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I found out I don't like Jazz basses
- Thread starter CRONOS
- Start date
I like blackberry jelly. I don't like grape. Oddly enough like the nihilists I always order lingenberry pancakes when I could have toast with blackberry jelly. 
I'm confused.
I'm confused.
Sorry I got made.
If you meant "mad," you might want to go and edit your previous post.
Sometimes with written language, especially in an international community like talkbass, the intended meaning of the words doesn't always shine through. Your assessment of the poster may be correct, but maybe you just didn't get what he was saying.
Back on topic, you said "dead" sounding. This really sounds like strings to me. Combine dead strings with a poor setup throw in a little smidge of unfamiliar amp, and you could decide you don't like the bass. Or maybe you really don't like jazz basses. Or maybe you're not in a jazz bass phase right now. If you play bass long enough, trust me, you'll go through a jazz bass phase. (For those of you who disagree with me, I'll counter by saying that you just haven't hit your jazz bass phase yet.)
Funny how this thread took a complete left turn. It could, and probably should, have been a discussion about jazz basses. Instead, we got another GC bashing thread.
Nope not everyone. There is no 11th commandment "Thou shall love Jazz basses".
Hate to break that to you Jazz fanatics.
Jim
I forgot. There is an exception to the jazz bass rule. Living among us are a few alien visitors from the planet G&L. Rumor has it that the planet G&L is vastly superior to our feeble planet.
I don't come from there, but I did capture one of their L2000 spaceships that crashed here.
(Man, that was a lot funnier in my head.)
They're easily recognizable by the little point protruding from the side of their head.
Interesting how food works. To me, a Philly cheese steak is the same in Philly as anywhere else, but a Chicago dog or New York-style pizza from their respective homes are far tastier.
Oh yeah, and I own a Fender Performer (Jazz bass variant), a fretless Squier Jazz with Bartolinis, and am building a Frankenjazz. Each will be a very distinct part of my sonic palette/palate.
Maybe you just haven't there in your life.
Believe me, at one point it was all about the high tech basses, especially the fruits of the 80's. Kubicki, Status, Modulus, etc etc...
I thought I hated jazz basses because I conciously didn't want to play "run of the mill" basses like everyone else. But it dawned on me after a few years that jazz basses just sound really good...and they play really well too!
So now I find a happy balance. High tech stuff is still my first love jazz basses rock too!
One day you'll understand
Sorry for the Guitar Center bashing on my part. I go there alot. Mostly to try stuff out though. I actually am glad there is one around here as they provide a one stop shop if I need something. Unfortunately, alot of the basses at the one in South Austin have terrible setups. I just like to point out though that a nicely setup bass can make alot of difference in one's initial experience.
I an not defending Jazz basses since everyone has the right to their own opinion. I like both the P and the J setups.
I an not defending Jazz basses since everyone has the right to their own opinion. I like both the P and the J setups.
I've played my P-Bass for 15 years, it's a real workhorse and stays in tune even when I leave it in the garage for a month. I played a Jag at a music store and liked the neck and the gimmiky switches. I thought I'd need a lot of contact cleaner over the years because I bet they collect dust. I'm going to try the Reggie Hamilton J with a jazz pickup at the bridge and a P type at the neck. Anybody try one of those?
Maybe you just haven't there in your life.
Believe me, at one point it was all about the high tech basses, especially the fruits of the 80's. Kubicki, Status, Modulus, etc etc...
One day you'll understand
Nope. I run a G&L JB-2 so I know what dual single coil pickups can do however ergonomically I clash with a Jazz.
The only bass more uncomfortable to me is a Ric. Ya' can't buy an add on widget to fix that.
Jim
I can speak from experience here, because i've owned and compared side by side a P bass, a Jazz and a PJ... the answer is yes, a PJ does give you the midrange of a P with much of the beefy low end of a Jazz... if I could only have 1 bass to do it all, it'd probably be a PJ... a Reggie for example
it kinda bears our what I was saying... P's are great if you have the luxury of your own space in the mix for those wonderful midrange frequencies... you usually have to be the leader of your band like Steve Harris in order to be allowed to hog the space he does with that fantastic P bass of his... try putting THAT bass sound in with say, Metallica's guitars, and something's gotta give
nothing wrong with P's - I LOVE LOVE LOVE them - when you hear a well played, grindy midrangey P with the room in the mix, it's a glorious sound - think of Scott Thunes with Zappa, or Andy Rourke with the Smiths, or Graham Maby with Joe Jackson - incredible P sound... but all those bass players were given the space to operate that most of us don't get
I love both of them pretty much equally.. so i'd never claim a J was 'better' per se, but I don't agree that it's a matter of personal preference...I can speak from experience how much more effective the Jazz has been for me, compared to the P, in terms of finding a place in the mix
and this wasn't a drop tuned teen metal band, this was a standard classic rock band with the guitarist playing a standard tuned Gibson SG through a Marshall combo with a rather traditional tone... the Jazz fitted in so much better... more low end, more poke at the top... it was an eye-opener because i'd played my Precision for about 19 years without even considering there was any other bass worth my time
and I could NOT EQ the P to sound close enough to what the Jazz was doing
You like the P due to the thickness of tone I gather and the J is hollower sounding.
By adding a preamp/eq to a jazz you can get a deeper bassier sound, but thicker? thats not always the easiest. it has to do with the pickups and pickup placement. Theres LOTS of threads on this.
Q: if the jazz is so good, why all the aftermarket mods and why all the 3rd party luthiers making their own? is it becasue the bass is so popular or is there something missing in the sound we're trying to compensate for and we dont know it or wont accept it?
Im a jazz guy myself. Cut my teeth on my dads 64. But even high end jazzes to me seem to miss a certain thickness that P , a cheapo P can have. And I cannot stand the plainess of the P. Conundrum.
By adding a preamp/eq to a jazz you can get a deeper bassier sound, but thicker? thats not always the easiest. it has to do with the pickups and pickup placement. Theres LOTS of threads on this.
Q: if the jazz is so good, why all the aftermarket mods and why all the 3rd party luthiers making their own? is it becasue the bass is so popular or is there something missing in the sound we're trying to compensate for and we dont know it or wont accept it?
Im a jazz guy myself. Cut my teeth on my dads 64. But even high end jazzes to me seem to miss a certain thickness that P , a cheapo P can have. And I cannot stand the plainess of the P. Conundrum.
That's one of my 3 issues with the P bass: The uniformity of the tone, the wideness of the neck at the nut and that it seems that the best tone you get out of a P-bass is with a pick, and I'm a strictly finger guy.
Now, I had me a few PJs in my time and those are pretty cool, but I keep going back to J or J-like setup. Something about that honk of that bridge pickup and the funk of both p'ups wide open is just FUN for me.
economics... you make mods for the most popular product in market... they don't sell so many CBR600 aftermarket items because the bike is so poor.. they sell them because they want to sell to the biggest market.. same with basses
luthiers make 'jazz on steroids' basses rather than 'hofner violin bass on steroids' basses because they want to feed their families and avoid having to wear a barrel with shoulder-straps
