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Make a P Bass sound like a J Bass?

M

Mithriddle

Dec 14, 2011
18
1
#1
I've got a P bass. The short of it is that I want to get a J bass sound from it. I'm strapped for cash at the moment so I can't actually buy one.

Is there anyway to make a P bass sound like a J bass without modifying the bass itself (only using amp settings and tone knobs). If so, how?

Cheers :bassist:
 
#6
Pluck closer to the bridge where the Jazz bridge pickup would be.

Keep the tone pot open enough to let the high-mids pass through.

Then bump the mids/upper-mids on your amp's eq.

(might get you in the neighborhood, but not all the way there)
 
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#7
Play closer to the bridge, pluck hard, and try roundwound strings. If you really want to sound like a guy who would really play a Jazz bass, play too many notes, LOL.

Like trying to get a DB sound from a BG, maybe you can't really really do it but you can sort of get some of the key attributes.
 
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#9
There isn't a way to answer your question in large part because a Jazz bass does not have a characteristic sound. Like a P bass it has a tone control that can be set to any one of an infinite number of positions plus it has two volume controls that can also be set to an infinite number of positions. The sound range of a P bass is one dimensional (tone setting), the sound range of a Jazz bass is at least two dimensional (tone setting + blend setting). I am sure you can simulate some of the possibilities by adjusting the tone on a P bass and the EQ knobs on its amplifier but many will be out of reach of a P bass. Given the target you are shooting at it may or may not be possible to get close.

Some mulit-effects boxes and synthesizers claim to be able to turn any bass into any other bass. Success is in the ear of the listener though and since they tend to cost more than a used Jazz bass would, they aren't an option for you.

Ken
 
#10
Nope. You might get closer with fancy set up, technique, EQ, string sets, etc. But you'll not get "that sound" from a split P pickup. And that's a lot of work for uncertain (and possibly bad) results.

And my further 2 cents: The P/J array doesn't really get the J tone either (unless you dig the sound of the bridge pickup solo'd, which I sure don't). Only the combination of the two single rails will do it for my ears.

Buy a J. If you dig a P and a J, join the millions of players who felt the same way and splurged for one of each.

If you like the feel of a P but the sound of a J, save your nickels and have the Jazz rails installed in your P bass. I've seen basses with a Jazz rail set and a split P in the middle...best of both worlds.
 
#17
Just out of curiosity, what are you trying to do? Is this for a gig or a recording? I've never really understood the giant on-going discussion about P's and J's on here. They are different, but they're also very much the same-kind of a standard passive bass sound, which you can do a lot with of course. In a band setting, unless it was something really specific I can't imagine many people caring too much.

I can understand it from a "being a bass player" perspective. I've often wished on a gig that I could easily switch from a Pbass with flats for one song, a jazz bass for another, and an active 5-string for a third, but any will really get the job done for most tunes (caveat, I don't even dabble in metal or many other far from pop/rock sounding stuff). All of that to say, if you're too broke to buy another and not wanting to drop a jazz pickup or some active electronics in there, what's the hurry? What are you hearing out there that you wish you had?
 
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#18
I agree with the sentiment that it's easy to get a P bass-a-like tone out of a Jazz, particularly if you put the series/parallel switch in, but going the other way is nigh on impossible if you're trying to get the bass itself. Scooping mids and boosting a bit of bass on the amp will be your friend with the P.
 

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