Jazz necks: am I trippin?

[avvie]

So, I have a memory from long, long ago that I was in a music store in my early days and saw a Fender jazz..took a look because I was curious and saw that the neck at the nut was extremely narrow- like 1.25" or less- and the string spacing spread to normal at the bridge. I thought just by lookng at it that a Jazz would never be for me. This would've been in the late 80's.

Was there actually a jazz model like that or have I just been tripping on a persistent dream memory since then? I'm under the impression that jazz and P necks aren't that drastically different now.

 

[bholder]

I remember the first jazz I played felt narrow near the nut, but that was compared to the '54 Precision I was used to, which had rather a larger piece of lumber for a neck. I think the profile has changed over the years several times, with multiple options available. My next memory of a jazz neck was that the spacing near the nut was too wide for my tastes, and the thickness front to back was very (too) thin. Could just be me, though.

 

[JACink]

According to the thread that has not all, but a lot of nut width info, the thinnest is Gretsch White Falcon - 1.28" (32.5mm)

There are a few fenders around the 1.43" mark, but nothing under that, at least in the info submitted so far.

You can check out the thread here:
http://www.talkbass.com/threads/list-of-widths-at-nut.919079/

 

[jim nolte]

According to the thread that has not all, but a lot of nut width info, the thinnest is Gretsch White Falcon - 1.28" (32.5mm)

There are a few fenders around the 1.43" mark, but nothing under that, at least in the info submitted so far.

You can check out the thread here:
http://www.talkbass.com/threads/list-of-widths-at-nut.919079/

I don't think the nut width has changed that much on Jazzes over the years, I have an early 65 L series, but the neck depth, front to back sure has. I have played very few that are as thick as mine, so that may give the impression that some are also wider at the nut? Jim

 

[avvie]

I see one Jazz on that list that's 36.5 mm; the rest are 38 mm which is what I play now. Up until 2009 I played a 43mm Yamaha. A 5 mm difference is not as drastic as I'm thinking, which leads me to believe that I may indeed be trippin.

 

[BazzTard]

I too thought I prefered jazzes coz of the narrower necks,then I got a P and there isn't that much difference in playability or comfort.

 

[Ritchie_Darling]

It might have been a Fender Performer bass....

They had a VERY thin neck.

 

[line6man]

Are you sure it was a Fender? Not that there were that many copies floating around back then, but it's a possibility.

Also, was it new or used? Someone could have re-profiled the neck.

 

[jallenbass]

I recall the first time that I tried a Jazz after playing mostly upright and P bass profiles that it did feel like a toothpick. Now that I've been playing them a while they just feel normal.

 

[BaileyMan]

I too thought I prefered jazzes coz of the narrower necks,then I got a P and there isn't that much difference in playability or comfort.

I've played mostly a Jazz bass and recently picked up a P-Bass and have been playing a lot of Motown / Soul / R&B tunes that are in F. My left hand gets noticeably more tired on the P Bass neck. So much so, that I swapped necks and have my J neck on the P body. Anything above the 2nd or 3rd fret feels about the the same on the J or P neck. A few millimeters can make a noticeable difference (to some of us at least).

 

[mikeyb26]

My 2001 japanese jazz bass is right at 36.5mm.