There are musical situations where the fatness of a P bass is just right. There are other situations where I find the fatness of a P bass to be a little too much. A Jazz bass can be more versatile and sometimes you need that.
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Jazz bass tone
- Thread starter butterfingers1
- Start date
Some people prefer neither and go for
Now when I want a Pbass tone , I go for rosewood / flats / and muting.
Totally different by sometimes that’s what is needed. But for what I play I need that a lot less than I need my jazz bass tones.
Nope!! I play a jazz bass because of the tone. It’s the growl , the snap, the bridge tone solo , the both pickups wide open tone, that 70’s pickup placement slap tone, and sometimes the neck pickup solo tone. A jazz bass sits differently in a mix compared to the Precision Bass.
Now when I want a Pbass tone , I go for rosewood / flats / and muting.
Totally different by sometimes that’s what is needed. But for what I play I need that a lot less than I need my jazz bass tones.
I prefer the Jazz bass tone. The the narrow neck is not a factor for me, I have large hands. I just adapt to whatever neck width and thickness I am playing. But as mentioned, the 70’s pup spacing, both pups wide open, and a versatile pre, that’s what I like. That why I think the Jazz is better, IMHO.
It depends on the context but in general I gravitate more towards the tone of a Jazz.
My “Jazz” bass is a Carvin. More of a slightly smaller P bass body and although the neck is much thinner than a P bass neck it’s not at all like a typical J bass neck. What I love most about it is the ability to blend the two pickups or solo ether for many different tones. That being said I also love all of the wonderful things that my P bass with flats delivers.
Amongst professional bass players, the list of J players is extensive. As is the list of P players. It all comes down to personal preference, but I doubt that any pro recording artists are playing a J because they sound like crap but the neck is great.
It’s easy enough to swap necks, but you can’t get a J sound out P pickups, and vice versa. They’re just different animals.
It’s easy enough to swap necks, but you can’t get a J sound out P pickups, and vice versa. They’re just different animals.
It depends what for - and if your tastes in music are fairly narrow. If refused to listen to anything other than Weather Report, I'm sure I'd prefer the Jazz. If I only listened to overdriven punk, probably a Precision. But I listen to a lot besides
If I could have only one? A PJ. Not a cop-out at all.
- Sep 4, 2010
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- Disclosures
- Endorsing: Martin Keith Guitars
I play a jazz bass because I can get any tone from it, that can sit anywhere in the mix.
I try to be a simple man. I look at these threads and realize we aren’t playing enough if we keep going down this rabbit hole...
Flatwounds strings on a Jazz with a bit of muting and the front pick-up only, and it's close. By the time it's in a messy mix, no-one would know. I'm sure someone here will vomit at the idea of flats on a Jazz but hey-ho
It's the body shape I can't get on with, or specifically Fender's own shape. (Other J-basses are not as offset.) Plugging in the jack all the way down there feels like I'm slotting it between my knees.
I have both a p and a j. my situation is a little different in that both of mine are fretless and have flats on them. I love the tone of each for different reasons. I love the solid thud of the p and the subtle growl of the j. They both have their own unique tone and place in my playing. I use them both almost equally but typically favor my jazz a little more. So yes, I love the jazz bass tone...
For some songs. I own both a P and J and play them both on a pretty consistent basis. When I'd like a little more "cut" in the mix, I usually go to my J. Both pups on but the bridge pup cut back about 10-15%. Brings the mids out a bit more.
I've been tracking and submitting parts with each (passive 5-string P and J basses) for an album project, and the producer is selecting for each song. He's very happy.
I'd just always figured that as Jazz Bass was played by some of my favourite Bass players from a variety of genres then it was the Bass for me: no excuse for not being able to play Reggae like Aston Barratt or Robbie Shakespeare, funk like Bootsy, slap like Flea, disco like Verdine White, rock like John Entwhistle, fusion like Jaco etc. etc.
I am getting P curious though. That's my excuse for not being able to Motown like James Jamerson or Punk like Paul Simonon.
Although, I've now gone 5 string and that's really confused my preferences!
I am getting P curious though. That's my excuse for not being able to Motown like James Jamerson or Punk like Paul Simonon.
Although, I've now gone 5 string and that's really confused my preferences!
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Me....I love the extra articulation that two single coils have for fingers and slap especially, especially the articulation of having that bridge pickup. Although Im not a P hater, Ive owned a few over the years and found them unnecessary to own considering I can get a decent P-bass tone out of most of my basses with a soloed pickup in that P-spot (especially, a series wired humbucker such as my G&L ASAT) - therefore, I dont own a P and I dont plan on buying one anytime soon. If I ever did decide to own a P, its because they look traditional mojo cool - not for any other reason. YMMV
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Joe Osborn would be rolling in his grave!
and by the time a player swaps pickups and installs a favorite string set = it no longer sounds like it did when it left the factory. add to that a playing style/technique and your favorite amp/cab combination and the sky's the limit.
as above: i don't think there is "the jazz bass tone." re: J-basses, i'm not a fanboy, but i'd rather have two pickups as opposed to one: to get some 'tonal clarity' in some situations. i actually like PJs better than both the J or the P. they're all good, i like 'em all --- but i like two-pickup axes better than one-pickup axes, generally. while i'm not a "tone chaser," i don't like too many limitations. most Js have fewer limitations than most Ps.
The most unpopular jazz bass tone is one of my favorites: plucking directly over the front pickup soloed (bridge PU turned all the way down). What I like is it's virtually indistinguishable from the P bass tone, which has tons and tons of uses, but you're actually playing a jazz bass. In fact, it's so close you have to A/B it with an actual precision bass to hear the difference. There is a difference but it so small you can show up at a you-must-bring-a-P-bass gig with your jazz bass, turn off the bridge PU and, except for the hum and buzzing, nobody would ever know your P bass was left at home.
OTOH, the most popular jazz bass tone is the one I like the least: both pickups turned up to 11. It's a serviceable tone, but has a very definite "pinch" to the sound, and a kind of "runny" sounding low bottom, that I'm not particularly fond of. On my Jaco I usually use the front PU only or the bridge PU only.
So I'd say the main reason to get one is if you like the bass itself - the neck profile and body shape - but you want a wider variety of tones over a single PU P bass.
A P/J P bass can cop a Jazz bass both-PU sound kind of, but it's not quite the same...
L
Based on a combination of personal experience an dwhat I've read on here...
P Bass does thump and grind and full fits-in-the-mix low mids well.
J Bass does scooped, Jaco, snappy, or deeper dubby tones better.
P Bass does thump and grind and full fits-in-the-mix low mids well.
J Bass does scooped, Jaco, snappy, or deeper dubby tones better.
there are signature tones that J-basses are traditionally known for even though it is capable of many.......similar to the Ric 4001: it can get many many different tone colors but when somebody says on a bass forum that they are looking for "Ric tone", more often than not they are referring to the 70s Prog sound without me having to microscope every thing a Ric does.....same with a Jazz bass: its usually Jaco soloed bridge or both pickups on 'growl' (even if one is slightly rolled back) or the Marcus slap are the usual conversation pieces so, when someone says "Jazz bass tone", I have decent ballpark ideas of what they are usually referring to without having to display all the blades of that swiss army knife.....ymmv
