In Your Words...P vs. J ??

[PastorofMuppets]

Both are deadly weapons

The P is like being killed smacked in the face with the flat of a shovel.
The J is like being killed sliced by a sword

 

[matante]

Of course, although Jazz basses generally do not have P-like pickups, and the D/G side isn't in the same position. These are the main differences between the two, and IMO, standard P pickups do not sound like a Jazz neck pickup. It's got a lot more meat and presence, Js still sound thin by comparison.

The different neck sizes also make a noticeable difference in tone, the thin Jazz neck accentuates the upper mids more.

P with Jazz neck: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Normal P: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

We're not talking about standard pickups. I'm saying that if you buy a Jazz bass you can go out and by whatever pickups you want and get a fat tone if that's what you want, or boom if that's what you want. Playing a J doesn't mean you're stuck with noisy, bright, single coil pups.

 

[totallyfrozen]

...I'd like to hear from a pickup maker on whether he can make a P and a J that would sound identical in the neck position, or if there is something that one just can't do while the other one can.

Well, I'm not a pickup designer/maker but I think the answer is pretty obvious. The 2 types of pickups are PHYSICALLY different; therefore, they cannot be designed the same. Therefore, they cannot be made to sound identical. It's not magic; it's physics.

 

[bobbybass85]

To me:

P-Bass: Sits

J-Bass: Cuts

In a mix that's what I've experienced. A P-bass "sits" back and fills in the gaps. A J-bass will cut through the mix with a more pronounced tone.

 

[totallyfrozen]

We're not talking about standard pickups. I'm saying that if you buy a Jazz bass you can go out and by whatever pickups you want and get a fat tone if that's what you want, or boom if that's what you want. Playing a J doesn't mean you're stuck with noisy, bright, single coil pups.

Well, now you're digressing from the OP.

The thread doesn't ask "Can Seymour Duncan offer a variety of J pickups and P pickups so that you can flavor your bass to your own personal specs?"

The thread asks "describe what you feel are the differences and pros/cons to each".

 

[capncal]

I've got an American Standard P and a Squier J that was actually gifted to me from a friend. I love them both! They feel different enough in my hands to inspire me to play different things. Certain passages and phrases I play when I pick up the J is different from what comes into my head when playing the P.

For me, that would be the main reason to invest in a J.

 

[bass32]

When I got back to playing a little over 10 years ago I went to the jazz bass since it looked better than a plain old P bass. I owned about 5 jazzes back then all Fenders from Squier, MIM to MIA and even a 5 banger...they were great and had good punch.

But there was this bass tone I would hear on old records. There was a sound I chased in my head that the Jazz never gave me so I tried a P bass. Alone without a band soloed they sound blah... but once I got in the band it filled out the sound and bottom much more than the jazzes ever could.
Once I added flats to the P basses I was really sold...so were the jazzes to fund P basses and they are all I play today.

I've had a similar experience. I purchased a Jazz about 20 years ago, mainly because I wanted to go to a 5 string bass. I've played active Jazz 5 strings since, but missed that good ole P-bass sound. I could get close to a p-bass sound on my Jazz, but not quite there. Hard to describe, but just couldn't get that p-bass thump.
I finaly purchased a passive p-bass 5 string the other day and so far I'm lovin' it. Good solid thumpin' p-bass sound.

 

[matante]

Well, now you're digressing from the OP.

The thread doesn't ask "Can Seymour Duncan offer a variety of J pickups and P pickups so that you can flavor your bass to your own personal specs?"

The thread asks what you think the differences between Jazz and Precision basses are as far as tone comparison.

The OP wants to know the differences because he's interested in buying, and he doesn't say it would have to remain stock, so from the point of view of helping someone make a purchasing decision it wouldn't make sense to give replies based only on stock pups.

 

[Davo-London]

Jazz: great for solos and improvisation music and great tonal range. Consider Geddy, Jaco and Marcus. More in your face and look at me I'm playing a Jazz.
Precision: great to sit back and just play. No tricky knobs to deal with - you just dial in your tone and that's it. Focus on the groove baby.

Davo

 

[Fenwick]

I don't own either but I've played a lot recently in attempts to come to a decision about my next purchase.

I really want to like a Jazz. It's got a thinner neck profile, 2 pups and and v/v/t setup, right up my alley. But the reality is, I find they don;t have what I'm looking for in a sound. All the ones I've tried lacked mids. They all had a very scooped sound. I find the v/v/t is great in theory, not so great in application with all it's quirks.

On the other hand, the Precision has a comparatively clunky body and only one pickup. The body/neck was a turn off for me, but the simplicity of the electronics had it's appeal. Despite it being a little to physically cumbersome to work for me as a 'fast' bass, the sound smashed the Jazz. Thick, beefy, lots of mids and lows.

Now of course you can compromise and go with other brands and what not, but if we are talking about the classic Fender J & P, unmodded, I'd have to go with a P for it's beef, despite it's clunkiness, I'd rather work around that than have to deal with scooped mids/thin sound.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

They both have unique tones, but i vastly prefer the J neck to the P neck in every way. As for the sound, I love both equally for different things, both of them have a very solid and unique tone IMO.

 

[fish slapper]

Play J's, lust after P's. I've sold every P I've ever owned, currently own 3 J's. But currently lusting after a good ole' black and maple P. Sigh.

 

[lidel]

i had many doubts for the picks up between the P and J. to resolve the question i bought a fender precision mexico, a custom jazz and a peavey de scorpio (p+j) all the 3 basses are 4 strings

 

[Marial]

Jazz: great for solos and improvisation music and great tonal range. Consider Geddy, Jaco and Marcus. More in your face and look at me I'm playing a Jazz.
Precision: great to sit back and just play. No tricky knobs to deal with - you just dial in your tone and that's it. Focus on the groove baby.

Davo

This reminds me of a debate I overheard between a couple of guitarists about the difference between Strats and Teles. One said the Strat gives you the 'ding' and Teles give you the 'dang'.

to my mind it's all about the player, not the bass. Aston Barrett (the greatest reggae bass player of all time, imho) plays a Jazz. I don't think anyone can honestly say he doesn't have a deep, warm, tone.

The biggest difference is the ergos of the two different neck types. Sound-wise the Jazz is generally a bit sharper, but that certainly doesn't mean you can't get a stupidly aggressive tone out of a Precision, or a stupidly rich and warm tone out of Jazz. Or vice verse, or a bunch of intermediate tones on either.

If you know how to work the knobs and can apply different playing techniques, both instruments are quite versatile.

 

[ggvicviper]

P = deep woof
J = growly bark

 

[lomo]

J lets you choose between deep, burpy or mixed
P is more grindy

 

[michael_t]

J to be heard.
P to be felt.

 

[Joe Louvar]

They’re entirely two different beast (shape, weight, feel, sound, etc).
In general - the P has a fatter neck with more bass, and less pickup noise. Whereas the J has a thinner neck with more treble, and more pickup noise.

 

[Lowbrow]

I have owned Js in the past, and in my words the sound of the bridge pickup does not suit my tastes enough to make it an 'upgrade' to a P; also, my hands are pretty big so a wider neck is better suited to my left hand (and I happen to be a lefty who plays righty and perhaps that added hand wisdom figures in, too).

Biggest problem, which applies to many other basses as well, is the fact that I am flummoxed by any stringed instrument with more than one p/u choice. Call me Lowbrow.

 

[rydin4lifebass]

Thanks for all the replies. I like my P and like the deep "boom-ey" sound to it. You might have seen some of my recent posts regarding the Smashing Pupmkins, which was the reason for this post. I've learned through others here at TB that both J's and P's are used in their recordings. Sometimes I feel that my P bass is a little too "thumpy" for certain things. I don't want to give up the bottom end and I definitely don't want something that sounds thin and hollow but playing the jazz along to some of the Pumpkins stuff just seemed to cut through and have more punch to it. As I said, I do like the bottom end and I like low mids and low end but I was hoping the J bass would keep some of that while giving me a little growl along with it.