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

[andruca]

If you already own / have permanent access to a Jazz I should change my vote, definitely do the P bass.

 

[jnuts1]

P Bass with a Jazz neck

this^. i just did this to my very first bass and it rules. took me about 20hrs to make it really playable but it was worth it. so much shimming and tweaking and then rinse and repeat but eventually.....

 

[klejst]

Love both personally, but I voted Jazz. Honestly why not a Precision Special or Jazz Special and get some of essentially the best of both Worlds?

 

[funkinbottom]

Personally I prefer a Jazz or P/J. I feel it offers a little wider tonal palate having the ability to solo/favor the bridge PU. I also feel like the difference of a J with neck PU soloed is not nearly as different from a P as most want to believe. Sure some subtle differences, but IMO very subtle. Within a recorded mix it gets even more difficult the distinguish the two. You know, like vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup or chocolate ice cream. In a milk sake it would be tough to determine. In a blind test most probably wouldn't notice much difference at all, and if you did guess correctly, it was probably just that...a guess.

Here's one of the better comparisons I've seen on youtube. Those too impatient or don't have time for a 6 min video, listen from 2:51 to 3:15 and 4:53 to the end.

 

[mdogs]

Personally I prefer a Jazz or P/J. I feel it offers a little wider tonal palate having the ability to solo/favor the bridge PU. I also feel like the difference of a J with neck PU soloed is not nearly as different from a P as most want to believe. Sure some subtle differences, but IMO very subtle. Within a recorded mix it gets even more difficult the distinguish the two. You know, like vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup or chocolate ice cream. In a milk sake it would be tough to determine. In a blind test most probably wouldn't notice much difference at all, and if you did guess correctly, it was probably just that...a guess.

Here's one of the better comparisons I've seen on youtube. Those too impatient or don't have time for a 6 min video, listen from 2:51 to 3:15 and 4:53 to the end.

Yup, same here, J's and PJ's. Except I still have, some humbucker equipped ones and a Ric. But in the Fender world, it is really hard to beat a PJ. I have owned some really great P's, none of them lasted more than a few months, just never could get on with the tone.

 

[Killing Floor]

It's a build? Jazz basses look way cooler. So get a J build and route it for a P pickup. Or a PJ. Or a P/MM. Or go rock the house with 2 Loller Thunderbirds!

 

[MattZilla]

J body, reverse PP with the second P at the neck instead of the bridge.

 

[abarson]

Not mine, but a fine representation

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[downunder]

I find P basses very hard to play. For some reason the jazz bass just fits me better. YMMV

 

[Jack Deth]

I got the red Fender Boxer with both P and J, and it has the jazz neck as a bonus.

 

[funkinbottom]

Except I still have, some humbucker equipped ones

Same here. My daily driver is Bartolini P2 equipped with East pre.

 

[fhm555]

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.

Put a set of Diamrzio Model J's in a jazz and you won't have to settle for an almost P sound, just solo the neck pickup, or dial in a little bridge pickup when you get tired of the same thing every time you pick up your bass.

 

[funkmaster p]

Imagine both basses hanging on the wall. Which one would inspire you to grab it and play it each time you walked by? If the visual aspect of the J make it the winner, get one.

If you are equally inspired to grab either one, get the P.

 

[dabbler]

Not a PJ in my opinion. Those do a fine job as a P running that pickup alone, but with both pickups wide open they sound nothing like J basses. J basses have a certain growl and primacy; PJs tend to sound modern to my ears. I actually like the PJ tone, but it's not the same.

Personally I don't think any bass player needs to apologize for having a P bass and a J bass in the collection. If you absolutely must go with one bass only, I'm with the group who says build the J and run the front pickup solo when you want a chunkier tone. That sounds more like a P-bass than a PJ sounds like a J.

I'll start off by saying I'm a J bass kinda guy, but have all kinds of configurations in my stable. IOW, I'm not a purist.

Let me muddy the waters a bit. First off, there's no denying how classic the P tone is. And even though a LOT off J players on TB satisfy that urge by soloing the neck pup and playing with the passive tone knob, I don't. On my basses, I believe a series/parallel mod gets me closer to a P tone.

But wait, there's another way to go! I have a bass (it's an SX) that has a P pup a little higher than the J neck location and a J bridge pup. This gets you even closer to P tones with a little practice. But what about J tones, you ask? I put a series/parallel mod on the neck P pup (putting it's coils in parallel) and doggone if it don't do a decent job of impersonating a J pup!

You don't have to agree with anything I've said, but believe this: there are many roads to satisfaction... all you have to do is decide what does it for YOU!

 

[Snakeman1066]

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’?

best of both worlds....P/J config in a J body...

 

[JRA]

what would you guys say?

Jazz bass with a P pickup, just put it in the right spot.

PJ in either body shape does the job just fine. Use the neck profile you want and turn volume to 11!
You are good to go.

two pickups are obviously/inherently more versatile than one, OP! IME: the best PJs can give you all that you'd seek in either a P or a J.

 

[Ghastly]

I voted p bass before seeing it. Now that I've seen it, I still vote p bass. That thing looks great! So does the jazz.

 

[kdn1]

Fender Blacktop Jazz?

 

[Gaolee]

Let's get back to first principles here. OP says he's 15 years old. Being 15 is not the time for subtlety. He needs a bass that will not sit in the mix. He needs a bass that will discipline unruly drummers, wrap caution tape and bailing wire around hyperactive guitarists, and generally bludgeon a mix into submission. Subtlety can come later. I'm still voting for a bass that could put somebody's eye out.

 

[b/o 402]

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’?

Bon, let me ask you something, as a Jazz owner: do you find yourself wishing the D or A strings were a little louder, so the string balance was better? Because that’s one of the ingenious advantages of the split-coil P pickup, to be able to adjust heights for that reason.
This is especially critical for the neck pick up, since we need our fundamentals (lowest harmonics) to be consistent in volume.
Plus, it has the single coil sound, while also being humbucking, as well as being series wired for strong output.
That’s why we who have been playing bass for decades have chosen PJ configurations: it’s the best of both worlds.
- Not that there are no disadvantages to the split-coil P pickup: The offset position can yield an audible difference between the two string pairs.