Jazz bass tone

[Standalone]

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.

Excellent

 

[Matt Dean]

I think that the P bass love may have as much to do with hipsterism as tone. Sure, most of the classic Motown records were recorded with a P bass, but most of my favorite bassists tend to play jazz style basses, and for the music I play, I prefer jazz pickups.

 

[Spirit of Ox]

I like both basses equally but in my band which is kind of a prog meets punk power trio, I prefer the Jazz bass, especially the Geddy Lee. Even with both pickups dimed, I still get a enough mids. Of course I'm using overdrive and either a GK 700rb or 800rb. I tried my P bass and wanted a Nomeansno type tone but I feel like Jazz bass tone fit better.

 

[TrevorG]

I like the jazz tone but I get all jazz tone I need from my PJ.

 

[Chrisk-K]

I much prefer the P tone. I especially dislike the scooped J tone with both pickups fully on. I do have two J’s and use the neck pickup soloed most of time because it sort of sounds like a poor man’s P.

 

[baileyboy]

I prefer the tone of a Precision any day of the week, but having the tonal variation a Jazz can provide makes it worth owning one.

 

[Sid Fang]

I suppose I meant all knobs dimed, except maybe for the tone knob if needed.

For me, that's using the Jazz backwards. I always dime the tone control, and do my tone shaping with the volume knobs. And wide-open on both isn't my favorite tone, by a long shot. I always roll one or the other off at least a tad.

I understand this gives a scooped tone. I also hear that slightly rolling back the bridge pickup changes the tone, with mids appearing, apparently because both pickups on causes some sort of interference and cancelling of mid frequencies.

I have had basses with 2 soapbar pickups and never noticed anything like this, just a simple clean blend of the individual pickup tones.

I think that depends a bit on pickup design and placement. I definitely have basses with dual humbuckers and a blend control where I can tune the tone in a similar way with the blend knob. Not as dramatic as with Jazz pickups, but the same principle seems to work.

 

[Staccato]

After TB discussion about P basses, I often listen to song recordings. There's nothing in particular about any song recording of a P bass that has me wanting to buy that bass, and practice, or record with it.

Jazz bass- Oh yeah!

 

[JRA]

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

i really get all that! and i generally agree with the point you're making. you're probably more discerning about "tones." i find one i like and go with it....

my reference for "tones" is based on what a tune needs from my part. i can make almost any ax sound decent (and some: great) on a specific tune. i'm pretty sure i have recorded material that would make brand/model/strings/pickups difficult to identify --- it just sounds like a bass part. (sometimes it even sounds like a fretless bass part that it is.) knob settings + how i play and where i pluck = figures into the tones i get more than anything else.

I definitely have basses with dual humbuckers and a blend control where I can tune the tone in a similar way with the blend knob. Not as dramatic as with Jazz pickups, but the same principle seems to work.

i put a VBT in my J and i've been pleasantly surprised --- the ax is newish, so i i'll have to wait to hear it in the real world with a band!

 

[SumOne]

Not much in it really: (just listen from 4m10 to 8m40 unless you want to be advertised at)

 

[jnewmark]

I play Jazz basses and prefer the tone , ( both pups on full ), over the P bass. To me, the P bass is all about thud, and the J bass all about note definition. Both have their place in a band, of course, but it just comes down to how you want to hear yourself, imho. The J bass tone does that for me.

 

[southpaw723]

I love the tone of both pups 100% although that has never really worked in a band mix for me. I like to roll off the bridge pup maybe halfway or more, really dig that sound. I never like the Jaco bridge tone.

 

[Funky_Be]

My PJ usually sits better in any mix/room but I just bought a Jazz Bass because I was missing that sweet slap tone.

 

[Element Zero]

I LOVE the jazz bass tone. I quite enjoy the P bass tone. I HATE how the jazz bass plays and feels. I LOVE how the P bass plays and feels.

 

[Pings Bass]

Depends on personal preference, i.e. what you want to do, what kind of sound you want, and what kind of neck you like.

At the end of the day, you can play anything on any bass, but I think of the P as a rock/country bass and the J as an R&B/soul/funk bass.

I play a lot of different genres and always felt like I needed one of each, plus (eventually) a stingray and an L2K.

But play what you want. The audience won't notice the difference in tone, as long as the FOH mix is half decent.

 

[Whale]

My choice of using a Jazz Bass is for different reasons than most. Many of the venues where I play have terrible acoustics. I found that the big thick sound of a P-Bass ends up coming across as an unintelligible rumble. The audience cannot distinguish one note from the next. I've tried an EQ and all sorts of changes with our sound guy and it's still the same. By using a Jazz Bass, however, I can get a bit more clarity and offset the "boomy" rooms.

Also, my Jazz Bass is a '62 AVRI so it has stacked knobs. This means I effectively have two volume and two tone pots. (The majority of Jazz Basses have two volume controls and one tone pot.) You wouldn't think the additional tone pot would make much difference in the overall sound of the bass, but it is remarkably present to the point where a small tweak on either tone pot is extremely noticeable. I can go from a super deep tone that equals my P Bass to one where I'm "tinny" sounding.

It could just be the year mine was made (1983) or I just lucked in to a bass that can do it all... or both.

 

[MoeTown1986]

I like jazz bass tone as long as it’s 60’s voiced pickups. And preferably with the tone rolled back. I find that has a lot less “scoop”. My issue is jazz necks are sooo small that I can’t comfortable play a jazz bass. I’d be the weird guy who had a jazz with a P neck instead of those who love a P with a Jazz neck.

 

[Jack Butler]

Isn’t a p bass better than soloing the jazz neck pickup?

Aren't chocolate chip cookies better than oatmeal?

 

[Jack Butler]

Personally I like how Jazz basses sound when other people play them. I don't currently own one, but when I pick one up at a music store it always seems to sound "weak" compared to other basses in the shop. I know this is 100% me, tons of players getting amazing tones out of Jazz basses. Hmmm, maybe I need to get one and spend some serious time with it.

 

[Bboopbennie]

Like them both. Practice with the P for some time, then pick up the J and I like it better. Then I go back to the P and the Mojo is there. They are both great basses. I dont like hitting the pickup blend / volume ( picking ) playing live. The P has 2 knobs, so recovering is simple. I tend to like the fat neck on the P to play cleaner. Guess the name Precision.