P-Bass versus J-Bass. What do you prefer?

The age-old Existential Question. Personally, I like a J for that burpy Jaco bridge tone, never could get on with P's, though they are apparently the Gold Standard on TB. Meh. J's also much more comfortable to play, for me, anyway.

 

My first bass was a J, which I bought instead of a P out of sheer comfort. I had never played bass and it just felt right at the time. A few years later I bought a P and it's my number one gigging bass. My most recent bass purchase was a 5 string J style, though.

 

I gravitated quickly to the J; it was my first brand-new bass. I love the neck, the offset waist, the pickups; in black with a white PG it's like you're wearing a tuxedo. While I do have a couple of P's, they're oddballs with P/J pickups and skinny necks. My Jazz Bass Special is just a variation on that theme.
And I just sold a vintage Hohner J copy - to help fund a future purchase of another Fender J. Guess I'm pretty much a J guy.

 

Personally for what I do the ideal is a 5 string Stingray HH or an active/ passive Jazz 5.
But if I had to make do with one from your review .... I would down tune the 4 string jazz bass.

 

I've always preferred Jazz. Specifically, maple fretboard Jazz.

 

P-Bass. But, I cheated just a little. My '78 P has the "A" (Jazz width) neck; I like it a lot... I've just never cared for the way a Jazz Bass looks - or sounds. And anyway; when I do want that sound?
The DiMarzio "Twin-J" pickup in my Kramer Duke Special fakes it well enough to suite me...

 

I like the versatility of the J. Never owned a P but have 4 and 5 string J's. I particularly love my 5er.

 

I love them both! The j is more comfortable to play for most people. I lost count of how many jazz basses I have owned. never owned a p bass, but I have a birdsong short bass that is essentially a short scale precision.

 

I‘m a P-bass guy, I can‘t stand the skinny J necks. „Baseball bat necks“ somehow feel much more comfortable to me. Also, I don’t like the offset body shape of the J - it concerns me when putting it onto a stand!
My main basses are a Greco Precision clone and a MM Stingray

 

P-bass for me. I do like noodling with the jazz, but for everything else the P bass does it. Never really cared for the 'farty' sounding soloed j bridge pickup, and usually end up primarily on the neck pickup with a jazz.

 

Yeah... One of the favorites of my collection. While I have two other 5ers I really like the 9.5 degree radius. My other basses have 19-20 degree radii.

I can understand how a thicker neck can feel better for some people. I prefer the thicker soft V necks of some of my acoustics. Have you thought of a Jazz 5? While not necessarily thicker the necks are beefier with the extra strings. And while you don't have the depth the extra width takes away the skinny feeling of the jazz 4.

 

Best of both for me. Jazz pickups in a Pbass shaped body.

 

Both sound good but I gravitate more towards the sound of Jazz basses. I liked the sound of your P bass but when you started to play the Jazz I immediately thought, "Yeah, that's the sound".

 

Carrots?

 

The answer is 42.