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oh no.... not this ultimatum...

which one?

  • p bass (sound i want with good but not “preferred looks”)

    Votes: 123 73.7%

  • jazz bass (looks i want more but the sound can be a hit or miss)

    Votes: 44 26.3%
  • Total voters
    167
bon viesta

bon viesta

Dec 10, 2020
1,029
1,236
#1
you’ve heard it a million times. P OR J!!!! my dad is gonna enlist his guitar making abilities to finish and wire up a bass of my own choice, gonna put some dupont type 60s fender finish over it and pretend i was a teenager in the 60s as i thump away on whatever comes out of it. but he only operates on ebay when there’s a promotion going on, and right now i’m in the midsts of an internal p vs j struggle. i like the p sound. i want the p sound. i want that legendary thump in the mix. but... i think j’s look so much cooler. since they were rarer in the 60s there’s almost something special about their 60s variants. they just seem like deluxe basses. what would you guys say? should i take a leap of faith regardless of the regret and go for a p, or stick with a jazz bass that may look awesome but not exactly match up perfectly with ‘that sound’?
 
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#3
and i’m fully aware that jazzes can sound almost exactly like a p, with some things left to be desired, and that’s my main qualm. be unique and be one of those jazz thumpers (even though most songs that use the jazz, with the exception of led zeppelin, sound almost a bit thin and quiet in the bass section) or just follow the crowd and get a cool p bass that can be my little baby.
 

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#8
Drzejzi said:
Go with J pickups.


--------------------------------


What did you feel when you read it?
You know what you like better, I guess that you look for confirmation ;)
In what you wrote I feel that you like the P pickup better.
Click to expand...
you read me like a book! i have a habit of trying convince myself of something or other by just “confirmation” just in case something goes wrong at least i know others like it. i’ve been set on the j bass for a month now, but suddenly it crept into my mind that maybe i should do a p bass, and i want to accept that maybe it’s the best way to do something because above the sound it has, the process of building it (getting the parts, too) would probably be a bit easier. so i’m trying to make myself just leave behind the idea of the j bass and accept the p bass. i do admit when i saw “go with the j bass” i was like... “huh what?” for a moment.
 
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#9
Sounds like you want to eat your cake and have it, too.

No-Mod approach is to get a Jazz that already has a P pickup in it - like the Aerodyne Jazz (which sounds awesome, BTW) or the Sig bass of the guy from Blink-182 (can’t think of his name right now)....or do a custom build.

Your choice.

If you want to stay with a Jazz without a P pickup, get linear hum-cancelling pickups, like DiMarzio offerings or Duncan Apollo’s, etc.
The Linear HC neck pickup can get very close to a P-tone, but of course the pickup coils are not staggered, and the shape of the coils are totally different....so close, but no cigar.
 
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#13
I prefer the J neck but a P sound so I went with DiMarzio Model J pickups in a J and found I could get a more P bass sound with just the neck pickup.

On another J I went with EMG pickups but that required more EQ to get closer to a P tone and it needs batteries.

After all that I got an ash/rosewood '75 P bass with an A neck (like a J) and lived happily ever after...almost. I stayed with that configuration for many years.
 
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#14
Personally I wouldn't have such a dilema. I'm lucky to prefer the soloed neck pickup tone of a Jazz to a Precision. Also, a Jazz with a parallel/series switch can definitely thump it. Jazzes usually have thinner necks too (not only a narrower nut, but thinner front to back) and I also prefer that to a P neck (which I still can perfectly enjoy and love, of course, I've owned an American Deluxe P 5 and a Matt Freeman/CV '70s P is definitely on my wish list nowadays). I'd ask for a "both" option in your poll. But being that you indeed need to DECIDE I'd say get the Jazz first, wire it with a push-pull for one of the volume pots so you can change between parallel and series wiring. Then after you save some more money get also a P bass. A P can't do most of what a J does, but a J neck pickup can sorta' fake something real close to a P using appropriate EQ.

 
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#15
I play Jazz basses because I like how they sound and how they feel, but I also like that P sound. So I go for P/J configged Jazzes, or have the pick-ups rewired to have them either in series or parallel. When seried, it gives a sound closer to a P, which works well enough for what I do and gives me the best of both worlds: tonal options and comfort. And maybe one day, I'll hold a P that feels right for me, Lord knows I keep trying...
 
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#19
Seems to me the winning move is to do a J-bass, but have them rout a p-hole, and then cover up your p-hole (for decency's sake) with a pick guard. Then if you ever want a p-bass or a pj, your just a pup and maybe a switch or knob away.

Having said that, P bass with Jazz neck. I love my fender zone, just wish it was a 5er.
 
#20
bon viesta said:
and i’m fully aware that jazzes can sound almost exactly like a p, with some things left to be desired, and that’s my main qualm. be unique and be one of those jazz thumpers (even though most songs that use the jazz, with the exception of led zeppelin, sound almost a bit thin and quiet in the bass section) or just follow the crowd and get a cool p bass that can be my little baby.
Click to expand...
Or an Explorer shaped like the one on the wall behind you! You can put somebody's eye out with that thing!
 
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