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P- Bass or J- Bass

#22
LowerBeef said:
I'm new to the bass world also, but I would recommend the Fender Deluxe Active P Bass Special to anyone else just starting out. It has both the Jazz and Precision pickups, active electronics, the Jazz neck and the P' body. It's the best of both worlds, or possibly the worst. :hmm: But it gives you a ton of options for not a whole lot more than either a Jazz or P'.
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I own one of these, and I love it. One of the best ideas Fender ever had, and one of the nicest basses to come out of the Mexico factory.

To the original poster: What kind of bass have you been playing? How's it working out for you? Fill us in, and maybe we can help you scaffold to a logical choice.

A first bass is alot like a first girlfriend. You rarely get married and spend the rest of your lives together.

That being said, don't put too much energy (or cash) into your choice.

I was a P-Bass guy for decades. Comfortable, iconic, foolproof. Then I started to listen differently and educate myself on J-Basses. My ear and my tastes changed. Lately I have sold off most of my P's and started collecting J's.

And there you have it.
 
#23
TeamTrejo said:
"P-bass or J-Bass"

If you have to ask the question then I'd recommend the P-bass.

It's a good place to start for the new bassist.

Eventually you will own both.
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I totally agree!

That's exactly what I did - started out with a P bass and now I own one of each.

Between a P and a J, it's ultimately your personal choice, but I do recommend you get one or the other - not a PJ. Also, stick with a passive 4-string bass. You can always add an extra string (or even two) and a battery (or two) later when you've learned the basic skills of playing the bass. But for now as a beginner, try not to distract yourself too much with too many knobs and switches; instead, focus on learning to play music with your fingers first.
 
#24
To the OP - don't worry too much about the "do a search" comments, the guys are just kidding you around (mostly :D). It's actually pretty useless to use the standard (non-Google) forum search function for stuff on P basses or J basses anyway as it just throws up too much stuff. You will find some useful links on Google (including some older TalkBass threads) if you search for "precision jazz bass difference" or "precision jazz bass comparison".

The only thing I would add is that I respectfully disagree with the comments about the P being a one trick pony. It doesn't quite have the tonal versatility of the Jazz bass because of the dfference in the number of pickups, but the Precision is still capable of a very wide range of tones (listen to James Jamerson and Jean Jaques Brunel if you want an extreme contrast), many of which the Jazz can't quite get, in my experience. I'm more of a Jazz guy usually, but I've been enjoying my P bass more often just recently.
 

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