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P neck on J, J neck on P?

IPA

IPA

May 5, 2010
2,739
4,381
South TX
#1
I know this combination is physically possible, do any of you prefer your basses this way?

I don't really know why, but I always get this feeling that my J neck would be better on my P, and my P neck on my J. Considering that it's a pretty easy job for me to swap them around, I think I just might.
 
#2
IPA said:
I know this combination is physically possible, do any of you prefer your basses this way?

I don't really know why, but I always get this feeling that my J neck would be better on my P, and my P neck on my J. Considering that it's a pretty easy job for me to swap them around, I think I just might.
Click to expand...

I am going to be doing this with a 62 RI jazz bass .Putting the neck on a p bass body not sure if i am buying a body off of ebay or ordering another bass @ keep the jazz bass with p neck after the switch as a nice back up . I read the bass player from u2 did this in the past also.
 
#3
There are lots of MIM P Bass Specials out there - J necks on P bodies. Obviously lots of people like this combination. There are not nearly so many the other way around. IF I wanted a J bass for some reason :hiding: I would have to put a P neck on it. I am just not comfortable playing that little J neck!
 
#7
TNCreature said:
It really is time for Fender to produce the J with a P neck. Lately this has become my favorite combination.
I chord a lot and don't get cramped up in the higher register.
TNC
Click to expand...

That must be part of it, when I want to play more intricate stuff, I feel like I need the space of a P neck and the tonal range of the J pickups.

If I'm just thudding around on a basic line (usually with the solid P-bass pickup tone), the Jazz neck does me better because I'm able to mute the other strings more easily.
 
#8
Duck Dunn preferred a J neck on a P body.

But it is time. When you look at the polepiece spacing on a Jazz neck pickup, it becomes very obvious that development was done with a P neck on the workbench, and when the 1 1/2 inch wide at nut J neck was developed nobody bothered to go back and adjust the polepiece spacing of the neck pickup.
 
#9
I do it all the time. Mostly because I need a jazz sound but like a P neck. I also do it because different necks resonate with bodies differently. Some of my best sounding basses are mixed up. For me, it's mostly about a great feeling neck first, then how it sounds with the body. This goes for both fretted and fretless.
 
#10
iiipopes said:
Duck Dunn preferred a J neck on a P body.

But it is time. When you look at the polepiece spacing on a Jazz neck pickup, it becomes very obvious that development was done with a P neck on the workbench, and when the 1 1/2 inch wide at nut J neck was developed nobody bothered to go back and adjust the polepiece spacing of the neck pickup.
Click to expand...

That's a great observation that I never noticed.
 
#11
iiipopes said:
Duck Dunn preferred a J neck on a P body.

But it is time. When you look at the polepiece spacing on a Jazz neck pickup, it becomes very obvious that development was done with a P neck on the workbench, and when the 1 1/2 inch wide at nut J neck was developed nobody bothered to go back and adjust the polepiece spacing of the neck pickup.
Click to expand...

Wow, I don't think I've ever noticed that. Fact of the day right there!
 
#13
TNCreature said:
It really is time for Fender to produce the J with a P neck. Lately this has become my favorite combination.
I chord a lot and don't get cramped up in the higher register.
TNC
Click to expand...

I don't chord, I play near the head on the bass. Having a wider spacing here makes it MUCH easier for me to move. I have bigger hands and don't like how skinny jazz necks are. (Jazz 5s being the exception)
 
#16
Seems to me that every variation is out there. I have Precision necks that are 1-11/16", 1-9/16", and 1-5-8 at the nut, each of a different profile, as well as a P-bass with a Jazz neck. They all feel and sound great. If I had to choose which one is perfect, I couldn't. I could be happy with any one of them. Just find a combination that you love and play the hell out of it. It's a matter of feel, not a math equation.
 
#17
I prefer a nice chunky P neck. So my last jazz had a P neck on it and I imagine every jazz I own in the future will as well. This is sorta convenient for me because it seems like most people prefer a skinny jazz neck when given the choice... or at least it seems like there's more talk on TB of putting J necks on P basses that talk of putting P necks on J basses.
 
#20
I had an American standard jazz with a '62 mij P-bass neck added and it was a much better bass for it.
Now I have a P-bass body with a super-fast American special jazz neck added and I love it!

I feel they work better this way as the beefy split P pup doesn't lose anything with a bit less neck mass, while the jazz config seemed to benefit with the extra neck mass. The tone was defo more substantial. For me and my thing that is.

As well as Duck Dunn, Jerry Scheff used a P with a jazz neck for his work with Elvis and also on The Doors L.A. Woman album (which is my fave recorded bass tone)

Maybe Leo Fender didn't get it all so right after all.... :-P
 

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