Hello fellow bassists. can you jazz bass players let me know your control settings for funk and loud rock band applications when you are playing live? I like both pickups on full with the tone half way up for a lot of stuff. How about you?
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Jazz bass setting for loud rock/band
- Thread starter growler571
- Start date
I see this never got any love!
I like to boost the neck pup to 80% or so, give it maybe 10% bridge, and load up on the tone. Usually 100%.
I mostly play jazz, but when I rock out or get fonky, this is my tonal layout.
I always run my passive Jazz Bass pickups in series with a push/pull pot. I have to pull the pot out to run it normal; I never do.
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For deep thump, neck pup all the way on; bridge pup all the way off; tone knob with treble dialed almost off. Clean boost for those rare excursions past the 10th fret. 
Do not run both pups 100%. It really kills the instrument and you get a very reduced sound.
For more aggressive rock songs use - Neck 100%, Bridge 80%, tone 100%.
Also, you don't say what strings you are using, but that will also make a difference. DR highbeams work well for me.
For more aggressive rock songs use - Neck 100%, Bridge 80%, tone 100%.
Also, you don't say what strings you are using, but that will also make a difference. DR highbeams work well for me.
@DwaynieAD's jazz tone always cut like a knife in our metal band. I believe he ran both pups 100% and backed the tone off a bit. GK grind was key too.
both pups on full, tone 50%, DR highbeams, into a GK 1001RBii. absolutely destroyed for live applications.
in the studio tone was up to about 80% everything else the same
if that was a "reduced sound" then an aggressive tone on that thing would have caused earthquakes.
Neck backed off just a little bit, bridge 100%, tone 100%. Into a GK 1001RBII/NEO 212.
If you're going for the classic 'both pickups equal volume' tone, reducing both to about 60-70% can really fatten it up. Reduces brightness, increases low mids.
Neck pickup on full, bridge about 70% so it's in the "growly" zone, tone dialed down to taste. I use noiseless pickups, so I get no hum in this setting. With pure singles, both pickups on full if noise is an issue, and tone dialed down as needed. The series wiring approach works extremely well too.
What do you mean? Are you talking about actual damage or just a bad sound?
Bad sound, lower volume. I only recently found this out on TB. I have always favored Ps, and thought something was missing from the J. I had been running everything wide open, like I do on Ps which I've been playing since 67. It really diminishes the sound for a J. When I tried what I found here, I was amazed at the difference. As much as it pains me to say it, I am liking the J sound I am getting better. And, first time I went to rehearsal with my J and new settings everyone made comments about how good it sounds.
As far as I know, the only way to damage the instrument is to slap a drummer with it.
He is probably just talking about how when you just slightly lower either volume on a Jazz Bass, the whole sound changes. Some like both at 100%, but I agree that it sounds best when you lower the bridge pickup just a little. I think you even get a slight bump in volume. If I were ever going to run my Jazz parallel, I'd keep the bridge pickup at about 90%. Wiring your pickups in series is even better for me. Way better!
Yes, that is exactly what I was trying to say. Don't know why that is, but backing off either volume opens the instrument up.
Different pickups(x), height of pickups(y), string action(z), will require different settings for different users or x+y+z=vvt
On a more serious note I used to change settings for different songs depending what was being play so what was mentioned above that the neck pu gives you more thump while the bridge pu gives you more growl.
On a more serious note I used to change settings for different songs depending what was being play so what was mentioned above that the neck pu gives you more thump while the bridge pu gives you more growl.
DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
Both pickups on full? No thanks. I do not want a mid-scoop. I either favour one pickup or the other but I do have both pickups on. I prefer the bridge but sometimes the neck pickup is the better option, this is usually the case in rock.
EDIT: I hate hum more than I hate a mid-scoop, so I do not have single coils in my jazz.
EDIT: I hate hum more than I hate a mid-scoop, so I do not have single coils in my jazz.
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Lots of answers to this OP, IME; and depends whether the bass is active or not and what kind of pups.
I play in cover bands for the most part and use pretty much all the settings on a Jazz Bass, depending on what tone I am intending to project. Very roughly, here are a few:
Neck full on, Bridge at 10% to 20%. I use this setting when I want to get that big cavernous P Bass thump. I set the tone anywhere from nearly off to full on, depending on whether I am pizz or plectrum.
Both pups on full. This is the classic J growl tone. I will vary tone again depending on how much thump vs growl I want. I use this setting for slap, plectrum, and pizz.
Bridge full on, Neck 50% to 70%. This is my pizz setting. It brings out upper harmonics and makes the instrument speak with a more forward voice. Great for staccato pizz work.
The passive instrument is fine; but, I do find some limitations. The neck pup full on settings are usually a little lacking in booty and fall short of the P bell tone; so, take more amp EQ support to get "close." The bridge pup full on setting has great high end but loses booty, which reduces the utility a bit. Also, the single coil pups which tend to sound the best will buzz like crazy on certain stages with lighting problems going on when the two pups are not balanced, which can limit your options. Neon lights the clubs favor can be a particular problem.
To solve these passive instrument issues, I have generally gone to the Sadowsky preamp and Delano JMVC pups. Those mods address all the issues, and pretty much allow me to dial in any kind of "Fender" bass sound that I choose. GL.
(BTW, there is a link to the Channel for one of my current bands in my sig where I am using several of the settings in the various tunes; though the recorded mix isn't clear enough to really show off the differences. Anyhow, I care about getting what I intend, even when the subtleties get lost in a loud mix.)
I play in cover bands for the most part and use pretty much all the settings on a Jazz Bass, depending on what tone I am intending to project. Very roughly, here are a few:
Neck full on, Bridge at 10% to 20%. I use this setting when I want to get that big cavernous P Bass thump. I set the tone anywhere from nearly off to full on, depending on whether I am pizz or plectrum.
Both pups on full. This is the classic J growl tone. I will vary tone again depending on how much thump vs growl I want. I use this setting for slap, plectrum, and pizz.
Bridge full on, Neck 50% to 70%. This is my pizz setting. It brings out upper harmonics and makes the instrument speak with a more forward voice. Great for staccato pizz work.
The passive instrument is fine; but, I do find some limitations. The neck pup full on settings are usually a little lacking in booty and fall short of the P bell tone; so, take more amp EQ support to get "close." The bridge pup full on setting has great high end but loses booty, which reduces the utility a bit. Also, the single coil pups which tend to sound the best will buzz like crazy on certain stages with lighting problems going on when the two pups are not balanced, which can limit your options. Neon lights the clubs favor can be a particular problem.
To solve these passive instrument issues, I have generally gone to the Sadowsky preamp and Delano JMVC pups. Those mods address all the issues, and pretty much allow me to dial in any kind of "Fender" bass sound that I choose. GL.
(BTW, there is a link to the Channel for one of my current bands in my sig where I am using several of the settings in the various tunes; though the recorded mix isn't clear enough to really show off the differences. Anyhow, I care about getting what I intend, even when the subtleties get lost in a loud mix.)
As a former (and hopefully, once again) drummer, I can speak with all authority that slapping a percussionist, or his gear, with an instrument should get you one, and only one, fair warning. Further infractions will result in "instrument damage" having to take a backseat to "blunt-force trauma" (luv dat word!
), so repeat offenders should keep their insurance card handy.Remember string-slingers, drumsticks are both melee and ranged weapons, especially when one prefers "+1 Oaken Sticks of Walloping Stuff" like myself. Then there's the improved strength and endurance wielded by those who use their entire bodies as their instrument to consider. (Take note of this important fact, Ladies!
)^^ this....all the way down to the speakers!!!
...and hit those strings hard. Don't pluck...sort of hammer-down on them
