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P or J - Have we all chosen correctly?

#61
For the longest time, no Fender bass ever appealed to me! It was all about the MusicMan humbucker or two big soapbar pups when it came to what I wanted tone wise. Later on though, I met a guy who had a MIJ jazz bass and I fell in love immediately(So much I almost considered trading my Ray for it). However, the guy moved and when I went to a GC to see if I could find a Fender I liked, I fell right back into the same EBMM phase where no Fender could create 'my sound'.

Anyways, a year or so later I was browsing Ebay for basses(as you do) and I stumbled across the MM sig jbass, which I knew was MIJ, for a great price and in great condition so I bought it as a present to myself. I instantly fell in love with it and I was able to dial out that same tone I got from that guys jbass. It was perfect and instantly stole my Ray`s place as my main bass. It also made me realize what I always hated about the Fenders at GC - They were all MIM or MIA! Something about those just never did what the MIJ Fenders did for me tone and playablility wise.

I`ve been on a quest for a while now to find a MIJ pbass because of what I`ve found out with jazzes. I hoping it`ll have a similiar outcome =)
 
#63
What a great thread.

After 30+ years of playing one or the other at one time or another I can honestly say I love both of them. I have had several of each, and yes, I wish I hadn't sold any of them.

To me it comes down to the individual instrument for tone and playability. I had a early 80's fretless P that was a slug, slow, clunky neck, soft body wood with muddy tone. Contrast that with my brothers '71 with a great neck and ash body, monster tone.

For most of what I play, a Jazz has the tone I'm looking for: Neck on full, 1/2-3/4 bridge and roll the tone off a bit, push it through my Ampeg tube and that's my sound. Hmmm, now that I think of it, I'm not all that far away from a P...

Now that I'm thinking about those P's I had, I want to get another one, anyone got one they want to sell? My Jazz and G&L need a new friend. ;)

Tom
 
#64
great thread. i'm thinking of trying a P with J style pups. i have played P styles for years and love the simplicity, but lately i'm using J's wide open in another bass, and i love the clarity. i just always loved the P body more than the J body, including the neck.
i think it just always comes back to Fender's two designs. everything else is denial!
 
#65
Well, the point is not to fight your instruments design!

one can EQ the hell out of a P bass, but will not get the bridge pickup growl (or whatever...), because there is no bridge pickup. also, adding a singlecoil to a P bass will only get you certain tones of a J bass, but not THE J tone - two single-coils on full.

on the other hand, you just cannot make a J sound like a P, again because of its design.

a lot can be done, though, with different series/parallel combinations. but still, the pickup type and placement has a big role...

but in the end, most of this is not at all that important - reggae has been played on J basses and jazz has been played on P basses... it really only depends on how you use your gear :)
 
#67
i find a p bass sits in the mix so well in my 3 piece band. it has loads of mids which really make it stand out.. used to play jazz basses for quite a few years and recently just bought the p bass as a touring bass. i find myself reaching for the mim p bass over my ric even just because of the way it sounds in the band..
 
#68
I started off with a MIM J bass, then switched to a MM Stingray and now just recently bought a CIJ P Bass. I have to say that I absolutely love the sound of the Stingray, but the P has a sound I can't quite put my finger on. I was looking for that Motown sound and the Stingray just wasn't right for it. I don't even play the J anymore. I don't like the slim neck. Maybe if I played a better quality J bass, it would change my mind. I think you're right about the low end. The P has a distinctive low end sound.
 
#70
Have we all chosen correctly?

Yes, I have.

Fenderbasses.jpg
 
#71
I mostly prefer a jazz bass when it is played on its own. But for gigs i find they just dont fit as nicely as a p. it just seems to roar to life and the so-so sound that was on its own suddenly becomes a monster. Same thing tends to happen in recording. there is just this nice pocket that the p manages to slot into. And because i don't play my bass soloed at gigs i stick to P's. (or pjs).
 
#73
True about a P Bass. It's sort of like barbeque sauce. On it's own it's...sometimes mehhh. But on some chicken, or in a mix it just kills. Even listen to Joe Principe on his own, you can see what I mean.



My friend didn't like how his P-bass sounded at GC. Later he came back to buy it. If he would have listened to my advice he would have saved 50 miles of driving and a tank of gas!
 
#75
Someone said its all about the neck! He`s 100% right. I`m a crossover player and when I play a lot of upright then go to a Fender I prefer 57 P bass.When I`m working a blues fillin or a county gig, or heavey studio time I go to my 72 Jazz.So you have to see how your fingers are feelin.
 
#76
Cool thread. I've been a member for a few weeks now, but this place is so full of guys that know what they're talking about I have not gotten around to posting and instead have just been soaking up knowledge.

Anyways I started on this ibanez p/j bass with a 1 5/8 neck like the P bass. Then I got a Fender Jazz and saw immediate improvement in my dexterity because of the smaller neck. I've played other P basses since then, but they just feel so clumsy. I have really small and skinny fingers so that has something to do with it.

I preferred the "thickness" of the P pups so I wired my J with a series/parallel push/pull pot and that has made things a little bit better. Tone and playability have to balance somewhere. I have chosen correctly for my needs.
 
#77
tnscot60 said:
This is NOT a discussion over which is better. That is COMPLETELY subjective, and no one is right or wrong. This is my theory, and request for your thoughts on the subject. With that said....

It seems to me that a P bass and a J bass were each designed to fill two different needs. The P bass is designed to carry a lot of low end, and the J bass was designed to cut throught the music.
Click to expand...

I always figured the P bass is better suited to carry out the traditional role of bass, holding down the low end, in a medium tempo type of tune in a big band with many instruments. Speed it up, add some bass solos, less instruments in the mix, and the Jazz is a winner.

I find in bigger bands, I get in sonic collisions when I gig a J sometimes, where both my bass and a guitar are hanging out in the same frequency range. It has never happened with the P.

Anyway, I agree... a lot of the time, people are trying to get their Jazz to sound like a P bass. You can get close, but there's a reason Fender never stopped making the Precision.
 
#79
It's a serious issue trying to go between J and P bass - This is what I've done: I have a P bass body (Just for the shape really) made of alder. It's nice and soft, so it give a nice rich warm fat tone. Then, I have Jazz neck. It's slim and fast but I have the solidity of the P bass but the feel of a J. It gets better - I have a Dimarzio P in the center, and Dimarzio J's both at the bridge and the neck with toggle's to select what I want. I actually use the P the least. If I want a heavy beefy sound I use the neck and bridge combined, otherwise it's just the bridge all the way. I use no effects or eq what so ever - I'm a firm believer that I should pretty much get the sound I want with all the eq flat with small modifications due to room size and what-not. I've been playing this way for almost 20 years with the same bass and set-up and I constantly have people asking me what I'm running.
There is no answer, I guess just run what sounds good. For me, I don't want a lot of stuff to carry - I don't even bring a back up any more (Just tools)
 

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