I Like J Basses Better Than P Basses

[2cooltoolz]

I like to dance!

 

[DrBnz]

I understand what you're saying, but it doesn't really make a lot of sense. Do you only have the two? I have more than a few and if I were to categorize them A to Z. The J basses don't all come in at the top. Well, true.... the USA Geddy does... but the rest of them come in at varying levels. My Ultra P is #2. My Vintage II J is #5... Vintage II P is #11. Now I do like a J bass, but they aren't the beat all. Well..... that USA Geddy is.

 

[Bass-ball]

There, I said it

 

[RVRSCO]

Me too.

 

[HMZ]

I like turtles

 

[Pings Bass]

I like turtles

 

[Dave Leighton]

I like basses.

 

[Thebiggestjerk]

I like turtles

Turtle soup

 

[rafammbass]

J >>>>>> P

 

[FatOwlBass]

I like basses other than J or P basses!

 

[calypsocoral302]

There, I said it

Well, folks, it appears we need to haul another one off to the reeducation facilities.

We need to prescribe additional hours to educate this one on the perfection of Tort, flatwounds, and felt mutes.

May the glory of the Precision bass be revealed unto this wayward soul.

 

[Hand slap]

There, I said it

I like Stingrays better than the P and the J.

 

[Bobbadfinger]

Probably my motivation to start on bass was JPJ, especially Led Zep I; in my mind, How Many More Times is just like a bass should sound (at least at that time).
Fast foward, after some basses bought (and no JB) I asked a friend to borrow me yours (1962 MIJ reissue).
Didn't cared about its heavy weight, offset body (I love strats but never could stand jazzmasters/jaguars) or, like Carol Kaye would say, "lack of balls". It must be a lemon, so I thought.

So another friend lent me his 63. Same impressions except for the weight.
But since I'm open minded, I'm still waiting for my third shot; then I can get back here and type "I'm just not a Jazz Bass guy; there, i said it ! "

 

[slagheap]

Well, they look cooler, the necks are generally a little quicker. And without looking, they sound the same. Unless you’re dimed on the bridge and playing right over the metal I have never met a bassist who can tell a P from a J on a commercial recording. I know I can’t.
So if they fit your hand better it’s a better bass for you. Well done.

I can tell most of the time. Some recordings, particularly older ones, scream one or the other. There's no mistaking Joe Osborne's J for Carol Kaye's P, for instance. But yeah, I agree there are many instances where it's impossible to tell.

 

[RichardW]

I'll play my J for six months and then pick up my P and think "wow! this is amazing!"

Then I'll play my P for six months and pick up my J and think "wow! this is amazing!"

It works for me.

 

[Tim Skaggs]

So did I for a long time, but I’m starting toward P-Bass tone these days. I still like the Jbass looks best.

 

[Acoop]

Not saying you're wrong but I don't remember people not wanting P basses. Ten years ago you say? Was it around 1:00 in the afternoon? Maybe I was taking a nap and never realized it had occurred.

Hard to believe but, having been playing professionally for 50-years, it was P-bass till 76 when Jaco exploded on the scene then it was mostly Jazz bass, except for country and old, old blues. ... Plus in the 70's was the rise of all different kinds of different instruments and few of those designed in the 70's and 80's were two pickups after the J-bass. ... The P-bass restarted it's rise, just like flatwounds in the last 10-years. ... Trends, they're just trends.

 

[Killing Floor]

I can tell most of the time. Some recordings, particularly older ones, scream one or the other. There's no mistaking Joe Osborne's J for Carol Kaye's P, for instance. But yeah, I agree there are many instances where it's impossible to tell.

Which is why I was clear to say “without looking”. I know Carol Kaye played a Precision exclusively based exclusively on TalkBass threads about P basses.

Joe Osborn pretty much only used Jazz Bass with the Wrecking Crew.

Point is, I can look at a picture and basically tell what bass it is, P, J or other. But anyone who’s dead certain they can tell what bass is used or what guitar is used, I’d take the “under”.

Even Mick Ronson’s famous Les Paul tone is instantly recognizable.

Back to bassics (see what I did there?) the bedrock of Muscle Shoals was Hood’s Fenders and Occasional Gibson. Gibson still sells Thunderbirds like this.

Just being honest, I couldn’t imagine The Jam without Paul Weller’s jangly Rickenbackers. I don’t think they’d be the same mod legends with an SG.

Some guys like Stevie Ray just need a Strat.

I’m pretty confident anyone who says they can tell on a recording has either looked it up or asked the artist.

 

[Clark W]

I thought my PJ would solve my dilemma as to whether I pick up the P bass or the J - How wrong was I - it just added a third dimension to the problem of selecting one over the other!!

Yes a PJ is a different beast than a P or a J which is why I own a P, a J, and a PJ.

I love running the bridge pup on the PJ wide open and the neck pup about 3/4. And then sometimes I'll do the opposite. It depends on how burpy I want it.

Well you cant get that kind of tone out of a P. The J will come closer, but its still not the same. And the same can be said about getting a P or J tone out of a PJ. You can get close, but its still different.

And I have Aguilar's noise cancelling pj pup set in my PJ. The jazz pup is actually split like a P pup. Its just all stuck inside one housing.

All three styles are different, and all three are worth owning and playing IMO of course.

The only thing that surprises me about a PJ, is why did Fender let Ibanez beat them to the punch?

Ibanez put out the first commercially available PJ a decade before Fender did.

 

[Killing Floor]

I like basses.

Me too!