pickups to a pair of alnico ones (Gibson makes one themselves now), so you get the full Bird experience and supercharge your hard-earned instrument with just a bit of extra spending.

 

[Michael Jewels]

I like Thunderbirds.

Even though I’ve only played them three times.

Mike

 

[Thumper]

After a few days of playing, I'm more and more appreciating my Thunderbird. The tight resonance of the lightweight (compared to Ric) olive body and snap of alnico pickups really make it feel alive with a rich midrange. The narrow neck doesn't hurt the playability, either.
I feel like the Thunderbird is designed more like a guitar. The body is more of an active resonator than any other solid-body bass. It brings out the higher string zinging harmonics like no one else, and really takes the vintage style alnico pickups to shine. (Or the modern dark ceramics to dampen if you don't like it, but why play a Thunderbird if you don't like its tone?)
I highly recommend anyone with a Gibson Bird to upgrade their pickups to a pair of alnico ones (Gibson makes one themselves now), so you get the full Bird experience and supercharge your hard-earned instrument with just a bit of extra spending.

Good description, I have 2 Fenderbirds, 1 Epiphone Goth, 2 Epiphone Vintage Pros, and 3 Embassies. All my other basses are wall art.

 

[dustinymichaels]

Most of us have probably tried these big 4 basses....Jazz, Precision, Thunderbird, and Stingray. I know they vary depending on specs, the brand, the room, the time of day, the color of the walls, whatever...I'm not looking for people to tell me what to expect from them or anything. I have my experiences with them that have colored my perceptions of them; I just want to start a discussion of what your perception of them is. How do you see/hear them?

Me, in my relatively limited experience, I find the Jazz bass to be both very clear (sometimes too much), and very heavy in the bass; it's very versatile and my favorite. Then the Tbird, which I find has a little less top end, more mids, and more low-end of you want it (again, sometimes too much). The Pbass I find very mid forward and is kind of falling out of favor with me at the moment...kind of feels like it has the whole "jack of all trades, master of none" thing going on. The Stingray, I find very boomy....if I could dial that out it would be great, but I never could.

I'm sure these statements are not applicable to every instrument out there; that's just been my experience with them. What's yours?

The fourth bass in this list should be a Rickenbacker, not a Thunderbird.