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Jazz or Precision?

A

AlexTaylor2000

Guest
Aug 20, 2015
6
3
28
#1
Hi Talk Bass,
I have been playing bass for around 8 months now and I have the chance to buy a new Bass, after lots of research I found out that Fender Bass's are generally really great and especially the Jazz series and the Precision series, but this is now my problem. The band I am in play alot of Pop Punk Music and we are influenced by great bands such as Blink-182 and Green Day. I understand that Mike Dirnt and Mark Hoppus both use Precision Bass guitars but since there style and genre is slightly different (They play more Punk Rock and my band focuses alot more on Pop Punk, which include bands like All Time Low, Neck Deep, State Champs etc.) So I was wondering what is the best for Pop Punk; Jazz or Precision?
Thanks in advance, have a great day!
 
#2
AlexTaylor2000 said:
Hi Talk Bass,
I have been playing bass for around 8 months now and I have the chance to buy a new Bass, after lots of research I found out that Fender Bass's are generally really great and especially the Jazz series and the Precision series, but this is now my problem. The band I am in play alot of Pop Punk Music and we are influenced by great bands such as Blink-182 and Green Day. I understand that Mike Dirnt and Mark Hoppus both use Precision Bass guitars but since there style and genre is slightly different (They play more Punk Rock and my band focuses alot more on Pop Punk, which include bands like All Time Low, Neck Deep, State Champs etc.) So I was wondering what is the best for Pop Punk; Jazz or Precision?
Thanks in advance, have a great day!
Click to expand...
You'll be fine with either. Play both and determine what is more comfortable for you. They feel drastically different. As a rule, a Jazz bass will sound more growly and P Bass more thumpy
 
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#3
Hey man, Thanks for quick response, I've actually heard people in the past also say that you can't go wrong with either, but I'll definitely visit a music shop soon to try both out and thanks for the help, Pop Punk is definitely more growly so I'll try the Jazz first.
 
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#6
I eventually went with a Jazz, after going back and forth between the Precision, and Jazz. You need to play both, and see which one has you ear's attention. It's going to be your Axe, not mine or anyone else's.

aXSsNkk.png
 
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#8
Hey Mark, thanks for welcoming me, seems like a great website for us bassists, anyway I currently have a stagg bass. I'm not %100 sure on the model but all I can tell is it very beginner orientated which was great for me when I started and it still works great considering I got it for a cheap price but I'm at the point where I feel upgrading to something more professional and better quality would really benefit the band and my and my own personal learning.
 
#9
Jazz, cuz that's what I like. But you're not me so what I like doesn't matter. Play both. The one that moves you is the right one.

While you're at it, play a Musicman and an Ibanez and a Gibson and whatever else tickles your fancy. I don't know punk but if it's anything like the funk, than it's in the fingers, not the bass.
 
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#11
AlexTaylor2000 said:
Hi Talk Bass,
I have been playing bass for around 8 months now and I have the chance to buy a new Bass, after lots of research I found out that Fender Bass's are generally really great and especially the Jazz series and the Precision series, but this is now my problem. The band I am in play alot of Pop Punk Music and we are influenced by great bands such as Blink-182 and Green Day. I understand that Mike Dirnt and Mark Hoppus both use Precision Bass guitars but since there style and genre is slightly different (They play more Punk Rock and my band focuses alot more on Pop Punk, which include bands like All Time Low, Neck Deep, State Champs etc.) So I was wondering what is the best for Pop Punk; Jazz or Precision?
Thanks in advance, have a great day!
Click to expand...
Of course, you can always buy a PJ Bass....you've got your classic split coil and a jazz pickup, too...best of both worlds!
This one is passive but they also have an active model.
11brf4n.jpg
 
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#12
You will be fine with either one but you would be better of with the P, trust me. There is a reason your favourite bands are using a P and not a J. One of my students plays in a local pop punk band and he has been complaining about his J in the mix, it doesn't sit as well as a P. I tweaked his setup to sound more like a P, favoured the neck and boosted some mid, and he has been enjoying it much more. His goal is to get a cheap P and drop a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder in, that is a great pop-punk tone in my opinion.

So yeah, get the P.
 
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#16
Thanks for the advice, I'll check out the PJ and I'll definitely consider what will give me the best Pop Punk tone and ultimabass unfortunately I haven't played alot of slap bass yet and Pop Punk does not really use that technique alot, however that is another topic I have been meaning to ask, if anyone has any good start tips to get me going on slap I would be so grateful, I know the basics but unfortunately I'm not very good at it. I'll keep practising but any advice is much appreciated, and just in case anyone is wondering here are a few well known Pop Punks songs from some of my favourite bands that are band try and get a similar style to.



 
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#17
jd56hawk said:
Of course, you can always buy a PJ Bass....you've got your classic split coil and a jazz pickup, too...best of both worlds!
This one is passive but they also have an active model.
11brf4n.jpg
Click to expand...
This is both of what you're asking about and would cover most of what you want in one bass but if only one of the two is what you want, I recommend a Pbass.
 
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#18
AlexTaylor2000 said:


Click to expand...


Just riffing off your post, but I'd say the bass sound on the NECK DEEP video is a great one for power-pop-punk, and it is accomplished with a lone humbucker as
would be found on a Precision bass (the Fender shown in the video is a mash-up of the two models).

As for All Time Low, that bass appears to be a Jazz. Is that track really live, I wonder? Cause that bassist is bouncing around like crazy without dropping a single beat -
and I am dubious about ANY audio advertised as live after learning that the Doors' "Absolutely Live" contained over 2,000 edits... Or that Dee Dee Ramone drank "tons of coffee"
so as to get wired enough to totally re-record the entirety of the bass parts on the classic double-live Ramones LP "It's Alive"...
 
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#19
Punk player here, not so much pop-punk though, but the lines blur pretty easily don't they?

+1 on figuring that you're going to end up getting both eventually.
+1 on considering a P/J configuration over a straight P.
+1 on playing everything you can get your paws on.

I'd strongly suggest going out and playing everything you can get your hands on. Nothing wrong with Fender/Squier, but you've got lots of options. I played Washburn 5ers for many years, perfectly usable weapon for punk, just not iconic... Hells, if you're comfortable playing one of those Daisy Rock abominations and can make it sound good, and it calls to you, then make that Monarch into a Black Moth... Fender is but one color in the tonal palette.

On the fender though, pay attention to the necks on the P's and J's, they are different and generally players will find one or the other more comfortable. Obviously a neck can be replaced, so you can put a P neck on a J or a J neck on a P, but apart from the electronics, this is the most stark difference between a P and a J.

I also feel a P/J gives a little more tonal variety than a straight P, running just the P on these won't be identical, probably close enough that most folk wouldn't be able to tell the difference though, and you could still discount most of the people who claim that they can! It is possible to re-wire the guitar so when you run the P solo it doesn't see the load from the J volume pot, but I'd cross that bridge if you're one of those rare birds who can actually hear the difference.

But ultimately, it probably makes little difference, you'll probably end up with all of them at some point. Each has it's own upsides, and downsides, each has their own character, and each may end up calling to you for different reasons... And if you stay a member of this community that probability almost becomes a certainty. 'WARE THE G.A.S.!

EDIT: For shame, post #19 before anyone even brought up the GAS...
 
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